Product Details

• Actors: Natalia Bessmertnova, Maris Liepa, Nina Timofeyeva, Vladimir Vasilev
• Directors: Vadim Derbenyov, Yuri Grigorovich
• Writers: Vadim Derbenyov, Yuri Grigorovich
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC, Import
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Thorn EMI HBO Video
• VHS Release Date: October 22, 1991
• Run Time: 128 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301217888
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,671 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Problematic Film: some remedies, July 25, 2005

By 

Gary - See all my reviews

This review is from: Khachaturian - Spartacus / Vasiliev, Bessmertnova, Bolshoi Ballet (DVD)

Aram Khachaturian wrote the melodious score to the Spartacus ballet between 1950 and '54. The first choreographer was Leonid Jacobson. His version, which premiered at the Kirov on December 27, 1956, was not a real success. The problem was that the choreography contained too much mime and not enough actual dancing. Two years later, Igor Moiseyev staged a version for the Bolshoi, which had a similar fate; that one received only nine performances. Later there was a revision by Jacobson, which also didn't find favor with the public. Incidentally, excerpts from one of Jacobson's versions (it is not clear which--maybe both) can be seen in "The Glory of the Kirov" DVD; I don't think his choreography was all that bad, really, but you be the judge.

It wasn't till April 9, 1968 did Spartacus achieve its definitive form in a performance given at the Bolshoi, this time, with choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. His version is a three-act ballet divided into two main categories. There are the major soldier/crowd scenes and also the monologues in which one of the four principal dancers is the only one onstage, and he or she dances against a dark background. At the premiere, the four principals were: Vladimir Vasiliev as Spartacus, Ekaterina Maximova as Phrygia, Maris Liepa as Crassus, and Nina Timofeyeva as Aegina. So, with the exception of Maximova, who was replaced by Bessmertnova as Phrygia, these were the dancers in this famous 1977 film, not 1979 as Amazon indicates.

But that's where the good news ends and the problems begin. First, as others have already pointed out, they used some dated cinematic techniques that are downright irritating. For example, they superimposed images (double exposure) to make a battle scene look bigger than it is. Elsewhere, they slowed down the motion of one of Spartacus' leap sequences; I'm sorry, that format just doesn't suit ballet--dance movements should correspond with the music. Furthermore, the picture itself is sometimes very dark, which makes it hard to see the corps de ballet. And the sound quality is only passable.

Even if you can overlook all this, there remains the ultimate sacrilege. Here we have three-quarters of the original principal cast, along with Bessmertnova and a superb corps de ballet dancing their hearts out, and the producer decides to cut forty-odd minutes of dance and music out of the film, which makes the work much less coherent. Notable moments are the beginning of Act II, Scene 1; the Aegina monologue in Act II, Scene 2 (danced to some hauntingly beautiful music); and a series of leaps, performed by Spartacus near the end of Act II, Scene 1.

Now, lest you think I was just carping without actually presenting a solution, I'll let you in on a secret. As far as I'm aware of, there are at least three COMPLETE videos of the Grigorovich/Bolshoi-production Spartacus in existence.

The most recent is the one starring Irek Mukhamedov and Lyudmila Semenyaka, shot live in 1990 (Arthaus Musik DVD). This is by far the best overall video of the ballet. It boasts the best picture and sound quality--with exemplary dancing to boot! Plus Mukhamedov does a version of the Act II, Scene 1, leap sequence, missing in the present film, in which the final leap looks like a spinning flying-roundhouse-kick--AMAZING!

There is another video of Mukhamedov in the role (Kultur DVD), and this time, he partners Bessmertnova in a 1984 live performance. Picture and sound are of good quality. This otherwise solid performance was marred by Mikhail Gabovich's tepid portrayal of Crassus.

A third video (Via Classic DVD) was shot live in 1979. This one is marred by even worse picture and sound quality than the '77. And some of the principals made a couple of mistakes. However, you have the benefit of, again, seeing Vasiliev as Spartacus and, this time, Ekaterina Maximova as (the original) Phrygia in a COMPLETE performance. Sadly, Vasiliev does a less technically-demanding version of the Act II, Scene 1, leap sequence--no roundhouse-kick.

Of the three COMPLETE videos, my #1 choice would be the '90 version, starring Muhamedov, for the very reasons I stated earlier.

His '84 is also recommendable, but it's been surpassed by the version above.

Because of the overall (poor) quality of the '79 Vasiliev, I will recommend it to true aficionados ONLY for its completeness. Alas, if only it were better shot...
NOTE: This DVD is not in NTSC format. Rather, it is in PAL format, which means most DVD players sold in North America will not be able to play it. You can purchase a multi-format compatible DVD player at your local specialty electronics store.

