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Review ARTHAUS / Coppelia [DVD] [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Lyon Opera Ballet
  • Kent Ngano
  • Lyon Opera Orchestra
Release date: 2001-09-28
Run time: 61 min.
Creator: Lyon Opera Orchestra
RRP: £24.99
Price: £22.74

Review Coppelia [DVD] [2001] / ARTHAUS:

This 1994 French TV presentation of Delibes' Coppelia reflects choreographer Maguy Marin's commitment to total theatre, seeking to find a fresh and exciting way of making ballet a rewarding experience on the home screen. One of the problems of filmed live ballet is the video presentation often fails to capture the experience of being in the theatre, something this dynamic production shot on location and in the studio circumvents in a highly visual way. Relocating Hoffman's tale of Doctor Coppelia's automaton and troubled young love to contemporary run-down urban France, the opening folk-dances are set around a hard-court game of football which unequivocally evokes the opening of West Side Story (1961). Throughout classical dance blends with modern, jazz, mine and physical theatre, while the adapted story offers a critique of the modern obsession with visual icons and the power of illusory fantasy over reality. Romantic, witty and filled with a surreal imaginative poetry in a lineage descended from the films of Jean (La Belle et la Bete) Cocteau and Michael (The Red Shoes, Peeping Tom) Powell, this is a Coppelia for anyone who enjoyed Mats Ek's Sleeping Beauty (1999). Purists be warned, Marin dispenses with half the score, making her version last just 60 minutes. On the DVD: The 1. 77-1 anamorphically enhanced widescreen picture is excellent, benefiting greatly from being lit and shot like a feature film rather than the video of live ballet productions. The PCM stereo sound is equally good, making this widescreen presentation technically superior to other TV classical music releases from the same date. There is a 12-minute interview with Marin (in French with English subtitles) in which she outlines her background, her idea of theatre, and explains her conception of the film and explores why she cut so much of the original ballet. [+]
Also included are trailers of four other Arthaus releases and a multi-language 24-page booklet with full credits and notes on Delibes, Marin, Nagano and the performance. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review Prokofiev / Ivan The Terrible [DVD] [2003]
Release date: 2005-10-03
Run time: 114 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £15.53

Review Ivan The Terrible [DVD] [2003] / Prokofiev:


Review Brahms / Gunter Wand 7 [DVD] [1997]
Release date: 2006-08-28
Run time: 81 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £10.89

Review Gunter Wand 7 [DVD] [1997] / Brahms:


Review DPTV Media / Riverdance: Live from Geneva [DVD] [2003] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actors & Directors
  • Joanne Doyle
  • Anthony Ferguson
  • Yolanda González Sobrado
  • Katie Maguire
  • Brendán de Gallaí
  • John McColgan
Release date: 2003-10-21
Run time: 115 min.
Creator: Serge Minkoff
Price: £10.41

Review Riverdance: Live from Geneva [DVD] [2003] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] / DPTV Media:


Review 2 Entertain Video / The Making Of Martin Guerre - A Musical Journey [VHS]
Actors & Directors
  • Juliette Caton
  • Iain Glen
Release date: 1998-03-23
Run time: 70 min.
Creator: Juliette Caton
Price: £10.99

Review The Making Of Martin Guerre - A Musical Journey [VHS] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Warner Home Video / Little Shop Of Horrors [VHS] [1987]
Actors & Directors
  • Tichina Arnold
  • Frank Oz
  • Ellen Greene
  • Vincent Gardenia
  • Rick Moranis
  • Steve Martin
Release date: 1999-10-01
Run time: 91 min.
Creator: Howard Ashman
RRP: £6.99
Price: £3.68

Review Little Shop Of Horrors [VHS] [1987] / Warner Home Video:

The off-Broadway comedy-horror-musical hit that ran for years makes a successful transfer to film with a bevy of big-name cameos and two perfectly cast leads. Rick Moranis is the nebbish Seymour, who pines for flower-girl Audrey (Ellen Greene) while living in the basement of florist Mr Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia). Things start turning around for Seymour, though, after he buys a little plant during a solar eclipse, christens it Audrey II, and discovers that it likes to drink blood. Soon enough, though, Seymour finds out that Audrey II, now grown to epic proportions, is in actuality a "mean green mother from outer space" that is hell-bent on world domination. Based on the 1960 Roger Corman cheapie that featured a young Jack Nicholson, Little Shop boasts a hilarious, amazing score by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who would go on to revitalise Disney's animation arm with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Greene, the lone holdover from the original cast, is a ravishing, goofy Audrey, whose awkward demeanour belies a voice that could knock Ethel Merman off her feet. She's ably matched by Moranis, whose lack of a singing voice is perfectly in sync with Seymour's nerdiness. And Levi Stubbs Jr of the Four Tops provides the low-down, nasty-minded voice of Audrey II; his rendition of the Oscar-nominated "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" is a showstopper. As for those celebrity cameos, Steve Martin's sadistic dentist is a masterful creation, as is Bill Murray's masochistic patient; John Candy, James Belushi, and Christopher Guest also pop up. And there was never a lovelier and funkier Greek chorus than the three Motown-fuelled girls (Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell) who appear throughout the film. [+]
-Mark Englehart, Amazon. com.

