Customer Reviews

Anna Pavlova [VHS]

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For those seeking the wonderful Documentary that was made around the same time, this is not it. This biographical film has beautiful costumes and solid performances BUT the actual film quality is very bad. Most of the scenes are extremely over-exposed. If you want to learn about Anna Pavlova's life, see if you can find a rental copy; but it's definitely not a "must have" for your library.

This VHS tape is hosted by Leslie Caron who discusses the life of Pavlova with photos and introduces dances from her repertoire danced by star dancers. There are scenes from Don Quixote Pas de Deux, Coppelia, The Awakening of Flora, the Rose Adagio and Bluebird Pas de Deux from The Sleeping Beauty, California Poppy, Dragonfly, Giselle, Nuit (Night), Christmas, and last but not least: The Dying Swan. The dancers include Patrick Bissell, Frank Augustin, the young Ron Reagan (the president's son) Valentina Kozlova, Marianna Tcherkassky, Amanda McKerrow, Ann Marie de Angelo, Jolinda Martinez, and Hillary Cartwright.

Despite really poor film quality and terrible dubbing, this film is nevertheless quite beautiful, visually and especially in the sentiment with which Pavlova's personal will, determination, and discipline are portrayed.

Beliaeva plays Pavlova well and dances well, bringing to life "The Dying Swan" and many of the ethnic dances for which Pavlova was singularly known.

The film is not great perhaps, but it is a glamorously illustrative education in the power of the human spirit to overcome personal and impersonal obstacles, which in Pavlova's case were illness and war.

If you're a Pavlova fan, you'll enjoy the film. If not, you'll probably want to spend your Friday night watching something else. Production values are okay. The lead doesn't dance well enough. None of problems matter if you are a Pavlova devotee. If you've read Keith Money's book, you won't find anything new in the film. Still, it's fun to see Anna celebrated in celluloid.