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Tchaikovsky - Natalia Makarova's Swan Lake / Hart, Schaufuss, London Festival Ballet

Tchaikovsky - Natalia Makarova's Swan Lake / Hart, Schaufuss, London Festival Ballet

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $26.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Shame on Image Entertainment for cheap presentation
Review: I enjoyed the ballet, one of my favourites and performance, but this does not equal the one with Nureyev/Fonteyn which I prefer.

The presentation is very poor. First off the case is filmsy cardboard. I believe IE is alone in packing DVDs in this cheap and tacky looking and not very durable format, in this case the DVD will probably long outlast the case. Shame on Image Entertainment , they display a lack of appreciation of the customer as well as for the product. This is a full frame 4:3 release, not widescreen (which I prefer). The video quality is very poor, grainy and hazy , like poor VHS quality, not one you would expect from DVD . On wonders whether IE bothered to use the master tapes or do a cheap transfer off VHS. I would not be surprised to know that it is the latter. Documentaion either as a booklet (none provided) or on DVD is nonexistent. No mention of the circumstances of the performance. Yes there are 39 Chapters, I suppose IE thinks that is enough.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Shame on Image Entertainment for cheap presentation
Review: I enjoyed the ballet, one of my favourites and performance, but this does not equal the one with Nureyev/Fonteyn which I prefer.

The presentation is very poor. First off the case is filmsy cardboard. I believe IE is alone in packing DVDs in this cheap and tacky looking and not very durable format, in this case the DVD will probably long outlast the case. Shame on Image Entertainment , they display a lack of appreciation of the customer as well as for the product. This is a full frame 4:3 release, not widescreen (which I prefer). The video quality is very poor, grainy and hazy , like poor VHS quality, not one you would expect from DVD . On wonders whether IE bothered to use the master tapes or do a cheap transfer off VHS. I would not be surprised to know that it is the latter. Documentaion either as a booklet (none provided) or on DVD is nonexistent. No mention of the circumstances of the performance. Yes there are 39 Chapters, I suppose IE thinks that is enough.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Superb, Magical Production
Review: I honestly do not know why the last reviewer was so negative about this production. While it is true that the box is cardboard, that hardly invalidates the production, and the video quality is perfectly acceptable (not as good as some DVDs, but much better than VHS).

The performance is excellent, with elegant, graceful dancing and, most important of all, superbly dynamic acting.

But the best thing about this production is the staging itself. It is pure magic. The set is one of the best I have ever seen, daring and creative and yet still traditional; the lighting effects are glorious, and the overall effect is one of mystery and fantasy. It seems to inspire the entire production with a wonderful passion and grace.

Makarova is the best (where, by the way, is her Swan Lake with Anthony Dowell?). I knew she would not do poor work, and indeed she did not.

Bravo all round.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Superb, Magical Production
Review: I honestly do not know why the last reviewer was so negative about this production. While it is true that the box is cardboard, that hardly invalidates the production, and the video quality is perfectly acceptable (not as good as some DVDs, but much better than VHS).

The performance is excellent, with elegant, graceful dancing and, most important of all, superbly dynamic acting.

But the best thing about this production is the staging itself. It is pure magic. The set is one of the best I have ever seen, daring and creative and yet still traditional; the lighting effects are glorious, and the overall effect is one of mystery and fantasy. It seems to inspire the entire production with a wonderful passion and grace.

Makarova is the best (where, by the way, is her Swan Lake with Anthony Dowell?). I knew she would not do poor work, and indeed she did not.

Bravo all round.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Lovely Experience
Review: Like the other reviewer, I can't understand the Texas reviewer's complaints. I found this version of Swan Lake gorgeously staged, beautifully danced, and the music wonderfully played by the Danish Radio Symphony. My only complaint was that in the second half of the ballet, it was a little too dark to see the principal male dancer clearly, at times, as his costume blended with the background, a complaint not warranted to keep a person from buying and enjoying this beautiful performance again and again.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Lovely Experience
Review: Like the other reviewer, I can't understand the Texas reviewer's complaints. I found this version of Swan Lake gorgeously staged, beautifully danced, and the music wonderfully played by the Danish Radio Symphony. My only complaint was that in the second half of the ballet, it was a little too dark to see the principal male dancer clearly, at times, as his costume blended with the background, a complaint not warranted to keep a person from buying and enjoying this beautiful performance again and again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Schaufuss is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Oeverall the production is superb. Evelyn Hart is one of the most beautiful dancers. Her classical line were beautiful, she made the dance alive. Her Odette alone makes this DVD a must buy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Overproduced and Lackluster
Review: Overproduction and heavy use of repetitive "special" effects (such as Rothbart's enlarged and projected image "flying" over the heads of Siegfried and Odette) make this version of Swan Lake funny. Anorexia "survivor" Evelyn Hart's role as Odette/Odile makes watching the video painful. She is horribly gaunt and looks too fragile to be dancing: I was plagued with worries that she would collapse at any second.

Not worth the money, in my opinion.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: London Festival who?
Review: Talk about overrated. Don't trust the reviewers on this one. I have seen Swan Lake performed live several times, including by American Ballet Theater in New York and Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. This DVD is a pale immitation of those productions. The dancing is ok, but uninspired. The production values look dated. And Ms. Hart is certainly no Maya Plisetskaya, the best Odette/Odile ever. If you can find a video of her in SWAN LAKE, get it. If not, I'd suggest going with a DVD of an established ballet company like ABT, Royal Ballet, the Kirov or the Bolshoi.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Very poor picture
Review: The picture was so grainy, I thought something was wrong with my DVD/TV. But not so, when I put in other DVDs they had a great picture. The sound was good, but the picture was horrible.


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