A common man's point of view.

Hey Guys, What would you think of a female who would let you mate with her, and after she was satisfied, killed you and ate you? Sort of grotesque, you say? I didn't come up with the idea. It happens in nature all the time. And, it happens in the very first segment of this ballet, called "The Dragonfly Ballet". The female Dragonfly devours the male after they mate. Boys AND Girls, I hope I have your attention, for that was the whole point of my first sentence. "Tales of Hoffmann" is a ballet about......Tales....... You may wonder, as I have for most of my life, what the tales of Hoffmann means. For instance, who is Hoffmann? I admit I didn't know, but remember, I'm just a common man. Hoffmann is THE E.T.A. Hoffmann who wrote the famous fairy tales we have grown to love, the most famous of which is "The Nutcracker". This beautiful ballet is adapted from the opera "The Tales of Hoffmann" by Jacques Offenbach, which tells the story of the poet Hoffmann, and his three ill fated love affairs, all of which end tragically. He even loses Stella, the ballerina who dances the part of the Dragonfly in the opening segment. In this tale he is about as hapless as the unfortunate male Dragonfly. Hoffman is played and sung by tenor Robert Rounseville who also played the part of Mr. Snow in the Movie version of "Carousel". Playing the parts of The DragonFly and the mechanical doll "Olympia" in the first "Tale", is Moira Shearer, who was made famous by her part as the ballerina in "The Red Shoes". Her voice is dubbed by Dorothy Bond. In the second "Tale" his love is "Giuletta" played by Ludmilla Tcherina Dubbed by Margherita Grandy. The third "Tale" lover is "Antonia" played and sung by Ann Ayars. The other dancers and actors are Robert Helpmann, Lenide Massine, and Frederick Ashton, all with dubbed voices. This Transfer from film to DVD is so good you can actually see the pores of the skin on some of the actors. It is as close to high definition as you can get on a standered Def DVD. You will not find better color and use of color on any DVD. The sound is extremely good Dolby Digital but Monaural, and the aspect ratio is 1.33:1 full screen. The run time is 127 minutes and was filmed in 1951. There are several extras including a 13 minute "Sorcerer's Apprentice" (not Disney), and a complete re-run of the program with comentary by Martin Scorsese and film-music historian Bruce Elder, and more. You get your money's worth with the purchase of this DVD. I enjoyed this ballet/opera immensely....Richard.Read full review