Review Felicity Lott / Voices Of Our Time: Feliciy Lott [DVD] [2004]
Release date: 2004-04-01
Run time: 91 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £19.58

Review Voices Of Our Time: Feliciy Lott [DVD] [2004] / Felicity Lott:


Review ARTHAUS / Hans Werner Henze - Memoirs Of An Outsider - A Portrait And Concert [DVD] [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Hans Werner Henze
Release date: 2003-03-25
Run time: 160 min.
Creator: Hans Werner Henze
RRP: £19.99
Price: £17.89

Review Hans Werner Henze - Memoirs Of An Outsider - A Portrait And Concert [DVD] [2001] / ARTHAUS:


Review Medici Arts / Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (Dessi/Borodina/La Scala/Rizzi Brignoli, 2000) [DVD]
Actors & Directors
  • Olga Borodina
  • Sergej Larin
  • Lamberto Puggelli
  • Daniela Dessi
Release date: 2009-02-02
Run time: 138 min.
Creator: Sergej Larin
RRP: £22.99
Price: £17.19

Review Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (Dessi/Borodina/La Scala/Rizzi Brignoli, 2000) [DVD] / Medici Arts:


Review Universal Studios / Mamma Mia (2008) (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol) [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actors & Directors
  • Pierce Brosnan
  • Amanda Seyfried
  • Colin Firth
  • Stellan Skarsgård
  • Meryl Streep
  • Phyllida Lloyd
Release date: 2008-12-16
Run time: 108 min.
Creator: Catherine Johnson
Price: £7.41

Review Mamma Mia (2008) (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol) [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] / Universal Studios:

The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing "Dancing Queen" is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding-because after reading her mother's diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she'd laid aside are coming back to life. But let's face it, the plot is not the point-it's a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep; every production number hammers its exuberance into your eyeballs. Which is too bad, because Mamma Mia! is a rarity: A middle-aged love story. The kids start things off, but the story is really about Streep and the three guys (former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard), as well as Donna's best friends (Christine Baranski, best known from the TV show Cybill, and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls). It's a romantic comedy aimed at the people who were around when all these songs were new, and that's an age group Hollywood largely ignores. For that alone, Mamma Mia! deserves to find an audience. [+]
-Bret Fetzer.

Review 20th Century Fox / Oklahoma [DVD] [1955] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actors & Directors
  • Gordon MacRae
  • Shirley Jones
  • Gloria Grahame
  • Fred Zinnemann
  • Gene Nelson
  • Charlotte Greenwood
Release date: 2005-11-15
Run time: 145 min.
Creator: Lynn Riggs
Price: £13.00

Review Oklahoma [DVD] [1955] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] / 20th Century Fox:

The hit Broadway musical from the 1940s gets a lavish if not always exciting workout in this 1955 film version directed by old lion Fred Zinnemann (High Noon). Gordon MacRae brings his sterling voice to the role of cowboy Curly and Shirley Jones plays Laurie, the object of his affection. The Rodgers and Hammerstein score includes "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top", "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "People Will Say We're in Love", and Agnes DeMille provides the buoyant choreography. Among the supporting cast, Gloria Grahame is memorable as Ado Annie, the "girl who cain't say no", and Rod Steiger overdoes it as the villainous Jud. -Tom Keogh.

Review Camel Productions / Camel Footage [DVD] [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Camel
Release date: 2005-02-21
Creator: Camel
RRP: £15.99
Price: £13.62

Review Camel Footage [DVD] [2004] / Camel Productions:


Review ARTHAUS / Handel: The Messiah [DVD] [1993]
Actors & Directors
  • Hilary Summers
  • Lynne Dawson
  • Alastair Miles
  • John Mark Ainsley
  • King's College Choir
Release date: 2000-10-31
Run time: 139 min.
Creator: Hilary Summers
RRP: £19.99
Price: £17.85

Review Handel: The Messiah [DVD] [1993] / ARTHAUS:

The most popular and well-loved of all Handel's great oratorios, The Messiah here receives warm if not exactly passionate treatment under the direction of Stephen Cleobury. This is a period-instrument performance featuring Roy Goodman and his Brandenburg Consort, although not one that aims at any inflexible authenticism. The four soloists are all of the first rank, as are, of course, the choristers of King's College, Cambridge. So, musically the concert's credentials are impeccable. The setting is the Pieterskerk, Leiden, which at least boasts a sympathetic acoustic even though its visual beauties are hidden in candlelit gloom. It must have been a charming evening for the audience, but the film version doesn't really have anything more to offer the home viewer than a few close-ups of the soloists and the occasional cutaway shot of an appropriate painting. Hence, this disc will be of interest if you want to see musicians giving a delightful performance instead of just listening to them; but it's no substitute for a good audio recording. On the DVD: This is a non-anamorphic widescreen picture, not the 4:3 ratio claimed on the back cover. The sound is only PCM stereo, there are no extra features, and the disc only has the most basic of menus. Chapter access is restricted to just three points. [+]
If you wish to select a specific aria or chorus you have to refer to the inside of the booklet and work out which track you need to jump to. And would it be asking too much for the libretto, either on screen or in the booklet? Overall, a very disappointing DVD presentation of an otherwise enjoyable concert performance. -Mark Walker.

