Adam - Giselle / Nureyev, Seymour, Mason, Bavarian State Balle

Romeo and Juliet (Royal Ballet)- Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn It's not a stretch to call Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn the most sublime of all dance partners and Sergei Prokofiev the most gifted 20th-century ballet composer. And so it goes without saying that the 1966 film version of the Royal Ballet production of Prokofiev's Romeo a...	Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake	The Perfect Partnership - Fonteyn and Nureyev Margot Fonteyn & Rudolf Nureyev.perhaps the greatest partnership in the history of ballet. For the first time, their most acclaimed performances, which have thrilled audiences worldwide, have been captured on one DVD. The program traces their partnership from its glorious incep...	Great Pas De Deux - Fonteyn, Nureyev, Makarova, Dowell, Baryshnikov, Bessmertova, and more Stunning performances by the greatest ballet partnerships of recent times. Includes pieces from Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and more, danced by such luminous pairings as Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, Cynthia Harvey and Mikhail Baryshnikov, Darcey Bussell and Jo...	Nureyev's Don Quixote / Lanchbery, Nureyev, Helpmann, Aldous, Australian Ballet This 1973 film treatment of the ballet classic Don Quixote has a spaciousness, a freedom of movement often missing when a staged ballet production is taped for television. It captures the art of Rudolf Nureyev at the height of his powers, both as a dancer and as a choreographer....
Don Quixote / Baryshnikov, Harvey, American Ballet Theatre Mikhail Baryshnikov's sparkling full-length production of Don Quixote captures all the excitement, Spanish color, and humor of Cervantes' original masterpiece. It is one of the most popular and joyful ballets surviving from the imperial Russian ballet's repertory. The famous virt...	Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty / Aurelie Dupont, Manuel Legris, Vincent Cordier, Nathalie Quernet, Laurent Queval, Paris Opera Ballet Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Choreographed and staged by Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa. Restaged by Patricia Ruanne The Sleeping Beauty remains, as Rudolf Nureyev often called it, the `ballet of ballets'. It is the most accomplished and the most brilliant, as well as o...	An Evening with the Royal Ballet / Nureyev, Fonteyn In An Evening with the Royal Ballet (1963), Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, the most famous ballet partnership of the 20th century, dance together in the first two numbers, a dreamily romantic treatment of Les Sylphides, with the choreography by Michel Fokine, and a dazzling p...	Rudolf Nureyev & Erik Bruhn - Their Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances (1961-1967)	The Nutcracker / Baryshnikov, Kirkland, Charmoli The American Ballet Theater version of the Tchaikovsky classic, a 1977 studio rendition directed by Tony Charmoli, has become a holiday perennial on PBS stations and home video. It's a favorite of parents who want to give their kids the gift of culture--and with good reason. The...

Andromeda
As an observer of art and appreciator of great artists, I found this to be a rare insight into the craft of these two dancers and how they did what they did in terms of their style. Anyone can dance and learn steps, but it is how these artists work that sets them apart. They become the characters and we forget they are real people. They bring us momentarily into this unreal fantasy world which they create so well. This is what I enjoyed about this performance. Lynn Seymour is a great dance actress and Nureyev is so intense that there is not a dull moment here.

Enjoyable, but maybe best purchased as an adjunct
This GISELLE is certainly enjoyable, and presents two of ballet's greats, but I personally would not toss it up as a first recommendation. The ballet is very cut, in fact the entire DVD clocks in at around seventy minutes. The entire peasant scene is removed from Act One. The production is attractive, but very studio bound, a real 70's video tape ambiance, and a mite cheap looking here and there. I must say I agree with the other reviewers here regarding Seymour - a wonderful dancer caught late in her career in a role physically not terribly congenial to her at this time (she plays Giselle's mother in the trashy-but-fun film DANCERS, shot a few years after this.) There is a wanting of ethereal quality in Act Two. That said, her sincerity is often quite arresting, and she is a fine balletic actress, so this can still be a fun performance if you don't look too hard. I know I will be creamed for this, but I am not terribly fond of Nureyev in this particular outing. The technical skill is of course prodigious, I am less happy with him dramatically here. He does some sardonic faces here and there that border on camp, and for a couple of reasons (some I won't say out loud) he and Seymour aren't the most plausible love couple, even in balletic terms. The Myrtha of Monica Mason is excellent, cold as ice, hard as diamonds, and technically dazzling. A good group of Wilis too, the initial ensemble is taken at a rather rapid clip, and the corps rise to the occasion quite well. Fans of these particular dancers will want this and should treasure it. For those looking for a good basic GISELLE video, there are other choices that might be more satisfying.

