Search - Sacre Printemps/Der Feuervogel/Miraculous Mandarin on DVD

Le Sacre/Firebird/Miraculous Mandarin

Sensei | USA | 10/31/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for a ballet performance, don't get this. The transfer is really bad and the sound quality is similar. Also, the performances are re-choreographed into a more "modern" (?) setting and it just ruins it.
I'm not familiar with The Miraculous Mandarin ballet, but I believe that may be re-cheoreographed as well since it looks much more modern with lights and clothing. It looks bad and I feel ruins the music since it deviates from the original.
There's a better performance of the Firebird on BBC Opus Art DVD. Also the quality is fantastic.

Although this is the only ballet performance of Le Sacre on DVD, it's not one to add to your collection. I actually am lucky to have a VHS bootleg of the original (!) ballet that was pieced back together in the mid-80s, including a documentary on how they found some of the original ballet cheoreography and information and put it back together almost entirely accurate to the original. This performance and documentary was aired at some point on TV that one of my teacher's recorded. If they could only put this performance on DVD.....

Have patience and wait until a better performance comes out."

Poor Transfer

James B. Jordan | Niceville, Florida | 10/11/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this for The Rite of Spring, since as yet this is the only performance of that ballet on video. The storyline in this performance deviates from the original. Additionally, the transfer from the original is sloppy, and all rapid arm and leg movements dissolve into little squares. We'll have to wait for an adequate video of this famous ballet."