Filming of "NY Export: Opus Jazz"

[Farrell Fan]

I saw it tonight on WNET, Channel 13. There was a surprising gentleness to it, and I liked it better than when I've seen it live in the theater. For one thing, nobody got thrown from a roof. Or did I miss something?

[rg]

the final 'throw' at the end of 'drumming' is tightly clipped in the film's edit.

the 'throw' is essentially out of frame; it's shown in the film as a lift, followed by a cut, greatly lessening and softening the choreography's usual, climactic stroke.

[DeborahB]

What happened? This Dance in America program is in all the TV listings for KCET/LA for 8 pm March 24, including KCET's own web site. Instead they are showing a Pavarotti special. Was it bumped in other cities, too? Has anybody heard if/when it will be rebroadcast?

Opus Jazz will be on KCET on 3/31 at 10pm.

[kfw]

I'll be brief, but our screening was followed immediately by a mini-documentary about the making of the filam. Included were comments by original cast members Eddie Verso, Sondra Lee and Eliot Feld. Verso oversaw the NYCB staging and spoke very solemnly about the importance of the right feeling. He got it, and it was captured by the filmmakers as well as it was in any live performance I've seen at NYCB.

. . . I won't say that I wasn't bothered by a few "body-parts-only" shots, but for the most part, we got long takes (especially by today's standard), whole groups, and enough context of the setting to make sense of what we saw.

The mini-documentary is in the PBS showing as well, and it was great to see footage of the ballet on the Ed Sullivan Show and shots of the Ballets U.S.A. on tour. As much as I admire the new production, I wish it didn't have so many long shots. The backgrounds alone make the choreography a little hard to see sometimes.

[SandyMcKean]

What happened?

It was shown last night as scheduled in the Seattle area (KCTS).

[volcanohunter]

The DVD is being released on November 22. Amazon is taking orders.