Customer Reviews

Cirque du Soleil - Saltimbanco

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Let's be honest. Seeing Saltimbanco Live is an experience by itself. Nothing really comes close to it by any stretch of the imagination. However, those wishing to capture memories of that very enchanted evening will find this video absolutely wonderous. Directed by Jacques Payette and original concept by Franco Dragone, this masterpiece will entertain viewers right from the beginning. Although the brilliant opening in their live show has been cut, this video starts off with the most touching act called Adagio, a trio consisting of a family performing amazing acrobatics choreographed to a brilliant haunting score composed by Rene Dupere. This is followed by the acrobates on the chinese poles which will dazzle you with their strength and precision. Watching the ' Chinese bird on the wire' will totally take your breath away as will the next act which to me, is the highlight of the tape. You will absolutely be blown away by Miguel Herrera and his juggling act. His confidence and control of 7 balls at a time is something you just can't grasp. His robotic manner in which he juggles, performs different combinations and sequences totally timed to perfection will simply leave you speechless. Following this are the amazing pair with their boleadoros and the fun and comedic street performers on the Russian Swing. The next highlight of the tape has to be the famous Lorador brothers who have left Saltimbanco and are now performing in one of Cirque's resident show 'Mystere' showing in Treasure Island Las Vegas. I'm telling you, these lads must have bones of steel and the flexibility of rubber all rolled in to one. The strength, power and control of their amazing routine will leave you wondering why all men weren't created equal! This act known as 'Hand to Hand' consists of several manoeuvres that the brothers perform including headstands on the sole of a foot, a hamstring lift with a man doing a handstand on the soles of your feet and a most amazing balancing act that has to be seen to be believed. Other acts include the twin sisters on the double trapeze and the graceful artists on the bungee. In all , a most amazing tape with wonderous visuals and even greater musical performances by the singer and the band musicians. As they say, " When a Circus is not a Circus ".

Need I say more?

I have seen the live performance for Saltimbanco and I loved it so much that I cried at the end of the performance. I own the DVD's for Quidam and Dralion, and found both to be amazing. If I had to rate the three I would have Quidam as 11 out of 10. Dralion 7 out of 10 and Saltimbanco 1 out of 10. I just cannot believe that they have released such a terrible piece of work. When watching Saltimbanco on DVD I felt like I had been transported back to 1982 when VHS was hot technology. This was not what I expected. This product was destroyed by the terrible camera work. Lights shine into the camera, the camera's are obviously being held by a bunch of guys in the audience.

I bought Saltimbanco right after stepping out of Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba show at Downtown Disney. I was astonished with their performance and wanted a video that would keep forever the fantastic images of what my eyes had just seen. Saltimbanco is a full Cirque du Soleil performance that you watch over and over and never get tired of it. This video really captures Cirque's spirit. Saltimbanco's soundtrack is a plus!

Nothing can be taken away from the acts in this show. As usual they are superb, though a bit dated when one compares them to a present day "Mystere" or "O".

My one fear is that this show will go out of production and there will not be a new DVD to replace this one. This DVD has poor lighting and bad camera angles, so much so, that I am quite surprised that CdS still stamps their name on it in 2004! It simply is not up to their high standards. 5 stars for the acts, but 1 for the quality of the recording presented here.

To anyone who is listening in Montreal, please film another show!

I didn't really want to rate this 1 star but I wanted to make a point of how badly a 5-star performance was ruined by just terrible camera work and/or editing. As far as the actual acts this is probably the best of all the Cirque DVDs, but the bizarre
angles just ruin it. How on earth could they have released something like this? If they still have the original tapes they should put together a decent version and give it away free to atone for this mess. What evrybody else said is so true; meaningless close-ups, angles that prevent you from seeing what the performer is really doing, etc. Case in point: the juggler Miguel Herrera is just fantastic but the terrible angles and close-ups really keep you from appreciating it. For the finale of his act he walks down 4 flights of stairs juggling 5 or 6 balls and all you can see are his feet! What genius opted for this shot? The last act, the bungee jumpers, are shown from angles so that you really wouldn't even know what they were doing if you hadn't seen the title. A real travesty and a shame.

