Romeo and Juliet (Royal Ballet)- Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn
by Paul Czinner
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Blair, Desmond Doyle, Julia Farron, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf NureyevDirector: Paul Czinner
Cinematographer: S.D. Onions
Producer: Paul Czinner
Editor: Philip Barnikel
Writer: Kenneth MacMillan
Writer: William Shakespeare
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Classical, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: Academy Ratio, 1.33:1
Running Time: 124 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
Movie Reviews of Romeo and Juliet (Royal Ballet)- Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn
Movie Review: This is THE definitive performance
Summary: 5 Stars
Having seen most of the available DVD versions of Romeo and Juliet, I still greatly prefer the more traditional MacMillan choreography, which sticks closely to Prokofiev's original conception in his scoring, to either Nureyev's idiosyncratic 1995 Paris National Opera, with Loudieres and Legris, or Grigorovich's radically revisionist 1988 Bolshoi, with Bessmertnova and Mukhamedov.
I'm not a dancer, and will leave appraisals of technique and skill to other reviewers. I always appreciate Ivy Lin's very perceptive and engaging discussions of many ballet performances, and several other reviewers have added helpful commentary here.
For those who are interested in the music of Prokofiev, conductor John Lanchbery's reading of this score is one of the best and most satisfying ever recorded on either film or CD; for reasons that I've never quite fathomed, Prokofiev often tends to be badly misunderstood by many Russian conductors. (And by all means avoid any Russian attempts at Stravinsky, which in my experience tend to be uniformly uncomprehending.)
Conducting for ballet is always a little tricky - do you adjust the meter and dynamics to suit the choreographer and ballet master, or do you make them adjust to your reading of the score? Here Lanchbery, choreographer Kenneth MacMillan and ballet director Frederick Ashton have worked together with each other and with film director Paul Czinner in perfect harmony to produce the best possible integrated performance of music, dance, acting, and film, of any ballet that I'm aware of.
Yes, acting. As Ms. Lin suggests, Nureyev's sensitivity as an actor is at least as accomplished as his skill as a dancer. Fonteyn magically sheds her years to become 14 years old again, entirely inhabiting rather than 'playing' the role of Juliet.
Pay particular attention to both David Blair as Mercutio and Desmond Doyle as Tybalt. Blair's teasing and mocking demeanor is wonderful throughout, the best on film. Doyle's cold haughty rage, in his every stance and expression, is a wonder to behold. His Tybalt has never been equaled or even approached in any other performance of this ballet. The choreography and the dancers' gestures, large and small, in the entire fight scene are a major highlight of this production and put all other versions to shame.
As many reviewers have suggested, Kultur Video has here (as with all of their releases) simply made a direct transfer to DVD not from Czinner's original film stock but instead from their unfortunately rather grainy VHS print, with no attempt having been made to remaster the video copy. I have no idea who owns the rights to this Embassy Pictures film, but a remastered edition of this irreplaceable performance taken from film stock is desperately needed.
For those viewers who care more about audiovisual clarity - you know who you are - than the quality of the performance itself, I recommend the 2000 Ferri/Corella/La Scala release over the 1984 Ferri/Eagling Royal Ballet, both of which use the traditional MacMillan choreography. The 1984 Royal Ballet is very nicely done; the 2000 La Scala is superb in all respects - dancing, acting, 'chemistry', sets and costumes, orchestral conducting and playing, and filming. But neither can hold a candle to this 1966 Fonteyn/Nureyev performance.
Summary of 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 and Juliet featuring Nureyev and Fonteyn as the star-crossed lovers is an absolute must-have for anyone who cares a whit about the art. Director Paul Czinner has made all the right moves, alternating between full shots of the performers with long shots that accentuate how Kenneth MacMillan's fastidious choreography is inexorably linked to the characters, their story, the elaborate sets, and the viewer. Nicholas Georgiadis's costumes are sumptuous without being overdone, the supporting dancers and ensemble are as exquisite as the leads, and John Lanchbery conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House with just the right mixture of joviality and tragedy that Prokofiev's classic score needs but doesn't always receive. --Kevin FilipskiMusic Video & Concerts DVD Video
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