Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo
by Daniele Finzi Pasca, Jocelyn Barnab?, Hugo Gargiulo, Antonio Vergamini, Teatro Sunil
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Antonio Vergamini, Daniele Finzi Pasca, Hugo Gargiulo, Jocelyn Barnab?, Teatro SunilBrand: Sony
Composer: Michel A. Smith
Composer: Daniele Finzi Pasca
Composer: Maria Bonzanigo
Composer: Roger Hewett
Composer: Philippe Leduc
Composer: Jean-Fran?ois Cote
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-11
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo
Movie Review: Entertaining, but not CDS's best
Summary: 4 Stars
I finally sat down and watched the DVD of Cirque du Soleil's Corteo that I got for Christmas. I had the opportunity to see the show live in 2007, so it wasn't entirely new to me. I'm also a big Cirque du Soleil (CDS) fan, and have seen five other shows. However, I wasn't particularly impressed by Corteo, but decided to get the DVD to round out my collection.
The word "Corteo" comes from the Italian word "cortege," meaning a funeral procession. The show centers around a character called "The Dead Clown." As he lays on his deathbed, his life as a circus performer flashes before his eyes. The show follows the Dead Clown through his memories and ultimately, to his death.
Corteo itself it's bad, but it's definitely not up to the usual CDS standard. It's also a bit of an oddball because it features vintage costumes, more traditional circus themes, more subtle music and is staged in-the-round. New CDS fans will be completely enamored by the sweeping acrobatics, traditional circus flair and the easily accessible story. Hard core CDS fans, such as myself, will enjoy the twists on acts like the ladder, juggling and highwire, but will cringe at the heavy use of spoken English and the reliance on steady narration to more the "plot" forward.
By far the best act here is the chandeliers. It features four woman performing a trapeze-like act on three chandeliers. It's highly creative, exciting and perfectly executed. However...this was the very first act of the entire show. Even though there are some other great acts here such as the cyr wheels, paradise trapeze act and aerial straps, there are too many weaker moments that slow down the show's overall momentum.
I thought that Corteo was filmed better than most of the other CDS shows. It didn't switch camera angles every two seconds (but was very close) and didn't insist on constantly repeating tricks in slow-motion. The biggest surprise here was how different the DVD is from the live version I saw. This DVD was filmed on Corteo's third tour stop, so I think it was filmed too early in the tour process. It takes time for these shows to mature, so it's doubtful that this DVD captured the best possible version of Corteo. Also, note that the acrobatic duet is not included on this DVD. Instead it has the rhythmic gymnastics, which is not as good as the duet and has not been performed in Corteo for a long time. Also, the aerial straps act is a solo on the DVD, while the version I saw, as well as the current version, features a duet.
The DVD extras were much better than the older CDS DVDs like Saltimbanco, Quidam and Alegria. Yet, I felt like they were fairly average compared to newer CDS DVDS such as Varekai and La Nouba. They consisted of the "Teatro Intimato," a vaudeville-like clown act that was kept out of the DVD, "A Day in the Life of Corteo Artists," a short documentary about a Corteo couple's day in Corteo and "Creating Corteo," a short documentary about the show's creation.
The biggest problem I had with this DVD was the menus. Each menu had animation that only lasted for about five second before restarting. It's very annoying and frustrating when you are trying to read all of the options and the animation keeps looping. There are also no English subtitles.
Overall an entertaining and enjoyable show, but not as inspiring and powerful as CDS's other projects.
Summary of Cirque Du Soleil - Corteo
Bring home the magic, artistry and phenomenal acrobatics of Corteo, the latest Cirque du Soleil show, captured in high definition. Corteo, which means 'cortege' in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.Fans of the fantastic Cirque du Soleil know that a DVD of a performance can only approximate the sensory experience of being there, but Corteo nonetheless will hold fans spellbound. The loose thread of theme is of a clown who dreams he's dead, and is at his own funeral--so Fellini-esque processionals of angels, jesters, animals, musicians, cannibals, and other-worldly sprites seem perfectly appropriate. The most breathtaking segments include, as always, the sheer athletic prowess and fearlessness of the acrobats and gymnasts. One early scene shows fairies literally swinging from giant chandeliers--then tossing them about and gyrating within them so that at any minute they seem likely to spin into the audience, Phantom of the Opera-style. Other performers take simple hoops and turn them into Olympic-level endurance sport-equipment, by spinning inside, outside, around, and on top of them. Another highlight includes a dream sequence of every kid's fantasy: jumping on a bed that somehow magically becomes a trampoline--and the jumping "kids" incorporate spins, dives, even leaping across the stage onto the other bed and back. There's wily Cirque humor, too: one funereal procession includes four pairs of empty shoes, walking perfectly believably in synch behind shoes occupied by human mourners. The extras are, if anything, even more gripping, including Through the Curtain, a making-of documentary that includes interviews with first-time Cirque director Daniele Finza-Pasca, and some of the early choreography and practice sessions while routines are crafted and honed. Advice the director gives to one of the hoop gymnasts: "Talk to the ring... hold it like you would the horns of a bull!" And let the magic begin. --A.T. Hurley
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