Product Description

Angels and sugarplums. Candy canes and ice. A magic prince, a dreamy young girl, a mysterious old man and a Christmas tree that grows sky high. Enter the world of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, featuring the New York City Ballet, and let this all-new movie version of a timeless Yuletide fantasy, narrated ny Academy Award(R) winner Kevin Kline, draw you under its spell. Starring Macaulay Caulkin, Darci Kistler and Bart Robinson Cook. Year: 1993 Director: Emile Ardolino Starring: Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Caulkin, Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5431 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 1997-11-19
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.com
Tchaikovsky's timeless Yuletide ballet is presented in an all-new movie version with as much eloquence as one would find in a live stage production. Replete with gorgeous costumes and scenery, George Balanchine's production, adapted by Peter Martins, features the New York City Ballet with narration by Kevin Kline. From the moment the Nutcracker prince winds toymaker Drosselmeier's life-sized dolls, viewers are ushered into the captivating story of a little girl's Christmas Eve fantasy of beauty, magic, and sugarplums. While several versions of this beloved tale are available in video, this one is distinguished for the magnificent performances of a large cast of young ballet dancers from the School of American Ballet. While Culkin lends his star-studded name, that is all he lends in what is mostly a wooden performance (he often appears on the sidelines looking quite blasé and detached). More deserving accolades go to Jessica Lynn Cohen as Marie, whose genuineness never wanes and dance steps never falter. Bart Robinson Cook is wonderful as the playful Herr Drosselmeier, and Darci Kistler is the graceful Sugarplum Fairy. Mostly this film belongs to children--both on the stage and in the audience. What is lacking in spontaneous energy of live theater is made up for in a perfectly polished performance. The only thing missing is the well-earned applause. --Lynn Gibson

Customer Reviews

Outstanding Choreography
"The star of this company has always been choreography"--Peter Martins

Peter Martins, Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet (NYCB), makes an excellent point, and this is one of the most compelling reasons to give serious consideration to this particular version of "The Nutcracker." George Balanchine's choreography is commendable for its musicalness. He used to say, "The music comes first," and this ballet features an outstanding musical score by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This video is not just a dance film, but also a feature film that played in theaters. Movie star Macaulay Culkin plays the Nutcracker. He was formerly a student at the School of American Ballet (SAB). Other children from SAB also dance in this production, including Jessica Lynn Cohen as Marie. The principal dancers are Darci Kistler as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Damian Woetzel as her Cavalier, Kyra Nichols as Dewdrop, and Wendy Whelan as Coffee--these talented NYCB artists bring out the expert detail of Balanchine's choreography.

This production was taped in a studio setting, not during a live performance. Consequently, there was ample opportunity for multiple outtakes until they got everything just how they wanted it. There are no bobbles, tiny mistakes or slips on the stage by the dancers. The same is true for the orchestra, and they play with finesse. The dancing is not only good technically, but also theatrically. (It is my general impression that dancers put more emphasis on their facial expressions in feature films than in live performances, and this video is no exception.) There is another thing about this title that makes it special: it is a fine all-around production. There are nice costumes and scenery. There are some expert comedic touches here, not corny stuff like the dancing chickens that are found in another famous ballet. The camera angles are well thought out, and there are also some very effective video special effects used, such as slow motion. A libretto is provided in the form of narration. Overall, this is a high quality production.

There is a comprehensive analysis of this title in Robert Greskovic's book, "Ballet 101: A Complete Guide to Learning & Loving the Ballet." He writes, Balanchine's Nutcracker "records the American production that was probably more responsible than any other for giving rise to the nationwide popularity the ballet possesses in the United Sates in the twentieth century. This is the production devised by Balanchine in 1954, recalling the staging he was brought up with when he was a young student and dancer in St. Petersburg (1915-1924)." (p. 254) Greskovic's excellent book is also for sale at Amazon.com.

