Tales from the Lives of Marionettes
By November 21, 2005
Why would a filmmaker simply film an opera? Many admirers of Michael Powell’s have assumed that the decision to make The Tales of Hoffmann, in 1950, was in Read more »
- United Kingdom
- 1951
- 127 minutes
- Color
- 1.33:1
- English
- Spine #317
SYNOPSIS: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger create a phantasmagoric marriage of cinema and opera in this one-of-a-kind take on a classic story. In Jacques Offenbach’s fantasy opera The Tales of Hoffmann, a poet dreams of three women—a mechanical performing doll, a bejeweled siren, and the consumptive daughter of a famous composer—all of whom break his heart in different ways. Powell and Pressburger’s feverishly romantic adaptation is a feast of music, dance, and visual effects, and one of the most exhilarating opera films ever produced.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Hoffmann | Robert Rounseville |
| Stella/His Ladylove/Olympia | Moira Shearer |
| Nicklaus | Pamela Brown |
| Cancer | Edmond Audran |
| Councillor Lindorf/Coppelius/Dapertutto/Dr. Miracle | Robert Helpmann |
| Luther | Meinhart Maur |
| Kleinzach/Cochenille | Frederick Ashton |
| Andreas | Philip Leaver |
| Nathaniel | John Ford |
| Spalanzani/Schlemil/Franz | Leonide Massine |
| Bank clerk | Alan Carter |
| Giulietta | Ludmilla Tcherina |
| Pitichinaccio | Lionel Harris |
| Antonia | Ann Ayars |
| Crespel | Mogens Wieth |
Credits
| Director | Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger |
| Written, produced, and directed by | Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger |
| Based on the opera by | Jacques Offenbach |
| English libretto by | Dennis Arundell |
| Musical director | Sir Thomas Beecham |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis |
| Art director | Arthur Lawson |
| Editing | Reginald Mills |
| Associate producer | George Busby |
| Assistant director | Sydney Streeter |
| Choreography | Frederick Ashton |
| Assistant choreographers | Alan Carter and Joan Harris |
| Recorded by | Ted Drake |
| Camera operator | Freddie Francis |
| Production design | Hein Heckroth |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Audio commentary by director Martin Scorsese and film music historian Bruce Eder
- New video interview with director George A. Romero
- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1956), a short musical film directed by Michael Powell, based on the Goethe story
- Rare collection of production designer Hein Heckroth’s design sketches and paintings
- Gallery of archival production and publicity photographs
- Original theatrical trailer
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Plus: a new essay by film historian Ian Christie
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
The Tales of Hoffmann
By June 16, 1992
Of the 18 movies made by the filmmaking team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, none was as personally and artistically fulfilling as The Tales of Hoffmann. This Read more »
Features
Gothic Riots:
The Work of Hein Heckroth
By November 30, 2009
The following essay was originally written for Criterion’s website in 2005, on the occasion of the DVD release of Powell and Pressburger’s The Tales Read more »
