Les contes d'Hoffmann

I was privy to two views of Powell and Pressburger's THE TALES OF HOFFMAN before watching it: filmmaker Martin Scorsese's passion for the film, stemming from childhood, and critic Imogen Sara Smith's confession that she found the movie "airless." Most viewers seem to agree with Scorsese. There is no doubt that the visuals are imaginative and gorgeous: if you loved the ballet sequence of THE RED SHOES, then this gives you two hours' worth of that same expressionistic sublimity.

However, unlike THE RED SHOES, HOFMMAN is a much colder experience. For a film about the joys and sufferings of love and desire, the whole thing is quite remote, never reaching the emotional depth of other Powell and Pressburger films. The whole thing feels overlong and if you aren't an opera fan, you aren't likely to take to the music either.

The three sequences which make up the runtime are uneven: the Olympia story is whimsical and fun though a touch overlong; the Giuletta sequence is gothic and well-paced; the Antonia sequence is just about the worst. Olympia and Giuletta benefit from having charismatic performers at their center in Moira Shearer and Ludmilla Tcherina, but Ann Ayars lacks any real personality as the dying songstress, making the last section such a drag to sit through.

By the time the film came to its close, I was more than ready for it to be done with. No doubt, a lot went into the sets, costumes, special effects, and camera work. I must also give a shout-out to Robert Rounseville as Hoffman: he carries himself well throughout the long running time. But I'm sorry to be the naysayer: when a movie is over two hours long, I need more than gorgeous visuals to see me through it.

TALES OF Hoffman – Powell & Pressburger This colorful film adaptation of an by Offenbach is a musical in the truest sense, meaning every bit of narrative and dialog is put forth by means of song. I am not in general the biggest fan of such endeavors, but it works quite well for this film, although some of the love paeans may be outstaying their welcome.

In the story a poet – Hoffman – tells in episodic fashion about the many times that he has loved and lost. There have been several films made with such a theme but Hoffman stands well apart because of the Goth-fantastic nature of the narratives. Hoffman, in turn, falls in love with Olympia - a puppet, Guiletta - the temptress of a soul-stealing demon, and Antonia - a singer doomed by fatal consumptive illness.

This narrative is complemented by the brilliantly supportive artistic design of the film. The makers construct a deliberate stage-like ambiance, with the use of representative backdrops, suitably exaggerated props and striking motifs to convey the settings and moods of the various episodes. In this aspect it shares strong kinship with Masaki Kobayashi's period ghost story anthology Kwaidan. You also have the concept of the same actor returning to play different parts in the various episodes of Hoffman's life, the most notable of which is Robert Helpmann who portrays the sinister element in all the episodes (and with his vampiric menacing look, does a terrific job of it, although his motive for evil in the Antonia episode goes unexplained).

The fantastic elements of the plot, color-drenched distinctive look, intricate balletic choreography and excellent fit of all the actors in their roles make Tales of Hoffman a very interesting watching experience on the whole.

One of my caveats with the film is that Hoffman's companion Nicklaus is never properly explained. Who is this woman in man's garb and why is she doing what she does?

Powell and Pressburger made this overblown opera a few years after their ballet film, The Red Shoes. Featuring good performances from Robert Rounsville, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann and Pamela Brown and some fantastic images; plus that great music from Offenbach (not always easy to follow the stories but they are enjoyable) and lots of garish Technicolor. I think Olympia might be my favourite of the stories but I did find them all equally excellent. Hard to categorise this movie but in the P&P canon it stands as one of their best.

I'm not a fan of ballet but I've always loved Powell and Pressburger's THE RED SHOES (1948); so, naturally, I've been looking forward to this one ever since it was first announced - years ago - as a Criterion release! However, THE TALES OF HOFFMANN features the added element of opera; indeed, the entire film is sung!

On first viewing, my reaction to it was mixed: it's impossible not to be impressed by the visuals (particularly the stylization of Hein Heckroth's colorful and imaginative designs) but, since I'm no expert in classical music, I wasn't bowled over by Jacques Offenbach's score (apart from the celebrated "Barcarolle" piece) - especially since the lyrics, despite being an English translation, aren't easily followed! However, listening to it with the Audio Commentary, I could better appreciate the way it was made and the special effects that were adopted; especially interesting was the fact that it was filmed silent, thus allowing freer camera movement. The main cast, apart from Pamela Brown, is made up of ballet performers and opera singers - with the former, mostly recruits from THE RED SHOES, carrying the more compelling screen presence.

The framing story - featuring an additional ballet composed by the film's conductor Sir Thomas Beecham - is a bit short, so that we mostly learn about the characters played by Robert Rounseville (as Hoffmann) and Robert Helpmann through their various guises in the former's three tales (which are themselves variable in quality):

i) the "Olympia" sequence, highlighting Moira Shearer and Leonide Massine, is overlong but quite charming; Helpmann's distinctive features are rather buried under some quaint make-up - though his violent destruction of Shearer (who plays a doll) makes for a quite unsettling moment!

ii) "Giulietta" is the best and most interesting sequence, but also the shortest: Ludmilla Tcherina is a very sensuous heroine, while Helpmann and Massine are wonderful (and wonderfully made up) as respectively an evil magician and a (literally) soulless officer under both their spell; this sequence features some incredible imagery - like Tcherina's reflection in water picking up the aria she is singing, her walking over sculptures of dead bodies, Rounseville and Massine's saber duel set to music (i.e. presented without any sound effects) and the scene in which Rounseville loses his reflection when tempted in front of a mirror by Tcherina

iii) the "Antonia" sequence is again too long (it was severely cut in the original U.S. theatrical release) and, because it's mostly straight opera, emerges as the most labored segment: Massine is pretty much wasted here, while Ann Ayars is nowhere near as captivating as Shearer or Tcherina; however, Helpmann's belated entrance as the satanic Dr. Miracle takes the sequence to another level, and especially memorable here is the scene where Ayars exits a room only to re-enter it from another door (which must have inspired a similar incident in Mario Bava's KILL, BABY, KILL! [1966]) and the one where Ayars and Helpmann's dancing figures are divided into four to fill up the entire screen - with the latter taking each of his guises in the different segments and, likewise, the former being replaced with the heroines of each tale (Moira Shearer appears twice here as she also plays Stella, Hoffmann's love interest in the framing story!)

The Archers' films are among my favorites - though I was somewhat underwhelmed by I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945; I still haven't purchased the Criterion SE), THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE (1956; amazingly, both of my two attempts to view it in the past have only managed to put me to sleep!) and, now, THE TALES OF HOFFMANN. I've yet to watch 4 of their collaborations - CONTRABAND (1940; I've been tempted, time and again, to buy Kino's bare-bones DVD but the over-inflated price always got in the way!), THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL (1950), GONE TO EARTH (1950; this troubled production isn't likely to see the light of day on R1 DVD anytime soon, but is at least available via a budget-priced R2 edition), and their last 'musical' together OH, ROSALINDA! (1955). I would also like to watch Powell's solo films HONEYMOON (1959) and BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE (1964), which are yet two more musically-oriented ventures.

I liked the Red Shoes more, but Tales of Hoffmann is still an excellent Powell & Pressburger movie. While I did have trouble understanding the English opera (my first one at that), the episode character lists really helped. It's interesting to note that as Hoffmann tells his tales, the women in each episode become more "real." It did seem to drag on a bit at times, but I think it might be one of those movies that looks better with a second or third viewing. Still a wonderful and dazzling movie with amazing set & costume designs & expertly directed.