Nutcracker

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

Every year there seems to be on variations on "Christmas Classics" There is always new "twist" done to "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol", "Groundhog Day", "The Gift of the Magi" and even variations on "The Nutcracker"

The Nutcracker has been done as "A CARTOON" " A movie with no dancing" "A Semi-Musical" and even on "On Ice" This film however is not a twist it is just a beautiful filmed version of the famous ballet.

Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, like the Stowell-Sendak stage production on which it is based, is presented as Clara's coming-of- age story. It depicts Clara's inner conflict and confusion, as well as the beginning of her sexual awakening, as she approaches adolescence; similar themes occur in many of Sendak's books.

The film especially emphasizes the darker aspects of Hoffmann's original story and the significance of dreams and the imagination. The cinematography, by making considerable use of closeups and medium shots, attempts to bring viewers closer to the psychology of the main characters.

For the film's soundtrack, Sir Charles Mackerras conducted the London Symphony Orchestra at the Watford Town Hall in London in a new recording of Tchaikovsky's score. The passage for chorus was performed by the Tiffin School Boys' Choir. The soundtrack also includes the "Duet of Daphnis and Chloe" from Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades, performed by Cathryn Pope and Sarah Walker. Telarc released the complete soundtrack on compact disc, coinciding with the release of the film

This film however was not met with great reviews upon its initial release. They were okay at best. It was a huge box office bomb taking in less than $1 Million during its entire run. However since 1986 the film has developed a following and it is easy to understand why.

The soundtrack / orchestra is perfect. You will never hear the score sound better. The staging and costumes are wonderful. Its was directed with such craftsmanship that even if your NOT a huge ballet lover (Which I am not) you will be swept into the scope of this production. If you stumble across it on TV once you watch 10 seconds your hooked. That is what happened to me.

On home video however the film has never had a great release. The original VHS that was released by Paramount was only out for a short time and went out of print. It was later released by GOODTIMES home video and it was in the dreaded LP speed and lacked the stereo mix that the Paramount release had.

Even today the film has never had a DVD release that was worth buying. When MGM finally released a DVD they used an old master that was most likely from the Paramount Home Video release some 25 years earlier. What worked for a VHS release doesn't work for a DVD. In fact its not even a Pressed DVD it is a MOD DVD which makes the picture even softer! Plus is was in the old 4x3 (Pan and Scan) format. Most films released on DVD are presented in the Widescreen Format if the movie was shot in that format. "The Nutcracker" was shot that way but MGM was to cheap to re-master the film. So we get a DVD that is soft and at times un- focused. The stereo soundtrack however is very good. There is however room for improvement if there is a future blu-ray release.

I doubt a blu-ray release will ever see the light of day. Even if MGM wants to release a blu-ray the film will most likely need to have a restoration. I hope it gets one.

On the bright side HD-NET a cable/satellite channel does have a respectable transfer of the film that they show. It is 16x9 and the sound mix is great and its also in stereo. Now why hasn't MGM used this transfer for a DVD is beyond me.

Now back to the film itself. It is the best presentation that has ever been put on film! The only thing wrong is there is no "Mother Ginger in this production". The colors and costumes are as eye popping. The orchestra is one that will put others to shame.

For years Video Stores (if they had a copy) reported that this was a huge rental during the holidays!

A few years later Warner Brothers decided to make their version of the film! Just like other remakes the film industry thought they could do another film and do it better. So in 1993 they released a "Bigger Budget" production.

That version was not 1/2 as good. The only thing it had that the 1986 version didn't was Macaulay Culkin and Mother Ginger.

Catch this 1986 Version! Its worth seeing.

This picture is billed as "Nutcracker: The Motion Picture", but really it's a cross between a movie and a live ballet performance. They make some use of the freedom of camera movement and more elaborate sets to enhance a ballet, but really it's just a ballet performance with no wait between set changes.

That said, this is pretty darn good. The dancing is excellent, of course, but I'd like to see the Kirov or Bolshoi Ballet (or even the Joffrey) do a film like this, rather than the Pacific Northwest Ballet. The sets and costumes (by Maurice Sendak, the famous author of "Where the Wild Things Are"), are superb...for a stage performance, but not for a movie. The overall effect is basically of a PBS special production of the stage ballet.

