Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302919752
Format: Color
ISBN: 6302919754
Label: Homevision
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Homevision
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Homevision
Release Date: 2001-09-21
Running Time: 128
Studio: Homevision
Theatrical Release Date: 1951

A brilliant integration of dance, story, and music," is what Variety calls this lavish screen adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's phantasmal opera. Robert Helpman (Henry V) and Moira Shearer (The Red Shoes) are included among bravura performances from some of the greatest ballet dancers and opera singers ever to grace the stage or screen. Lovingly restored, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's glorious production includes twelve minutes cut from the original theatrical release. The Tales of Hoffman
Jacques Offenbach died with his masterpiece not quite finished, and that has made The Tales of Hoffmann a predestined victim for adapters who have dropped some numbers, inserted others, altered the plot, fiddled with the casting, and changed the order of scenes. It has survived and kept its essential identity through many adaptations because its music is so witty and compelling, its imagination so vivid and varied, its story of the poet Hoffmann's unhappy loves so intriguing they can transcend such tinkering.

A critical performing edition prepared by musicologist Michael Kaye has made it possible to come close to Offenbach's original intentions after more than a century of misunderstanding, and major companies have begun to use that edition, but so far no universally satisfying production of it has reached video. An Opera de Lyon production, using Kaye's research but with a radically untraditional staging, has won wholehearted approval from some fans but unequivocal rejection from more.

As adaptations go, this 1951 film is the best compromise currently available on video and will always be a classic in its own right, even when a more faithful treatment becomes available. It drops some of Offenbach's music and includes some that is spurious, and it changes the plot (Hoffman's beloved Stella is made a dancer--Moira Shearer--not a singer). But at least it treats the story with affection, imagination, and technical expertise. The music presents only highlights of the score, but it is in the hands of a great conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham. The movie is essentially the work of the same team that produced The Red Shoes (directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger); it has the same kind of imaginative appeal and its technical resourcefulness is still exciting, still on the cutting edge despite its age. I expect eventually to add a more faithful Tales of Hoffmann to my video collection, but I will never stop enjoying this one. --Joe McLellan

Customer Rating:
Summary: TCM Version Preferred
Comment: While this dvd is magnificent, if you want a more complete version of this film, record it from TCM in February 2009 when TCM shows a version that runs about 15 minutes longer. Knowing Criterion's high standards, I don't see why Criterion couldn't have given us the more complete version.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Tales of Hoffman
Comment: A treasure! If only for the two rare and marvelous acts by the incredibly lithe and lovely Moira Shearer. The video quality is surprisingly good, also.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: EXTRAORDINARY IN EVERY WAY ! ! !
Comment: Criterion pulled out all stops with this incredible release - well worth the wait and price. Absolutely glorious Technicolor, a flawless print, and an abundance of informative extras.
I can't recommend this beautiful film enough. It will be a crowning jewel in any film lovers collection!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Five stars and Five Wows!!!!!
Comment: Wow!!!!! What a great film!!! I love this opera and this film tells the story with a magic impossible on stage. Sung in English with English subtitles and other narrative devices, you will see Hoffmann for the first time clearer than ever. Highly recommended!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Tales of Hoffmann
Comment: Truly worth the premium price, this is a gorgeous recreation of a fascinating movie I had not seen for over fifty years. The restoration and transfer are beyond reproach, and the movie itself is even more interesting and engaging than I remembered. Extras are first-rate, and this is a welcome addition to the Powell and Pressburger Technicolor collection - did any producers do better and more pioneering colour work on such modest budgets. It might even be worthwhile seeking out "The Elusive Pimpernel" and "Gone to Earth", which I have never seen...

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