canbelto

I saw Ugetsu, and I agree it was a very beautiful, mystical film. I had a grandmother who was a devout Buddhist and I saw many Buddhist themes in the film -- rejection of material possessions, the need to suffer in order to achieve peace, spirits being with you even after they are gone. It was a bit like the Odyssey except without the happy reunion, which I find somehow fitting with Eastern philosophy. But maybe the best part of the dvd is the long documentary about Mizoguchi. It was interesting to find out that this "feminist" director was a great patron of the "pleasure districts." Also interesting to hear about his fanatical perfectionism, a trait he shared with Akira Kurosawa.

Paul, between Life of Oharu and Sansho, which do you recommend?

I rewatched Ikiru last night, and although you could say it was a bit corny, overall I thought it was one of the most moving films I've ever seen. It also has one of the most beautiful endings I've ever seen, with Watanabe singing peacefully on the swings. Don't not watch this film because it's not "typical" Kurosawa -- it's just as compelling and packs a huge punch. Ugetsu is en route, and I'll post my thoughts about them.

I'm going to state an unpopular opinion: I don't really like Laura Jacobs' articles. I always read them because they have interesting, provocative opinions, but I find her awfully long-winded, and her literary metaphors can sound very pretentious. She has fixations on certain dancers to the point where sometimes I feel like she could write a 500 page novel on the way they bourree across the stage.

Ironic, because in Backstage at the Kirov, Veronika makes a visible mistake in a batterie excercise, and her teacher, Dudinskaya, is not happy. She backs Veronika in a corner and you can tell poor Veronika is on the verge of tears.

It is so strange to see a non-Peter Martins type perform Apollo. Amboise actually looks a lot more like Lifar, who originated the role.

It's a classic double standard. For instance, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who led such an upstanding, conventional life , was very upset and discouraging about Zelda's attempts to become a writer, and he also discouraged her efforts to become a ballerina. Didn't Tamara Karsavina curtail her career to a large degree when she married the British diplomat.

Well in defense of Tennant that was a different time, when anything associated with the stage had a somewhat scandalous connotation. If Fonteyn had married a more upstanding Panamanian, she might have retired too. It was for the good of ballet history that Tito turned out to be a freeloading playboy. I remember reading Giulietta Simionato's biography. She always had a good voice, but her mother said she'd kill her (yes, it was a death threat) if Giulietta continued singing lessons and sang onstage. Her mother passed away when Simionato was young, which is why we even know about Giulietta Simionato. Perhaps that's why Balanchine didn't want his "girls" getting married. He grew up in a time when marriage often meant the end of a career.

I feel so incredibly lucky that we're going to get arguably the world's best Aurora and Giselle on film. Now if they'd release the Vishneva/Malakhov Giselle dvd in the U.S. that would be awesome.

I just got this from Johan Kobborg's website: they are going to film Sleeping Beauty!!!!!!!!!!!! The Giselle telecast is going to be in November. But ... a Sleeping Beauty with Alina Cojocaru. I'm in heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :foot:

I took everyones advice and am reading Robert Caro's The Path to Power.

I voted for Emeralds. I think I've mentioned in the other thread but I was absolutely enchanted by the ever-lovely Clairemarie Osta.

Wow it seems like the Bolshoi is the place to be for dancers. They've scooped up quite a few treasures the past few years.

Whoa does this mean Merkuriev has left the MT and Shipelevsky the Berlin Ballet?

Literary pun here: there's almost something quixotic about Farrell's quest to stage this ballet. She obviously believes very strongly in it, despite almost constant criticisms about the ballet's score and choreography.

The tall girl in Rubies was Marie Agnes Gillot.

Wow I am bummed about Umbrellas. I always thought part of the charm was that the singers did not sound like professionals -- the soundtrack had a warbly, "regular people singing" quality that I loved. Still doesn't take away from my love for the movie, though. I think, in general, that actors have a better time doing their own singing if they are not trying to imitate a specific person. For instance, Renee Zellwegger did fine as Roxie. It was not a great voice, but Roxie is not a star. But Joaquin Phoenix imitated all of Cash's mannerisms, but sang his songs in such a phonetic, monotone way that IMO he sucked the life out of the famous songs. Cash was inimitable. Witherspoon did better with June Carter because IMO June was a more generic singer. I mean, if there were ever to be a biopic on Billie Holliday, I sincerely hope that they do NOT have an actress try to imitate Holliday. That would be disastrous.