Flawed, yet heartfelt Giselle
First things first: I would not recommend this as anyone's first Giselle. The simple reason being that at this point in her career, the role of Giselle was simply beyond Lynn Seymour's technique and physique. Giselle in the second act is supposed to be ghostlike, almost floating through the air. Lynn Seymour was famous for her excellent dramatic abilities (she was Kenneth MacMillan's favorite ballerina) but throughout her career she struggled with weight issues and injury and repeated pregnancies. By 1978 (when this film was made) she is frankly out of shape. The many overheard lifts, so crucial to Giselle, have to be modified. Yet look hard enough, and you'll see the traces of a great Giselle. Lynn Seymour's Giselle is perhaps the most naturally peasant-like. In her first act dances she conveys a bubbly wholesomeness that is endearing. Not really a classical ballerina in the tradition of, say, Margot Fonteyn, Seymour dances with her whole body. In the Mad Scene, she lunges wildly, she cackles, she clings desperately to Albrecht, and she truly TUMBLES to the ground. She also has lovely feet and an enchanting smile. The main reason to get this Giselle is as a document of Rudolf Nureyev's peerless Albrecht. It's hard to make Albrecht look like anything other than a manipulative, selfish jerk, but Nureyev manages to garner sympathy, through his sheer warmth and ardency. Albrecht was the role that made him famous both at the Kirov and then at the Royal Ballet. There are so many little touches to Nureyev's Albrecht that I love. For one, he truly PRAYS to Myrtha for forgiveness; you can understand, for once, why Giselle wants to save him. In the Mad Scene he doesn't just stand there, slack-jawed. Remorse fills his face, and he hugs Giselle tightly. Technically Nureyev is also very impressive: in Act 2 he does a beautiful series of entrechat-sixes. His pirouettes are as ever erratic, and he clearly has trouble lifting Seymour, but like most Soviet-trained dancers he's a beautiful leaper. Mostly, he really makes Giselle a story of a young man's redemption. There is almost something spiritual in his frenzied humility in Act 2. The production is typical of ballet films of the time: small sound stage, paper trees, but at least the director doesnt try anything fancy (unlike the 1969 ABT film, which constantly cuts away and films at odd angles). Another reason to get this dvd is the Myrtha of Monica Mason. She is one scary, sinister Myrtha.

A True Classic In Mint Condition
If someone wanted to know what a classic performance was, this would be a great example. This performance and presentation are nearly perfect. The image quality is great and the sound quality is excellent. The only flaw is that the color intensity is a little weak, which gives it a slight sepia appearance, which is not really a bad thing for a period piece. The orchestral version used here is a little unusual. It may be the edition they used. It has a very clear chamber orchestra quality enhanced by excellent microphone placement and good engineering. The peasant pas de deux is actually danced by Seymour and Nureyev, themselves, typically Nureyev. The choreography he uses for this part is quite interesting. Nureyev is in classic form here and he looks like he's enjoying himself, as is the rest of this excellent cast( the corps, too!). Nureyev was a very fine ballet actor and his mime(which includes all non-dance modes of expression) is great here. In the beginning of the first act he is very amusing in the way he tells his servant not to worry about his little adventure to come. Because this is in such great condition and a great performance, it is a fine choice for all audiences.

MISCAST, YET INTERESTING
Having been a true balletomane for the past 45 years, I have, I think, seen many of the greats. Three of them are starring in this studio version of GISELLE. Nureyev is, well, Rudi. Remember this was 1979 and he was truly at his heights, but I always thought that he was always, well, Rudi. His acting is ALWAYS the same, his (lack of) emotion is ALWAYS the same. Gratefully there's only one rondejambe in the whole piece. Seymour was one of the great dramatic ballerinas of all time, but short and had a stocky torso. This killed it for me. Her line was beautiful...but short. She seemed more "stage-born" than air borne and was a tad, dare I mention it, long in the toe-shoe for the role. The best, by far, was Monica Mason as the Queen of the Willis. What dancing! What drama! What a face! She is an exquisite woman and I remember her dancing leads in SWAN LAKE as well as ROMEO and JULIET. She made this viewing more than worthwhile. She joins the "Myrtha" pantheon of Toni Lander and the beyond spectacular Martine Van Hamel as one of the greatest Myrta's ever. For the novice I think this is a lovely introduction to the ballet. It is abridged and the "friends pas de deux" is eliminted completely in act one. For the "maven" one is better off w/the ABT or Royal versions. Sorry.Jeff