Product Details

• Actors: George Balanchine
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004
• Run Time: 156 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00019G8BA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,009 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Regarded as the "father of American ballet," George Balanchine’s legacy lives on in his prolific body of choreographic work. Creating over 450 works, Balanchine is, arguably, the foremost contemporary choreographer of the 20th century. Through rare archival audio and video footage, interviews, film, and photographs, this program traces Balanchine’s life from his youth at the Maryinsky Theater, through his work for Hollywood and Broadway, to his ultimate creation of the New York City Ballet. It also focuses on the themes of his work and his thoughts on dancemaking, using interviews with the choreographer himself. Features selections of his vast repertory of ballets, including Chaconne, Agon, Symphony in C, Serenade, Apollo, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely tribute to the great choreographer, September 18, 2004

By 

Ivy Lin (NY NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Balanchine (DVD)

This dvd, originally seen on PBS, is a great tribute to the Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine, who founded the New York City Ballet and is often creditted with bringing classical ballet to the United States. This documentary focuses almost exclusively on his professional and artistic life, and this is right and proper. There are books, as well as several documentaries ("Dancing for Mr. B," "Elusive Muse") which focus on Balanchine's complicated personal life. Here, we can just look at his great artistic creations.
There;s archival footage of so many great ballerinas and ballet dancers that were Mr. B's inspiration. Tanaquiel le Clercq (who judging from the footage may have been the most beautiful ballerina to ever step onstage), Diana Adams, Maria Tallchief, Edward Villela, Allegra Kent, Suzanne Farrell, Peter Martins, Patricia McBride ... None of the dancers are interviewed, perhaps because of time constraints. But just the footage of the dancing was enough to keep me happy. I was struck by Mr. B's diversity -- there are many clips of his ballets, and it's a testament to Mr. B's genius that I was always upset when the clips ended, because I wanted to see more.
There are also several interviews with Mr. B. His soft, gentle voice and almost childlike enthusiasm are infectious. Particularly amusing are the clips of him and Igor Stravinsky, the composer whose music whom Mr. B set so many of his best ballets (Rubies, Apollo, Agon et al.) Mr. B talks about his love of cats and cooking. So even though the documentary focuses squarely on the artistic, these interviews with Mr. B humanize him. Read the various memoirs and autobiographies for Mr. B's darker, more complex side: he was famously possessive of his ballerinas, and did not think they should have families or even personal lives apart from him. This video focuses purely on Balanchine as a creative artist.
Recently, more extensive dvd's have been released of Mr. B's complete ballets. But this documentary is still a must-see, a wonderful tribute to one of the 20th century's most prolific and remarkable artists.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great archival footage!, April 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Balanchine (DVD)

I saw this documentary when it was on public television, and it was fabulous. I have read a lot about Balanchine and his dancers, and actually seeing them was amazing. There is even footage of Pavlova and Tanaquil LeClerq dancing in their prime. A definite must-see for ballet and Balanchine enthusiasts!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to Balanchine's work, February 25, 2006

By 

Paula L. Craig (Falls Church, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Balanchine (DVD)

Since I knew little about either the life or the work of Balanchine, I really enjoyed this documentary. I had no idea he was so instrumental in bringing ballet to the United States. My main complaint was that the film was too short. We found out almost nothing about the dancers Balanchine worked with, and we saw only snippets of the ballets. I thought it particularly odd that although Suzanne Farrell appeared in dozens of clips, more than any other ballerina, nothing at all was said about her.