Product Details

• Actors: Marcelo Gomes, Gillian Murphy, Angel Corella
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, Surround Sound, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: October 4, 2005
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000AYEI9A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,844 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #23 in Movies & TV > DVD > Performing Arts
  • #69 in Music > Classical
• For more information about "Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 10/04/2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Performance with Innovations, August 20, 2005

By 

D. Bell "Imzadi" (Olney, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (DVD)

American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake, as presented on PBS' Dance in America series, is a must-have for any serious ballet lover. The settings & costumes are fresh and new. The age-old story of love, betrayal, and redemption is set to Tchaikovsky's lush score with some new music and a new scene. Of course the cornerstone of any ballet is the dancing. Gillian Murphy is absolutely remarkable as Odette/Odile, soft and vulnerable as the Swan Queen in acts 2 & 4 and hard, brilliant, dazzling as Odile in act 3. Angel Corella's Prince Siegfried is a perfect match for her. He is a brilliant dancer and a good actor, although I would have liked to have seen what Ethan Stiefel could have done with the part. The chemistry between Murphy & Corella is palpable. However, I have an old VHS of Swan Lake with Natalia Markova & Ivan Nagy, and I must say there has never in my opinion been a danseur noble to compare with Nagy. He was Siegfried incarnate.

Herman Cornejo also shines in the small role of Benno, Siegfried's friend, and he and the two female dancers (whose names I confess I don't know) make the first act trio a joy to watch. Georgina Parkinson is just right as the queen mother, stern yet loving. Victor Barbee is wasted in the small role of the master of ceremonies. In his younger days, he was an outstanding Rothbart.

One very unexpected pleasure in this ballet was Marcelo Gomes, who did such a fine job in Le Corsair as the villainous pirate, as the human Rothbart. He was wisely given a dance with the four princesses in which he is so handsome and seductive that they are putty in his hands--and he has an effect on the queen as well! I give him a standing ovation. Brilliant!

Rothbart's dance and a prologue in which we see him seduce the human Odette are two welcome additions, although I wish the prologue had been a little longer.

I have two minor complaints. First of all, the princesses were generically costumed. None of them had an of the flavor of their native countries in their dress. This is, however, not really important, just something I noticed.

Secondly, however, I saw no need to have another dancer as the demon Rothbart complete with green skin and huge, curving horns. One Rothbarth would have been perfect; two is a joke.

I strongly recommend this DVD to any lover of Swan Lake. It's one you'll treasure.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A common man's point of view., February 6, 2009

By 

Richard Rawls "Richard Ardle Rawls" (Dublin Ga USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (DVD)

I've had this ballet for quite a while, meaning to write a review on it, but just haven't gotten a "round tuit". If you have never gotten a "round tuit" (There is such a thing), you have not missed a heck of a lot. One of the most important things I wish for you to "get" is, that you should NOT believe everything you read in these reviews (even mine), because they are ALL debatable opinions. Some people give poor reviews because of meanness, I think. One reviewer gave this production a one star rating, then admitted that it included three of the greatest ballet stars "in" this planet. (Statement found in his comment on J. Erickson's review of Swan Lake by the ABT)

A lot has been said about how short the last act is in this version (10 minutes). It IS short, but everything is said (in the the last act) that needs to be said. The whole story of the last act is there, and it has some of the most heart wrenching music Tchaikovsky ever wrote.

You will not find more beautiful sets and costumes in ANY other ballet DVD. The resolution on this DVD is superb, not to be a HI-DEF DVD. Color and lighting is spectacular, but someone did complain about the lighting being too bright in the lakeside scene. I thought it was good. I like to SEE my ballerinas. Gillian Murphy (Odette/Odile) is one of the most beautiful females "on" this planet. Using her own words, she IS soft and vulnerable as Odette, she IS wickedly beautiful, seductive, and completely dynamic as Odile. I have eight versions of Swan Lake, and this is my favorite, even with the short fourth act. In my three Russian versions, none use mime, except when the Prince's Mother tells him he has to get married and pick out a bride. This version uses mime to great effect, and the arm and hand movements are a beautiful art form along with all the other body movements of ballet. Mime helps tell the story. For instance Odette tells Siegfried (Angel Corella) that her tears (and those of the other Swan-Maidens) formed the lake they inhabit. Since the lakes all seem to be quite large, one wonders how long it took to fill them, and since Siegfried went hunting swans with a crossbow, one wonders how many beautiful Swan-Maidens have been slain over the years. We really get involved in our fairy tales, don't we?

