Blu-ray
The tales of Hoffmann
Call Number
- BLU-RAY MUSICAL (CEN)
Edition
Blu-ray special edition.
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Robert Rounseville, Ludmilla Tcherina, Pamela Brown, Ann Ayars ; additional singers: Monica Sinclair, Bruce Dargavel, Fisher Morgan, Rene Soames, Dorothy Bond, Grahame Clifford, Murray Dickie, Margherita Grandi, Owen Brannigan, Joan Alexander,
Publication Information
[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2022]
Physical Description
1 videodisc (133 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 folded sheet (color illustrations ; 17 cm)
Audience
Not rated.
Uniform Title
Summary
"Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger create a phantasmagoric marriage of cinema and opera in this one-of-a-kind take on a classic story. In Jacques Offenbach's fantasy opera, The Tales of Hoffmann, a poet dreams of three women--a mechanical performing doll, a bejeweled siren, and the consumptive daughter of a famous composer--all of whom break his heart in different ways. Powell and Pressburger's feverishly romantic adaptation is a feast of music, dance, and visual effects, and one of the most exhilarating opera films ever produced."--Container.
Notes
Based on the opera by Jacques Offenbach.
Originally released as a motion picture in 1951.
Special features: 4K digital restoration by The Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive, in association with STUDIOCANAL, featuring newly rediscovered footage and with uncompressed monaural soundtrack ; audio commentary from 1992 by filmmaker Martin Scorsese and critic Bruce Eder, newly updated by Eder ; interview with filmmaker George A. Romero from 2005 ; The sorcerer's apprentice (1956), a short musical film based on the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe story and directed by Michael Powell ; collection of production designer Hein Heckroth's design sketches and paintings ; gallery of production and publicity photographs ; trailer.