Rating: 
Summary: Not just a great movie - an epiphany
Review: I am a huge fan of Broadway musicals and have always thought them to be our modern operas, while believing that the older, classical operas were stuffy and outdated. This movie opened my eyes, and I can see for the first time the sublime beauty, passion, and power of classical opera. Now, if only the same could be done for all the major classical operas! I am so blown away by this movie version, I fear I might feel disappointed if I see a stage production. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I watched this, which is something I can say about only a few of the best Broadway musicals. Watching the movie is enhanced by a good sound system.
Rating:
Summary: A great adaptation to the big screen
Review: I am not a fan of stage-to-screen opera. I like opera and Butterfly ranks as my favorite. Most film adaptations lose something in the translation. This doesn't. The scenery and actual Japanese locations add to the story line. It's a pleasure to see Butterfly finally being performed by a petite and demeure gal as she was created by Puccini and not some 300 pound hefer of a soprano trying to cavort all over the stage. No wonder Pinkerton left that cow! I would! Seriously, the story is beautiful, the music superb especially Un Bel Di, and the acting is great. Pinkerton is portayed as the two-timing S.O.B. as he is to the hilt. A great adaptation to DVD! The videography is superb!
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite
Review: I cannot imagine a better movie treatment of Madama Butterfly than this. In fact, it may be a long time before another one is attempted, simply because this is one tough act to follow. The setting, the costumes, and above all, the casting ... it is so obvious that everything in this production was planned and executed with tender loving care.
My teenage niece was captivated by this opera (after telling me she wouldn't like it!) She has since bought her own copy and it has opened up a whole new world for her.
This DVD never fails to give me goosebumps ... even when I just THINK about some of the scenes and arias!! It accomplishes the essential B and P of opera--Beauty and Passion--wonderfully. "Madama Butterfly" is one of my three favorite operas on DVD--the other two being "Otello" with Placido Domingo, and of course, Ingmar Bergman's "Magic Flute."
Rating:
Summary: A classic interpretation of Madame Butterfly
Review: I have seen many videos of Madame Butterfly and I am delighted to own this one. Filmed on location, this wonderful production gives reality to this tragic story. Pinkerton was perfect for the role - amazingly believable, with great acting ability as well as a good voice. Butterfly was also perfect in the role - a delicate, fragile flower with an excellent voice to match. The two together made magic. Goro, the marriage broker, was appropriately sinister, and the Consulate appropriately confused about how to handle this situation.The down-side, however, was the director's creative license, which detracted quite a bit from this wonderful production. Two scenes in particular come to mind which I feel Puccini would have rolled over in his grave if he had seen them. The first one was the three flying ghosts at the wedding, who admonish Butterfly for converting to Christianity and marrying a foreigner. A real stupid interpretation, since the original libretto called for for a real-live angry uncle crashing the wedding. The second, which I feel was an even worse offense was after the Flower Duet, when Butterfly and Suzuki wait for Pinkerton throughout the night. That musical scene in the opera is haunting and is usually depicted with lighting effects. The director took liberties at this point to insert black-and-white vintage footage of 19th century Japan. Not only did this detract from the beauty of the scene, but the clips were paced much faster than the music. He could have used his creativity instead to display a Japanese sunset, beautiful visual scenes of Japan, or just use effective lighting instead of changing the mood altogether. There were also two musical pauses, which were not in the original score, that broke the cadence of the music and brought you into reality with a thud. Totally unnecessary and detracted from the flow of the music. Generally speaking, even with these shortcomings, the entire production was a magnificent achievement and I would recommend it to anyone, especially to beginners who have never seen an opera.
Rating:
Summary: Can't get enough
Review: I own the VHS version of this opera production and can't wait to have the DVD copy. I have watched this many times along with other video Butterflies. It is the most realistic and tender of any that I have seen. Butterfly is just right, not some large woman with a lot of makeup. Her voice is beautiful and this version is so much more sympathetic. Troxell's Pinkerton comes across as a slightly nicer cad than the Domingo version. I wore out my VHS and so hope to keep this new one around for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: This film version will spoil you.
