DVD Talk review of 'Nutcracker'
02-24-06, 03:14 PM
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DVD Talk review of 'Nutcracker'
I read Daniel W. Kelly's DVD review of Nutcracker at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=13798 and...
The haloing that Mr. Kelly is referring to is not a defect. It is a spotlight on the dancers. The lighting changes, especially in Act II, but this is not due to the transfer; the lighting changes are deliberately part of the production. (For instance, there is a very noticable change just before Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland dance their romantic and sad Pas De Deux near the end, as Drosselmeyer tries to bring her back to reality. The lighting then changes back to full lighting for the finale.)
There's also an error in the review. In this production, Fritz does not break the Nutcracker. Fritz is the blonde young man waving the sword and riding a hobbyhorse. A drunken guest at the party accidentally pulls the head off the Nutcracker. Most of the online reviewers of this version make the same error, but it's an understandable one since in the original ballet it is Fritz who breaks the Nutcracker. It is only in the Baryshnikov version that the drunken guest (an unnamed character, BTW, and not even listed in the final credits) breaks the toy.
The DVD looks wonderful, much better than the recent PBS broadcasts of this production.
The haloing that Mr. Kelly is referring to is not a defect. It is a spotlight on the dancers. The lighting changes, especially in Act II, but this is not due to the transfer; the lighting changes are deliberately part of the production. (For instance, there is a very noticable change just before Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland dance their romantic and sad Pas De Deux near the end, as Drosselmeyer tries to bring her back to reality. The lighting then changes back to full lighting for the finale.)
There's also an error in the review. In this production, Fritz does not break the Nutcracker. Fritz is the blonde young man waving the sword and riding a hobbyhorse. A drunken guest at the party accidentally pulls the head off the Nutcracker. Most of the online reviewers of this version make the same error, but it's an understandable one since in the original ballet it is Fritz who breaks the Nutcracker. It is only in the Baryshnikov version that the drunken guest (an unnamed character, BTW, and not even listed in the final credits) breaks the toy.
The DVD looks wonderful, much better than the recent PBS broadcasts of this production.
Last edited by AlbertDVD; 04-14-06 at 11:10 AM. Reason: Error in review