Review Columbia TriStar / Funny Lady [DVD] [1975] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actors & Directors
  • Paul Bryar
  • Barbra Streisand
  • Colleen Camp
  • James Caan
  • Lilyan Chauvin
Release date: 2002-02-05
Run time: 135 min.
Creator: Peter Matz
Price: £5.62

Review Funny Lady [DVD] [1975] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] / Columbia TriStar:


Review Black Cake/Concertante / Black Cake & Concertante [DVD] [1997]
Release date: 2006-04-03
Run time: 56 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £17.83

Review Black Cake & Concertante [DVD] [1997] / Black Cake/Concertante:


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Elvis Presley - Elvis Collection [DVD]
Actors & Directors
  • Elvis Presley
Release date: 2008-11-03
Run time: 589 min.
Creator: Elvis Presley
RRP: £29.99
Price: £15.24

Review Elvis Presley - Elvis Collection [DVD] / Paramount Home Entertainment:


Review Opus Arte / Strauss: Die Fledermaus [HD DVD] [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Stephen Lawless
Release date: 2007-10-29
Run time: 198 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £23.35

Review Strauss: Die Fledermaus [HD DVD] [2004] / Opus Arte:


Review Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Don Giovanni - Mozart [DVD]
Release date: 2008-05-12
Run time: 160 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.70

Review Don Giovanni - Mozart [DVD] / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:


Review ARTHAUS / Weber: Der Freischutz [DVD] [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Hamburgische Staatsoper
  • Ingo Metzmacher
  • Jorma Silvasti
Release date: 2000-10-31
Run time: 160 min.
Creator: Hamburgische Staatsoper
RRP: £24.99
Price: £23.99

Review Weber: Der Freischutz [DVD] [1999] / ARTHAUS:

Der Freischutz spends much of its length being an amiable sing-along about young Max's need to win a shooting competition in order to be allowed to woo his sweetheart Agnes. It is charming and tuneful but not exceptional. It is only when the treacherous Caspar persuades Max to seek supernatural assistance and cast magic bullets with the aid of the demon Samiel that it suddenly becomes one of the touchstones of dark high-Romanticism. One of the strengths of this production is that Albert Dohmen's handsome and vocally impressive Caspar imposes a vivid presence at an early stage so that there is no sudden leap from one style to another. The Wolf's Glen scene is traditionally one in which the designer and director go over the top, and this production is no exception-strobes and sirens abound. Charlotte Margiano provides a soulful, slightly tear-stained Agnes; Sabine Rittersbusch makes the soubrette role of Annchen a source of real comic charm. The orchestral contribution is idiomatic and well served by vivid sound. -Roz KaveneyOn the DVD: The DVD comes equipped with scene selection and with subtitles in German, French and English; the menu is also available in Spanish. -Roz Kaveney.

Review ARTHAUS / Britten: The Turn of the Screw -- Schwetzinger Festival 1990 [DVD]
Actors & Directors
  • Richard Greager
  • Menai Davies
  • Sam Linay
  • Helen Field
  • Machiko Obata
Release date: 2001-05-25
Run time: 114 min.
Creator: Helen Field
RRP: £24.99
Price: £23.22

Review Britten: The Turn of the Screw -- Schwetzinger Festival 1990 [DVD] / ARTHAUS:


Models & Brands:
Coppelia [DVD] [2001], Ivan The Terrible [DVD] [2003], Gunter Wand 7 [DVD] [1997], Riverdance: Live from Geneva [DVD] [2003] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC], The Making Of Martin Guerre - A Musical Journey [VHS], Little Shop Of Horrors [VHS] [1987], Voices Of Our Time: Feliciy Lott [DVD] [2004], Hans Werner Henze - Memoirs Of An Outsider - A Portrait And Concert [DVD] [2001], Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (Dessi/Borodina/La Scala/Rizzi Brignoli, 2000) [DVD], Mamma Mia (2008) (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol) [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC], Oklahoma [DVD] [1955] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC], Camel Footage [DVD] [2004], Handel: The Messiah [DVD] [1993], Funny Lady [DVD] [1975] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC], Black Cake & Concertante [DVD] [1997], Elvis Presley - Elvis Collection [DVD], Strauss: Die Fledermaus [HD DVD] [2004], Don Giovanni - Mozart [DVD], Weber: Der Freischutz [DVD] [1999], Britten: The Turn of the Screw -- Schwetzinger Festival 1990 [DVD]

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