The '77 Vasiliev has long been regarded as the ultimate Spartacus ballet video, because most fans have neither had the opportunity to sample, nor, indeed, even had been aware of the existence of the other Grigorovich/Bolshoi Spartacus videos. The present version is neither fish nor flesh. Buy it for its "cult" status. But if you're looking to experience the ballet in its full glory, I suggest you look elsewhere.

For further recommendations...I've created a Listmania List, called "Spartacus Ballet Videos, CDs, and More", for those interested. To locate it, check out my Listmania Lists section by clicking my name.

Happy viewing!



FOOTNOTE:

Khachaturian's original score was NOT used in any of the aforementioned versions of the ballet. Everybody from Jacobson to Grigorovich had used modified versions of the score.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection!, November 19, 2004

By 

J. M WILINSKY (teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Khachaturian - Spartacus / Vasiliev, Bessmertnova, Bolshoi Ballet (DVD)

Much has already been written about this, so I will add only a few points. It would be impossible to find a better cast of dancers for this ballet. This is a legendary performance and I have never seen an entire ensemble as up for a performance as this one. This performance is on movie stock, not video stock, sort of like the Russian version of cinemascope. It is technically very well done, especially considering that at this time in history the Soviets didn't participate much in the latest Hollywood technology. The dvd quality is perfect. The lighting is exactly as it is supposed to be. So stop complaining about nonsense and enjoy the perfection! (The dvd includes a nice little extra feature with Vasiliev and Plisetskaya.)

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SPARTACUS with Vladimir Vasiliev -A Magnificent Realization, March 14, 2003

By 

A Viewer and Reader (Frankfort MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spartacus: Bolshoi Ballet - Aram Khachaturian, Vasiliev, Bessmertnova, [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When the Bolshoi performed in New York in 1959 the dance critic Edwin Denby was unstinting in his praise of Vladimir Vasilev who was then just nineteen. "One or two other men leapt as high as he, but none as they leapt and danced had his power of sculptural contour in motion, or his power of upbeat in rhythm. None as actors had his lion-hearted magnanimity toward the heroine, the entire company, the whole world...His style is plain: his poetic gift - no simple one- is as radiant as that of the fabulous Russian dancers of the past." But Denby was not as impressed with the company as a whole, "The company has formalized its style...It covers up with care the brilliantly unreasonable resources of expression which are the glory of ballet dancing. It does so to stress instead an acted mime meaning. Four or five in the company can do this convincingly; the rest haven't a gift for vivid acting....the company's mime of deep feeling and psychological motivation isn't absorbing....The Bolshoi means to uncover its dance power in the next few years. When it does it will add to the literal meaning of pantomime the metaphorical meaning of dancing."

In Grigorovich's 1977 film of Spartacus this goal has been magnificently realized. This is a ballet of conflict and contrasts; the conflict between the oppressive power of the state and the inherent urge for individual freedom, the contrast between cold sensuality and the warmth of abiding love. Spartacus and his lover, Friggia, enslaved by the Roman State are separated and she is paraded for the pleasure of the Roman General Crassus. He is captivated by her beauty and is about to satisfy his lust when his chief courtesan, Eghina, jealously intervenes and diverts him to her with her sensual dancing. Spartacus, forced to become a gladiator, is brought into the scene and in blind combat kills his friend for the "pleasure" of the assembly. Filled with remorse and anger Spartacus determines to lead the slaves in revolt. In the ensuing combat Crassus is captured and forced to duel with Spartacus who defeats him and then contemptuously frees him. Enraged Crassus determines to defeat Spartacus and the slaves, and as the armies gather their forces Eghina spies on Spartacus and then introduces her courtesans into a bacchanal with his soldiers. Spartacus's forces are depleted in the orgy and defeated, he is captured and fights valiantly until he is hoist on the spears of the legionnaires. Crassus slinks away into triumphal obscurity as Eghina is ironically incorporated into the standards of the Roman Legions. Friggia mourns Spartacus' death and in the final ensemble he is held triumphantly aloft in the immortal cause of freedom.

This is a ballet that is meant to be viewed many times to savor the way Grigorovich's film reveals the story and fills the action with the "metaphorical meaning of dancing". Vasiliev as Spartacus is everything Denby described, and the pas-de-deux with Bessmertnova as Friggia are filled with tenderness, support, giving, trust, and passion. In contrast Liepa as Crassus and Timofeyeva as Eghina bring to their pas-de-deux arrogance,languorous sensuality, and the lust for power, while the company as a whole brings to the climaxes of the performance "the power of radiance ballet can achieve", and also the ample strength and weight of movement so characteristic of the Bolshoi.

While this film has some of the technical limitations of VHS recording and Kultur filming the performance easily outweighs them and belongs in every ballet lover's collection.