Review: Is it possible that a film adaptation of an opera can actually surpass a staged version? In the case of this Madame Butterfly, I would have to answer with a resounding YES. I've seen this opera a couple of times in opera houses. Each performance was beautiful, of course. But it wasn't until I saw this film that this masterpiece truly came alive for me. The film is stunning. Puccini's gorgeous music, the singing, the cast, the scenery... everything about this film is perfection itself. If you have even the slightest interest in opera, please do yourself a huge favor and wallow in this film. Make sure to have a hankie on hand, and that goes for you guys too. My only regret is that this Madame Butterly is unavailable on DVD, I hope Sony Pictures gets around to it soon. If ever a movie deserved to be on DVD, Madame Butterfly certainly does.
Rating:
Summary: The best tearjerker ever made !!
Review: It rips the heart out of your chest, throws it on the floor and stomps on it. You go away feeling brokenhearted, but very satisfied with the excellence of the story.
Rating:
Summary: A Deeply Moving Production of Remarkable Beauty
Review: Madam Butterfly is the story of a young Japanse woman of great determination who marries an American sailor in the Japan of a century ago. The haunting tale is captured in the delicate and poignant music of Puccini. Scorsese's production is remarkable no only in the excellence of its sound but in its visual power. It brings Pinkerton (her husband), Butterfly, and traditional Japan to life. I believe that all those who know and love the opera will be enthralled by this production and that those new to opera will find no better place to explore it.
Rating:
Summary: A Deeply Moving Production of Remarkable Beauty
Review: Madam Butterfly is the story of a young Japanse woman of great determination who marries an American sailor in the Japan of a century ago. The haunting tale is captured in the delicate and poignant music of Puccini. Scorsese's production is remarkable no only in the excellence of its sound but in its visual power. It brings Pinkerton (her husband), Butterfly, and traditional Japan to life. I believe that all those who know and love the opera will be enthralled by this production and that those new to opera will find no better place to explore it.
Rating:
Summary: PUCCINI'S BUTTERFLY MORE BEAUTIFUL ON FILM
Review: Martin Scorsese's cinematography is utterly unparralleled in his filming of the beautiful Puccini opera "Madame Butterfly". It is with a reserved caution that I say it surpasses any staged version of the opera I have ever seen! I say that cautiously so as not to offend those die-hard traditionalists, myself having been one. Scorsese transports us to an authentic Japan and his photography captures all of the intricate details and beauty for the setting of one of the worlds most beautiful stories. The film is so real that one is truly moved to tears by the end and emotionally overwhelmed. The mixed cast of both Asian and Western singers makes it even more beliebable. Soprano Ying Huang sings and acts delicately the fragile geisha who will wed the American lieutenant Pinkerton, sung by American Richard Troxell. Both are aptly cast in the film and compliment one another. Ying Huang plays the child-like Butterfly accurately as the composer would have intended. Troxell is handsome, charming and plays well the role of a not so nice character, leading Butterfly to believe he will one day return to Japan and take her back to America. He's so charming, in fact, that at times one feels he may have a change of heart along the way. From the beginning of the film with the torii standing in the Nagasaki harbor through the duration of the film, much in the leased 100 year paper and wood house built for Butterfly, one experiences many visual nuances. Scorsese can even film the softness of a breeze blowing at sundown through the house, captured by flowers moving in the dimming sunlight in a vase. The only fault I can find with the film, and it's considerable enough to detract from the overall experience, is the very unrealistic Bonze flying down from the sky at the end of the wedding ceremony. It looked somewhat foolish, considering the rest was unprecedented. Of the many filmed scenes, one that was effectively done was at the end of the opera, where Scorsese created a bad thunderstorm around the time Butterfly committed hara-kari and just at the time Kate and Sharpless pulled up in a carriage in the pouring rain to have Suzuki push the child out of the house and picked up by the Americans to be returned with his father to the States. Lastly, the cowardly Pinkerton runs into the house hoping to once more see Butterfly, but rather finds her dead on the floor. Scorsese captures the intense awkwardness and ambivalence of this moment that closes the film. In my review, I've talked little about the music or the voices. Puccini's music was sung convincingly by the cast and particularly Ying Huang and Richard Troxell, who both had great acting ability as well. But the true essence of this production was the filming and Scorsese's ability to capture so many delicate moments through the use of cinema. Please do yourself a favor and watch this beautiful opera, but rather on film as an alternate to the stage. Highly highly recommended!
|
