The Tales of Hoffmann 1951
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Music, Fantasy, Romance, Drama
- 127 min
- NR
You Will Never See Anything Finer On The Screen!
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
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Character
Contemplative, grave, nostalgic and meticulous.
- contemplativerelentless
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- rawmeticulous
- character-ledplot-driven
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“Is the polish hiding a lack of heart?”
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“Is this Michael Powell's best work?”
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Dec 20227/10
Though I really enjoyed watching this, it isn't really a film at all. Messrs. Powell and Pressburger have elicited the help of the supremely talented Christopher Challis and of the late Jacques Offenbach and basically filmed an augmented theatrical production of his eponymous, uncompleted, opera. They have assembled a curiously effective collection of gloriously clad acting talent - most of whom, aside from the narrator/composer himself in the form of Robert Rounseville, cannot actually sing - and proceeded to present us with something that is really quite beautiful to watch and listen to; but that is really not that different from that which we might see at Covent Garden. It features the landmark P&P colour schemes - vibrant, lively and bold with the use of light and the staging of this three part story all adding up to a delightful watch. If you know the libretto, then you will know this is about a rather down-in-the-dumps poet who is reflecting on his life and the choices his chosen career has forced him to make at the expense of his loves. The ballet dancer "Stella" (Moira Shearer) is his most recent love, but there have been others and all of them have, in some way, fallen fou
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Cast
- Moira ShearerStella / Olympia
- Ludmilla TchérinaGiulietta
- Pamela BrownNiklaus
- Léonide MassineSpalanzani / Schlemil / Franz
- Ann AyarsAntonia
- Robert HelpmannLindorf / Coppelius / Dapertutto / Dr. Miracle
- Frederick AshtonKleinsach / Cochenille
- Robert RounsevilleHoffmann
- Mogens WiethCrespel
- Lionel HarrisPitichinaccio
Crew
- Michael PowellDirector
- Emeric PressburgerDirector
- Michael PowellWriter
- Emeric PressburgerWriter
- Dennis ArundellWriter
- Christopher ChallisDirector of Photography
- Jacques OffenbachOriginal Music Composer
- Reginald MillsEditor
- Michael PowellProducer
- Emeric PressburgerProducer
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Pairings
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Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
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Often watched with
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