Product Details

• Actors: Genesia Rosato, David Drew, Martin Harvey, Marianela Nuñez, Alina Cojocaru
• Directors: Ross MacGibbon
• Format: Classical, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: French, Italian, Spanish, German, English
• Subtitles: Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Bbc / Opus
• DVD Release Date: May 26, 2009
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001U5V04Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,577 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

ADAM:GISELLE - Blu-Ray Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alina's divine Giselle, now thankfully on blu-ray as well, June 20, 2010

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Ivy Lin (NY NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giselle [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

llet on video is like the fossil record: fascinating and informative, but frustratingly incomplete. Isadora Duncan, Vaslav Nijinsky were never filmed at all, and many artists were never filmed in their trademark roles (Lynn Seymour as Juliet, Erik Bruhn in Sylphide). Therefore it's always a delight when a portrayal as wonderful as Alina Cojocaru's Giselle is preserved on video. Alina Cojocaru, as I mentioned earlier in a review of her Sleeping Beauty, is not particularly glamorous looking, and her feet are wide and without much of an instep. But these aesthetic complaints are quickly forgotten the minute she starts dancing. In the first act, her Giselle is a shy but vivacious girl, and her fragile look adds a poignancy to her portrayal. One can believe that she does indeed have a weak heart. Her Spessivtseva solo, with its hops on pointe across the stage was not the smoothest I've seen, but her Mad Scene was heartbreaking.
In the second act, Cojocaru uses her beautifully airy jump and uniquely soft style to give the illusion of a true spirit. She is not technically perfect. When Giselle is first "initiated" as a Wili she is supposed to turn as if she were demented. Cojocaru's hopping turns don't have that feverish, demented energy that some Giselles can bring to the moment. They are somewhat slow and deliberate. (To see how it's done, watch Natalia Makarova, Diana Vishneva or even Carla Fracci.) But it's the overall beauty of movement that separates Cojocaru's Giselle from the "rest of the pack," as they would say. She is able to create a sense of a gentle, forgiving spirit. I particularly love the calm, effortless way she raises her leg in developpe. It seems to symbolize Giselle's sense of inner serenity.
As Albrecht, Cojocaru's offstage partner Johan Kobborg is not quite the dancer Cojocaru is. He goes the somewhat unconventional route and makes Albrecht an ardent and sincere young man from the start. I personally prefer Albrecht's to start off as cads, so their redemption is more dramatic and moving. He also is visibly extremely tired during Act 2. Unfortunately the close-ups expose the sweating. He and Cojocaru have a wonderful partnership -- you can see it in the gentle way he lifts her in the second act. Marianela Nunez is the Myrtha, and she seems to me an odd choice for Myrtha, other than being tallish and a strong technician. She's too inherently warm of a dancer to pull off Myrtha. She's not for a minute terrifying.
Peter Wright's production thankfully restores some mime passages that are often omitted in productions, such as when Giselle's mother tells the story of the Wilis. I found the sets overly fussy and thought they crowded the already-small Royal Ballet stage. I also disliked the dowdy brown dress Giselle wears in the first act. But these are minor complaints in an excellent video of my favorite ballet.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful performance of this great romantic ballet, November 21, 2009

By 

D. R. Schryer (Poquoson, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giselle [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Giselle was the first truly great romantic ballet and the music by Adam is gorgeous. This performance is outstanding and does full justice to this ballet masterpiece -- enhanced by this Blu-ray presentation. Very highly recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine performance but compromised sound in the bass department, January 3, 2012

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I. Giles (Argyll, Scotland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giselle [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This is a very fine performance of Giselle. Cojocaru's dancing portrays the heroine as the lovable but fatally naïve country girl that she is and as her mother (excellent portrayal) so clearly understands. This fragility carries over convincingly to the second act where Nunez, as leader of the Willis in this act is not as cold-bloodied as some. As a result the element of redemption through love is relatively unimpeded here. The Willis are as effective as usual although those in an earlier Kirov performance were able to move as if on wheels. Astonishing! The two competing men here are well up to the task required of them although I always personally feel that the morally upright and justified Hilarion is appallingly sacrificed so that the real villain, Albrecht from a very privileged background, can escape proper justice.

Nevertheless, despite this irrelevant quibble with the plot, I would still recommend this as an outstanding interpretation which is also well staged with convincing scenery, costumes and supporting roles.

The problem for me concerns the sound quality heard in surround mode on good equipment. This shows the orchestra to be working in the dry acoustic that you would expect in a packed theatre which can be adjusted to in all respects except one. That is the booming and undefined sound of the bass drum. This becomes oppressive and totally out of balance with the rest of the soundstage and at odds with the delicate nature of the ballet. This is not a problem of musical scoring but rather that of poor recording.

Finally I should mention that this is available as a sharply defined Blu-ray which is how I own it. For some reason the Blu-ray version is not listed on Amazon UK but is available through Amazon Com as a free region issue (but with a cast list that confusingly lists the Paris version stars with this one). I replaced the Paris version with this and have been happy with the exchange despite the sound reservations.

Five stars for the ballet but 3 for the sound quality - so an overall 4 stars.