Great article, Helene. Thanks for posting it. This is going to take me back to Elia Kazan. I think what I find so disturbing about people like Kazan and Schwarzkopf (and Thomas Jefferson, for that matter) is that so much ugly behavior I often attribute to ignorance. Therefore, it really upsets me to the core when someone is obviously intelligent, thoughtful, yet behaves reprehensibly. For instance, Elia Kazan. His movies seem to indicate a person of great insight and compassion. He was able to draw out incredible performances from actors, and there are moments in his movies that never fail to touch me. The scene where Marlon Brando gently urges Eva Marie Saint to sip a beer, for instance. So it upsets me a lot to know that this person sold out his friends and colleagues, all for the sake of "business." And what's more, he wrote a long (and IMO disingenuous) defense of himself in the NYTimes, in his book, and finally on the Oscar stage so many years later, he still seemed unrepentant. So it bothers me. East of Eden, Streetcar Named Desire, and On the Waterfront are some of my favorite movies. But I feel what he did was wrong, and nothing's going to change my mind. I think I feel the same way about Schwarzkopf. This was an intelligent woman, obviously well-educated. She is not a personal favorite of mine, simply because I don't really like the sound of her voice. But her behavior bothers me a lot on a personal level. Artists like Hilde Gueden were actually approached by the S.S. for their Jewish background. Gueden supposedly had a passport that claimed she was a Polish Catholic. But my point is, artists suffered because of people like Schwarzkopf. Even Richard Strauss's family was tormented (and some of his family were actually interned) because Strauss was not obsequeous enough for the Nazis. And there were those artists (like Wilhelm Furtwangler, Clemens Krauss or Maria Reining) who personally helped endangered artists. Their acts of kindness were only exposed in later years. No one ever came forward and said Schwarzkopf helped him. From all accounts, this was a woman who played by the rules and was unrepentant to her dying day. And to those who say that totalitarian regimes often brings out the worst in human nature, I'd say that's probably true, but there are always the people who perform acts of personal kindness and courage. For example, my grandfather was an interpreter for the Japanese and he was stationed in China during WW2. He never sent a penny of his salary back home to his family, because he gave it all away to families in need. He found every way to exonerate people. I'd say he was a special person, but he wasn't alone. I think he was/is one of many people who don't lose their sense of morality even under harsh circumstances. Therefore I don't give Schwarzkopf a pass for her behavior. I do always have an "ick" feeling when I listen to her. But that's just me.

Is the singing in Umbrellas of Cherbourg dubbed? (This is someone who can barely think of the scene at the gas station without bawling.)

The way I view it is this: if someone has an axe to grind, they might have a very valid reason that is NOT jealousy, or dishonesty, or ignorance. For instance, let's say there's to be a documentary about Muhammed Ali. Now I happened to be mildly acquainted with a guy who's in the boxing business and for him, no greater man ever walked in shoes. Ali was the funniest, the kindest, the most bighearted guy you'll ever meet, the guy told me. He said he personally saw Ali pose for pictures and sign autographs while his hand was tremoring furiously for three hours. But you want to talk to Joe Frazier about Ali? I can guarantee Frazier has a lot of things to say about Ali that aren't very positive. And you can say that it's jealousy, it's spite, after all Ali did beat Frazier. But a lot of it could also be personal animosity, and that's valid. Ali certainly trash-talked a lot, he called Frazier a lot of names. So, if a documentary completely discounts anything Frazier has to say, I'd say it's a dishonest or incomplete documentary. Ok, Frazier might be bad-mouthing Ali, he might even be spreading gossip about Ali. But if Ali inspired that kind of animosity, then that says something about his character. He might be a wonderful person to his friends and fans, but everyone has a dark side, and Ali certainly took it out on his opponents. I feel the same way about Margot Fonteyn (or Tito, for that matter). Yes there might have been a lot of people jealous about Fonteyn. There might have been a lot of people who thought Tito was a good-for-nothing freeloader. And they might be biased. But I don't think anyone can ever be truly unbiased.

Meryl Streep would be wonderful. She excels in these kind of dark comedy roles. I think actors doing their own singing can be a hit or miss business. For instance I thought Reese Witherspoon sang wonderfully as June Carter but Phoenix sounded (and looked) so effortful in his attempt to mimic Johnny Cash.

Nureyev in the last years of his life had a Rottweiler named Soloria. It was originally Solor, but then Nureyev found out that he was a she, so she became Soloria. Of course this was in tribute to Nureyev's favorite ballet and the reconstruction that he had been so feverishly preparing of La Bayadere. And even though Fonteyn called him a "young lion" I stand by my conviction that Nureyev was the ultimate "dog" dancer. His tongue even hung out sometimes. And to take this metaphor further, let's take a look: My cat Irina Dvorovenko, a cat dancer Suzanne Farrell, a cat dancer My dog Diana Vishneva, a dog dancer Rudolf Nureyev, dog dancer

I mentioned this on another thread but Nero allows you to change the format from PAL to NTSC.

Watching that Sleeping Beauty film, it occurred to me that Alla Sizova and Yuri Soloviev were like golden retrievers. Blonde, beautiful, sunny, radiating warmth, and extremely athletic. Wendy Whelan: very much a cat dancer. Long, sinewy, with a stony inscrutable face. Watch her twist and turn and marvel.

What a great assessment! So true! I also think that there are 'dog' dancers and then there are 'cat' dancers. The dog dancers hold nothing back. They are always dancing 200%. They are an emotional tour-de-force. They often push the limits of good taste and form. Critics call them less graceful, perhaps more vulgar, undisciplined. Their fans love their heart-on-sleeves style. Dog dancers: Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, Lynn Seymour, Irek Mukhamedov, Carlos Acosta, Diana Vishneva. Then there are the cat dancers. They are a bit aloof and mischevious, and dance with a graceful perfection that is awe-inspiring. Cat dancers: Irina Kolpakova, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Suzanne Farrell, Svetlana Zakharova, Manuel Legris. To get back on topic, I've seen Marie-Agnes Gillot photographed with her two dachsunds.