Customer Reviews

Swan Lake [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

More than 125 years ago, composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky premiered his first ballet production, SWAN LAKE. The first performance was a disaster, but since then, the ballet has become one of the most popular of all time. Many versions of the classic story have been filmed, and there are two animated adaptations in existence. The first is best known as THE SWAN PRINCESS, a 1994 animated feature from ex-Disney animator Richard Rich which flopped at the box office but sold well on video. But it did not employ the music of Tchaikovsky and was a more "Disneyfied" production at best. (It was a good film, however.) The second is a rather obscure, but rich and gorgeously drawn Anime production from Toei which won an award at the 1981 Moscow Film Festival. Since this movie is dark and somber, despite the presence of two comic squirrels (shy, bashful Hans and arrogant, sometimes prissy Margarita), it uses Tchaikovsky's melancholy yet masterful score. This is arguably the picture's biggest asset, as the music is ultimately the heart and soul behind the entire ballet.

Everyone knows the story of SWAN LAKE: Princess Odette has been transformed into a swan, and can only resume her human form at night. One day, young Prince Seigfried meets and falls in love with her. He invites Odette to come to the ball at his castle so that he can choose her as his bride. But Odette's evil captor, the wizard Rothbart, wants the girl for himself, and so he sends his daughter, Odile, to impersonate Odette at the ball. Naive and trusting to a fault, Seigfried falls for it when Odile shows up at the ball - until he discovers, too late, that he has been deceived. He engages Rothbart in a duel and, in doing so, proves his love for Odette, breaking the evil curse.

Script writer Hirokazu Fuse expands the tale and provides some unique twists in this adaptation. As mentioned above, the story is seen through the eyes of the two squirrels, who bicker over their courtship, yet they do anything in their will to bring the lovers together, just like a comic duo would do. There are also several scenes involving Rothbart and Odile that, in a somewhat dark way, are appealing. Rothbart himself is not so scary, but rather comes across like an awkward schoolboy when he's dealing with Odette (a huge contrast to Seigfried's more mature approach). Yet his evil shines through whenever we see him cast spells, and, at the end, he even becomes murderous. Odile, by contrast, is cunning, and very seductive, perhaps even more sinister than her father, and shows a lot more brains than he does (it is SHE who comes up with the idea to fool Seigfried!). There is also a spine-tingling climax bursting with conflict and malice, leaving one with goosebumps. As far as the animation is concerned, the cel count varies in quality (like most Anime), and its age shows. But the colors, considering that this is a 1981 production, are lovely to look at, from the sunlight's reflection on the lake to the grotesque, macabre designs of Rothbart's castle. This kind of animation style may be old, but for animation buffs, SWAN LAKE displays some incredible work. (Indeed, it is hard to believe that 2,500 cels were stolen during the production period.)

It should be noted that there are two different English versions available. The dub on the HI-TOPS Video and the MEDIA HOME video release is absolutely DREADFUL, with uninspired to emotionless vocal performances: the squirrels' voices (Gerri Sorrells and Nancy Culluci) are shrill and disappointingly lifeless considering they're supposed to be comic characters. Nancy Link and Steve Knode are no more compelling as Odette and Seigfried; both sound bored (Knode sounds especially off). Probably the only voices that come close to decent are Joseph Zucatti's Rothbart and Patricia Kobayashi's Odile (who cackles a lot more than her father, strangely enough), but even then they falter on select scenes. In addition, this dub has some of the sloppiest lip-synching I've ever seen--more than half of the lines are off by about half of a second! The only benefit about this dub is that it adheres close to the Japanese script, but the flow of the dialogue is very choppy and unnatural sounding. Of course since it's an early dub, one shouldn't expect too much, but even the most loyal of dub fans (and the very young, no doubt) are likely to be appalled by the cringeworthy results.

The only other dub I know of was produced some time ago by Samuel Goldwyn and features, interestingly, some high-profile voice talent. (Apparently Studio Ghibli's movies aren't the only Anime that get high profile treatment.) Christopher Atkins (THE BLUE LAGOON) plays Seigfried (the emotional range of talent he displays in this role showed me that I underestimated him as an actor), Pam Dawber (MORK & MINDY) voices the lonely and fragile Odette, Kay Lenz (BREEZY) is an alternatingly bitchy and seductive Odile, and David Hemmings (THE WILD LITTLE BUNCH) hams it up as the villainous Rothbart. Even all the other characters are appropriately voiced. The ADR script in this dub isn't slavishly close, but it's better written and less bland-sounding than the literal translation. Not only that, but the synchronization is better--for the most part; some lines are a little behind, but they're minor compared to the mistiming on the first dub. It aired on television a few times stateside, but I have not found any information on whether it was released to video or not.

Despite showing its age, it feels like something of a shame that this Japanese Anime of SWAN LAKE never got the recognition it deserves. Gorgeously drawn, well scripted, and, of course, with Tchaikovsky's music underscoring every mood, this is a lost gem which deserves a better chance. Hopefully someday one U.S. Anime company will market this title to a lasting audience.

Its been such a long time since I watched this movie. I must have been young, but I still remember it vividly. You have to keep in mind this was back when I hated any thing that was Japanese AND animated, and the only reason I watched this was because my sister was watching it and...well...I was bored.

Even with my vehement hate of "Japanimation" (a term I use not any more) I found myself drawn to this rendition. The previous reviewer has already put in plain words how much detail into the settings and characters this movie put in, but I think the part of this movie that really struck at my senses was the way the music was used. The original soundtrack is used extremely well with the rest of the scenes, and in particular the scene where Odette is flying away with tears running down her eyes still remains edged in my memory like a haunting spirit.

I also remember as a little kid liking Rothbart's daughter. She throws insults at him that go way over his head and enjoys making him mad, while at the same time (again, as the previous reviewer pointed out) she has most of the brains and cunning.

Overall, this had a big impact on me when I was little. Martin Scorcese once said that the films you watch while you're young have the biggest impact on you...well this is probably one of the films that eventually inspired me to get into the field of animation. I must now hunt down a copy of this movie to watch it again; I'm certain I'll enjoy it a lot more than the recent American "Swan Lake."

This is a very beautifully rendered love story. This theatrical movie's famous slogan in 1980 was "Can love overcome the power of magic?" The dramatic content lives up to it. The way Siegfried and Odette love each other and trust each other truly strikes the viewers' hearts. We learned what it means to love a person with truthfulness and loyalty from this work. Deep and artistic - it awakens the most beautiful feelings of human beings. The water color background art is uniquely superb and one of its kind - more beautiful than any CG images. Recommended for anyone. Some European nations have this work in DVD though their DVD region number is 2.

Like a previous reviewer, I rented this movie countless times as a kid and have always remembered it. I would love to own it, but am hoping it will be made into DVD, but it is doubtful.

This movie was my favorite movie growing up. I rented it so often and my mom couldn't find a place to buy it from. We didn't have the internet back then. One day I went to the video store and it wasn't on the shelf. The man said said it was broken. I was so sad. For YEARS I tried to find it. Even Blockbuster had no clue what I was talking about. Then the internet came about and ebay. My mom bought it for me for my 17th birthday. It was the best gift ever.
This movie is such a good story and so beautifully animated. As a little girl I was in awe of it. I loved the music and the story so much. I would fall asleep listening to it. Now I own it on VHS, but I would LOVE to have it on DVD. I would recommend this movie to anyone young or old. It is a beautiful movie and a classic. I'm 25 years old and still watch it.