There are many different commercial versions of this ballet available, and this is one of the best to choose from. Some have a Sugar Plum Fairy, and some don't. In those that don't, Sugar Plum's parts are acquired by Marie, who is usually much older in age. Although Darci Kistler and Damian Woetzel's performance in the grand pas de deux is enjoyable, I personally prefer the versions where Marie and the Nutcracker Prince dance the part together instead, because it seems more natural to me that the two main characters dance the musical climax. Unfortunately, the productions that omit Sugar Plum often do not include children in them, and I find that the early numbers in act one work better with real children, rather than adults posing as children. So, it's usually a tradeoff. I particularly enjoy the NYCB corps routines to "Waltz of the Snowflakes" and "Waltz of the Flowers"--featuring Balanchine's outstanding choreography. Many young dancers from SAB appear in this film, and that makes it attractive to young children. This is an excellent production for the entire family to enjoy together....

Impressive production; all-around fine performance; good DVD
All things considered, I have to say that this is quite an enjoyable theatrical presentation of Balanchine's "The Nutcracker." Looking at "the show" itself, its most rave-worthy characteristic is how well the team of Peter Martins (ballet master), Emile Ardolino (director) and Ralf Bode (cinematographer) collaborated to actually "choreograph the camera" to the movements of the performers. Thanks to a talented movie crew and an incredible amount of consideration given to viewing angles (read the description in the disc's "special features"), the TV always seemed to be showing exactly what I wanted to look at on the stage. Add in some nice work by Industrial Light & Magic, decent narration, and a top-notch production team, and the result is a superb presentation.

From a performance standpoint, I'd give this an A-minus mainly because the versions of "The Nutcracker" I've seen most often cast the Nutcracker Prince in a much more active role dancewise. Still, everyone else did a fantastic job. Noteworthy were the Pas de Deux by the Cavalier (Damian Woetzel) and Sugarplum Fairy (Darci Kistler), and the powerful dance presence of Coffee (Wendy Whelan). The other "Sweets" performed very well also. So long as you try not to picture Macaulay Culkin as a ballet dancer, you'll be okay. Let's face it: you can't expect the little guy to measure up next to the NYC Ballet, but he is there to add a little star appeal and possibly sell ballet to your kids (which may not be a bad idea). Nuff said. By the way, the younger performers from the School of American Ballet were wonderful.

Regarding disc features, the DVD has some cool stuff to offer: two viewing formats, 30-scene index, and some good production notes regarding the history of the show, camera choreography and description of ILM's special effects.

Five Stars Despite Macauley
The one time that I've seen the George Balanchine production of 'The Nutcracker' in New York, I was standing at the back of the top balcony. I obviously couldn't see much even with the pair of 7x50 binoculars I brought, so I'm glad that this DVD has become available. The recording wasn't made before an audience but was nonetheless filmed on stage. It thus preserves the appearance and staginess of the original production, while the camerawork has more freedom and energy than it would have otherwise.

The dancers of the NYC Ballet and the students from its associated school, the School of American Ballet, have performed the Balanchine Nutcracker every Christmas season since 1969 (the film was made in 1993). I prefer this production in great part because children and not adults perform the children's roles unlike most of the other tapes and DVDs available. Here the kids are delighfully energetic and enthusiastic; the only sour note is Macauley Culkin as the nutcracker-prince. He attended the SAB for awhile, and he looks thoroughy bored at returning to his old haunts. I don't know if it's his fault or the director's, but his disdainful expressions are rather off-putting. He was obviously cast to draw a larger audience, and he certainly looks the part, but his dancing skills aren't good enough for what amounts to the lead role.

A recent article in the NYT said that the SAB has for some years been making a concerted effort to attract more boys (free tuition, no tights, frequent auditions, single-sex classes, etc.). The result is that all the boys' roles in this performance are filled by boys and not disgruntled little girls.

I quite enjoy this DVD, and I highly recommend it. It has few extra materials; only some short biographies and some footage about making the film. I would like to have had some rehearsal and backstage footage since I'm not familiar with how a ballet is put together.