Don Quixote

This evening on tv I was fortunate to have my first viewing of the acclaimed 1973 ballet film, Don Quixote, and was completely enthralled. Usually I considered most ballets as rather monotonous gymnastics carried along by the music, but this one was definitely something far superior. Nureyev's lighthearted rendering of the Don Quixote tale was charming and quite funny at times, a nice departure from his more serious roles. There are not enough superlatives to describe the excellent dance sequences, you really have to see it for yourself. Robert Helpmann showed much insight into his role as the elderly Don, and gains our sympathy and compassion throughout. Humor abounds. Outstanding and very well done!

I looked forward to this opportunity to see Nureyev's Don Quixote on PBS 30 years after it was made.

It is marvelous-- beyond compare. Ballet has not been this good in many, many years. While Nureyev's whirling jumps are breathtaking, it is his delicate footwork that is spellbinding. I have not seen anyone to compare. It seems as though no one even tries to be this good anymore.

The most delightful surprise of this film is Lucette Aldous, who plays Kitri. I had never heard of her. But the diminutive New Zealander is as good a ballerina as I have ever seen. The partnering between her and Nureyev is magical.

Even if the legendary Nureyev were not in this movie, Ms. Aldous' performance by itself would have made this one of the best ballets I have seen. Notwithstanding sharing the stage with the Russian ex-patriot, Ms. Aldous' strength is a sight to behold. Her pointe work is spectacular and sustained.

The two stars are well supported by other members of the Australian ballet.

The camera work is excellent, with overhead shots giving a perspective unavailable in the live theatre. The set is interesting and the dancers master stairs and other landscape features.

This gem of a movie replaces the Kirov at Wolf Trap as the best dance performance I have seen on television.

Don Quixote may not be one of the great ballets like the 3 Tchaikovskys, Giselle and Coppelia but it is a very, very good one. The ballet is generally well served on video/DVD, and this Rudolf Nureyev production is one of the best. The costumes and sets are detailed and colourful, and while the picture and sound are not mind-blowing they are better than some of the other ballet productions seen recently. The camera work is good also. The music is not one of the greatest or most memorable ballet scores but it is cleverly orchestrated and pleasant-sounding. The orchestra seem to think so because they play beautifully with fluid lines and legato and great musicianship. The conducting has authority and a sense of pulse, keeping things alive on stage while not rushing things through. The choreography syncs very well with the music, as always with Rudolf Nureyev it is highly musical, has many recognisable steps and has a real elegance to it. Nureyev is definitely the performer you'll remember most after seeing, he is so charismatic and expressive and he dances so gracefully and powerfully. Though Robert Helpmann is very dignified in the title role, and Lucette Aldous is a very charming and elegantly danced Kitri, a really nice surprise. To conclude, for Nureyev and ballet fans this Quixote is a gem. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I have now seen three incredible ballet films, and I am under the impression that these are not only the three best, but the only ones worth seeking out.

One is "Red Shoes" which does a terrific job in merging cinema and dance, both in the story and how the camera moves. Another, the very best of the three is the Maddin "Dracula," sublime, seductive, exhausting. And this. British, Canadian, Australian.

This is by far the most technically brilliant, honest, risky of the three. It is the one around which lives revolve. It is historically unique and important quite apart from being fantastic.

But as a film it is a bit maddening. This is the restored version I am commenting on here and the restored state is distractingly uneven. What a shame. But you can largely ignore that after the first viewing, the poor sound effects, the sometimes muddy focus, the wildly uneven color.

There's another distraction, though. This was danced by Nureyev, but also staged, choreographed and directed by him. And he just doesn't understand the camera. Rather he understands it poorly as a matter of an integrated movement of the eye, because there are some segments where he leaves the stage and enters a state where the composition could only be seen by a moving camera.

Only once is the lighting cinematically effective, before he and his lover meet the gypsies. The rest of the time it is stage lighting. As many times as we have a brilliant flash of cinematic genius we have doltish decisions.

Well, never mind, excepting the first scene the overall effect is transporting, quite worthy of your investing a part of your soul. I only wish I had seen it as a disembodied sprite in the not then completed opera house.

You will fall in love. You will. Yes.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.