If you like the grace and beauty of the world's most famous ballet, you'll like this film. If you like Tchaikovskiy's amazing music, you'll like this film. If you like gorgeous ballerinas prancing around on their toes (and hey, who doesn't), you'll like this film. If you can't stand to sit through a ballet, you won't necessarily be converted by this film, however, but the ability to hit "pause" on the VCR and go get a beer might help.

One other thing. I have no idea if this is included in the theatrical or video releases, but when I saw this late at night on WGN-TV in Chicago, Tony Randall appears between acts and provides commentary. Why, I have no idea, but it looks tacked-on at the last minute.

Short, short summary: Fun costumes, hot chicks in tu-tu's, and good music. Everything you'd expect from a great ballet performance, but they could have done so much MORE with this as a movie...

Of all the productions of the Nutcracker I've seen, this one would win my vote for best picture out of the batch. It's very well focused with regards to the actual storyline. Good thing I taped it while I had the chance.

This has to be one of the best filmed adaptation of the Christmas classic! Talented people in front of and behind the camera, from director Carroll Ballard to choreographer Kent Stovall, collaborated to bring to life this immortal tale of magic and music.

Clara, a young girl, celebrates the holiday with her family. On Christmas Eve, her uncle Drosselmeyer gives her a Nutcracker. Unbeknownst to her, it's no ordinary Nutcracker and her normal home is transformed into a battlefield between toy soldiers and giant rats! I advise you to find a copy of this (if it's still available on video) or check your TV listings during Christmas. A film spectacle of this magnitude shouldn't be missed! It's amazing how this achieves telling a story without much dialogue, except for the narrator. The visuals are astounding, partly achieved by renowned children's author Maurice Sendak. This is worthwhile!

Set on Christmas Eve, a young girl named Clara recounts a dreamlike evening involving her Godfather, Drosselmeyer, and an adventure with a magical Nutcracker.

Nutcracker: The Motion Picture is an adaptation of the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) production of The Nutcracker from 1983 that featured production design and costuming by Maurice Sendak. Despite Sendak initially turning down the opportunity as he didn't like the largely plotless nature of the ballet but would change his mind when company director Kent Stowell said they'd work the concept from scratch and adapt more of the themes from the source novel, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann. An immediate critical and commercial success, it wasn't long before executives from the Walt Disney Company convinced Stowell and Sendak to adapt their version of The Nutcracker to film. Filmed on a tight budget, the team had initially wanted to incorporate more elements from the Hoffmann story for the film version (namely the "Hard Nut" plot element often omitted from adaptations) but due to the rushed nature of the production and the producer's desire for something cheap for the Christmas season this didn't come to pass. Given mixed reviews from critics and largely ignored at the box office, the film mostly came and went without much fanfare. Despite not really leaving a lasting impact, Nutcracker: The Motion Picture probably ranks among the better adaptations of the ballet for film.

From the opening scenes in Drosselmeyer's workshop to the production design that features more elaborately designed take-offs on the stage production, the Sendak designed production does an adequate job of creating a surreal environment that's whimsical while also possessing some more unnerving elements. Going back to the Hoffman source novel, Sendak and company have tried and mostly succeeded in giving the largely anemic Nutcracker a more psychological bent focusing on Clara's coming of age and the distance she takes from Drosselmeyer no longer being a child. There's certainly a lot to read into there (especially since in the original stage production Drosselmeyer was portrayed as something of a "dirty old man" before being reworked as a distant loner obsessed with toys and whimsy) and it doesn't dive especially deep into that side of things, but it does add some more subtext to something that originally was largely plotless. In terms of the dancing and staging, director Carroll Ballard does a solid job of adapting the wordless stage production to film, keeping the world familiar while also incorporating more dynamic camera work and a sense of immersion in the world. The choice to keep the sets and props deliberately artificial looking may have been done due to budget reasons, but it actually does work to the film's advantage and helps immerse the viewers in the dreamlike atmosphere of the production.

For those who aren't enamored with the Nutcracker I don't think this will change too much of your stance on it, but for me personally it's probably the best way to experience it on both a stylistic and thematic level. Sendak's production and costume designs are beautifully realized emphasizing both bright whimsy and darker surrealism Carroll Ballard captures and films the dances and world quite nicely.