Product Description

One of the great artistic forces of the twentieth century, performer, choreographer, and teacher Martha Graham influenced dance worldwide. Criterion presents a sampling of her stunning craft, all collaborations with television arts-programming pioneer Nathan Kroll. A Dancer’s World (1957), narrated by Graham herself, is a glimpse into her class work and methodology. Appalachian Spring (1959) and Night Journey (1961) are two complete Graham ballets, the first a celebration of the American pioneer spirit, scored by Aaron Copland, the second a powerfully physical rendering of the Oedipus myth. These are signature Graham works and tributes to the art of the human body.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41910 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2007-09-18
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 92 minutes

Customer Reviews

Outstanding and Beyond Expectations
This DVD was absolutely outstanding for me (unfamiliar with modern dance) and exceeded my wife's expectations (very knowledgeable and familiar with modern dance). The reasons for this very positive impression were: Martha herself narrates and explains the whole DVD, the film producer also provides insights into Martha's life and personality, and original dancers performing the original productions.

Very enjoyable either as an expert or as a beginner.

Very good set of films
This release by the Criterion Collection is atypical of what they release but is very good. In it is a documentary by Martha Graham,"A Dancer's World" and two dance sequences that she choreographed. They are "Appalachian Spring" and "Night Journey". I have little knowledge of ballet and am not the best person to review them but given, Graham's prestige, I can assume that they are of high quality.

There are many special features on the two disc box set which are very good also.

Disc one contains the three films, a comparison of the version of Appalachian Spring presented here with an older version narrated by Deborah Jewett, an archival interview with Aaron Copland discussing Appalachian Spring, an audio essay by Nathan Kroll with a slideshow about Graham, a new interview with Ron Simon, head of Museum of Television and Radio, and interviews with editors, Eleanor Hamerow and Miriam Arsham.

Disc two contains a 1994 PBS documentary on Graham titled "Martha Graham: The Dancer Revealed", interviews with six of the dancers from the films, senes from a 1975 dance demonstration narrated by Graham, and footage of Graham's company on a 1954 tour of Europe.

This is a must buy for the ballet enthusiast.

Excellent Resource
Wonderful! These 2 DVDs allow you to watch 3 performances and listen to commentaries on them afterwards. These commentaries help you to understand the meanings of the movements in the dances. There is even older footage of Appalacian Spring which is compared to the newer version which I found interesting. I was particularly interested in Martha Graham's techniques, and there is some filming of some of those with her voice narrating and explaining them. It is a treat to hear her speak. For people interested in the filming aspect of the performances and others at that time period, it is neat to hear what Nathan Kroll has to say on that subject.