A lot of experimentation is found in Swan Lake, and this one is no exception. Yes, people even complain about the use of dance in the prologue, which in this version shows our beautiful Maiden being abducted by a horrible swamp ogre who can transform himself into a suave and debonair Von Rothbart, who transforms her into the Swan-Maiden Odette. Another innovation in this version is the use of a May-Pole in the first act. The girls dance around the May-Pole using ribbons which get so tangled up it's hard to believe they would ever get them untangled, but seeing is believing. Also seen in the first act is the fabulous Fredrick Franklin who is over ninty years old but, still on stage in ballet, playing the part of Siegfried's Tutor. You can see him in the great documentery, Ballets Russes......Ballets Russes

Von Rothbart, played by Marcelo Gomes really mesmerizes all the women in the third act, even including the Queen Mother, played by Georgina Parkinson (formerly with the Royal Ballet). She plays Roseline in Romeo and Juliet......Romeo and Juliet (Royal Ballet)- Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn........ Von Rothbart is very suave and handsome, so I suppose it's normal that all the prospective brides swooned over him. The Russian Dance was a great piece of music for him to dance to, and he was very good, but didn't steal the show, as some have inferred. If anyone stole the show, it was Gillian Murphy, as the Black Swan Odile. She was absolutely magnificent, with those long beautiful legs, and a beautiful figure as well. She said it herself, she was wickedly beautiful.

In the last act, your heart goes out to Siegfried as he tries so desperately to get to his Odette to seek her forgiveness. His desperation is written all over his face. When Odette reaches the lakeside and is about to jump to her death, her heartbreak is also apparent, but she rushes to Siegfried to ask him how he could break his oath. She is so disappointed that she cannot look him in the eyes, so she hides her face from him. He asks for, and receives, her forgiveness but it is too late, so using all the normal mime gestures, she tells him she must kill herself. By then it looks like the curse has already been broken, because the other Swan Maidens have quit obeying the sorcerer, and have begun trying to protect their Queen, but still Odette sacrifices herself with Siegfried following her, to celebrate their love together in paradise.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm no expert..., April 18, 2006

By 

H. Munro (Frozen Tundra, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (DVD)

... but i love this Swan Lake! Unlike some other reviewers, i had no problem with the chemistry between Angel Corella (Siegfried) and Gillian Murphy (Odette/Odile). Perhaps i was distracted by their dazzling technique and musicality. I've subjected countless friends to "you've gotta see this" sessions. Some were wowed by the cool theatrical trick in the first act that transforms the evil sorcerer into the charming Rothbart (played by the charismatic Marcelo Gomes). Others couldn't believe that Gillian Murphy would toss a few multiple turns into her 32 fouettes. But the part that got ME was the downright dangerous lift that Angel Corella and Gillian Murphy executed not just once, but three times (she's waaaay past her center of gravity, hanging upside down).Amazing acrobatics aside, i found this performance just plain solid from start to finish. Murphy and Corella are both very complete dancers (both have great extension, beautiful lines, excellent balance, strong jumps, centered spins, etc.). If Murphy seemed a bit "cold," Corella more than made up for it with an expressive interpretation of his role.All that said, i have but one complaint: Like some of my fellow reviewers, i was saddened to see the fourth act shortened to a nub (it was likely axed because the full fourth act represents untold hours of rehearsing for the corps). What a pity: Some of the score's most evocative music was wasted as Siegfried (Angel Corella) stood around, looking majestic. No single interpretation of this classic ballet will please everyone. If you're a staunch traditionalist, this version may disappoint. But if you want to see ABT and its gifted stars at their brilliant best, give this DVD a shot: The dancing is superb and the staging is both creative and beautiful.