Movie Details
| Title: | The Tales of Hoffman | |
| Director: | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | |
| Year: | 1951 | |
| Genre: | Musical | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 11.10.18 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (2)
- The Red Shoes
- The Small Back Room
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 11.10.18 | DVD | This Screening is part of event: DVRfest 2018 Stack 1 position 7: spine 317. Woof. This is what I was afraid The Red Shoes would be: a full two hours of 100% unapologetic opera. There was a point, maybe twenty minutes in when the "prelude" ended, that I seriously wondered how I was going to make it through the whole two hours. Really the only thing that did it was marveling at the various cinematic tricks they used to augment the opera for the screen. I mean if you're going to film an opera then this is the way you do it. It's just a shame that I'm so averse to it as a genre. I think I don't have enough appreciation for the music so I need more story and the story is nowhere near fast or intricate enough for me. I mean, This movie is about three women this dude Hoffman loved: a puppet who comes apart, a possessed courtesan who tries to steal his reflection, and an opera singer (original) who dies of consumption. The end. And to make matters worse, the movie explains each act in text in the beginning! So from a story perspective, I was bored senseless. Again, I have the utmost respect for this film... it's masterfully made... opera fans should see it and own it (probably on blu, the dvd had vibrant colors but some artifacting), but it's not for me. That's a hard lesson learned. Ok. Dinner time. I'm hoping to fit two more movies in tonight, so I think I'll only roll the dice once more then switch to a horror movie for midnight. So let's see what's... Next. |