Let's be honest. Seeing Saltimbanco Live is an experience by itself. Nothing really comes close to it by any stretch of the imagination. However, those wishing to capture memories of that very enchanted evening will find this video absolutely wonderous. Directed by Jacques Payette and original concept by Franco Dragone, this masterpiece will entertain viewers right from the beginning. Although the brilliant opening in their live show has been cut, this video starts off with the most touching act called Adagio, a trio consisting of a family performing amazing acrobatics choreographed to a brilliant haunting score composed by Rene Dupere. This is followed by the acrobates on the chinese poles which will dazzle you with their strength and precision. Watching the ' Chinese bird on the wire' will totally take your breath away as will the next act which to me, is the highlight of the tape. You will absolutely be blown away by Miguel Herrera and his juggling act. His confidence and control of 7 balls at a time is something you just can't grasp. His robotic manner in which he juggles, performs different combinations and sequences totally timed to perfection will simply leave you speechless. Following this are the amazing pair with their boleadoros and the fun and comedic street performers on the Russian Swing. The next highlight of the tape has to be the famous Lorador brothers who have left Saltimbanco and are now performing in one of Cirque's resident show 'Mystere' showing in Treasure Island Las Vegas. I'm telling you, these lads must have bones of steel and the flexibility of rubber all rolled in to one. The strength, power and control of their amazing routine will leave you wondering why all men weren't created equal! This act known as 'Hand to Hand' consists of several manoeuvres that the brothers perform including headstands on the sole of a foot, a hamstring lift with a man doing a handstand on the soles of your feet and a most amazing balancing act that has to be seen to be believed. Other acts include the twin sisters on the double trapeze and the graceful artists on the bungee. In all , a most amazing tape with wonderous visuals and even greater musical performances by the singer and the band musicians. As they say, " When a Circus is not a Circus ".

Need I say more?

Anyone familiar with Cirque du Soleil knows that a spectacular performance is in the offing under any one of their tents. I saw Saltimbanco in person years ago, but this recording simply failed to capture the awe and excitement I felt while seeing the live show.

My disappointment with this DVD's visual aspects stems from the choice of the editors to continually cut from the real-time performance and superimpose either slow-motion or close-up sequences, causing a disruption in what one sees of a given act's flow of movement. As one example, there are far too many very close-in face shots of the two women (Boleadoras) who are performing a routine where balls whirling on the end of strings smack the floor in rhythm to the music. The precision and spectacle of such a routine is lost when one can't see the arms and hands of the performer, let alone the props crucial to the act. In other instances, slow-motion cuts right into the middle of the action sequence, thus jarring the continuity of what is supposed to be a spectacular trick. Also, throughout the show, the camera cuts away frequently to costumed peripheral characters who are emoting some sort of amazement. There's little relevance in this, and it does nothing but take the view away from the activity (where it should be). Even the sound editing seems goofy at times, with the audience roaring a bit too early at points during the "Russian Swing" routine.

The run-time is under 80 minutes, but take away the introduction, credits, and the silly gun duel routine ("Draw!"), and you're left with only around an hour of the true Cirque spectacle. Still, there's some value in what "wow factor" remains of this show. My favorite routine by far is "Juggling," where the performer progresses from three to seven balls, many times bouncing them off the floor in a choreographed flow (the guy just doesn't slip up!). Also noteworthy are the "Double Tightrope," "Russian Swing" and "Hand Balancing" acts.

I'd recommend this to Cirque du Soleil fans who are not picky about videography, or to those who want to get something of interest for their children.

As is true in any similar performance, no matter where you sit you miss some detail of the action. And no matter how well behaved small children are, the live performance is long for small children. The video allows the kids to watch their favorite parts with no blocked vision and to see closeups that are unavailable to them in the live performance.

For adults, the live performance is an experience only partially duplicated on the video - although the video is well-made and edited. It does, however, provide an opportunity to enjoy the Cirque until it comes around next year - without incuring the cost of a trip to Las Vegas.

Other reviewers have given a good description of the show itself - high wire, contortionists, strong men, juggler, boleadoros, mime, live music, trapeze, bungee cords etc. It is a nonstop show of physical control - timing, strength ...

If you can't see the Cirque live, treat yourself to this video.

This is the third Cirque du Soleil I've seen and I am extremely disappointed! (so are my children!) The acts are still astounding and the performers every bit as amazing as before but the camera will drive you insane! There is what I think would be an amazing tap dance by two girls but the camera zooms on their faces almost the ENTIRE time they dance! This is no exaggeration! There is an astounding high wire act where the girl does a back flip onto a lower and parallel wire and then she flips back onto the higher parallel wire. The camera is the best during this routine and you can actually see most of the act! (except when the camera zooms on the face of a clown who's watching the act for four seconds at a time) The music had a harsh annoying sound with screechy guitars mixed with a big band sound. This video lacked the flow and unique feel of Quidam, another of the cirque du soleil shows. As much as I love seeing the talent of these artists, like the amazing juggler, I would have skipped purchasing this movie if I'd known how frustrating the camera would be....(It's worse than it's ever been!) I just cannot understand why any director would have these astonishing performances filmed this way! Why in the world wouldn't they want to film it in the way that would enable the best viewing of the show? I strongly advise everyone to skip this movie and try to catch the show live. Or buy Quidam.

This video is amazing. It features some acts of the Saltimbanco tour by Cirque du Soleil, including tight-rope walking, juggling by the amazing Miguel Herrera, hand balancing with the marvelous Lorado brothers, clowning, chinese masts, ... The music is good, the artists are excellent, the costumes are great: a unique experience, though not as good as seeing them live (except that you can watch it again and again.