Product Details

• Actors: The Bolshoi Ballet, Nikolai Fadeyechev, Maya Plisetskaya, Viktor Khomyakov, Vladimir Levashev
• Directors: Zoya Tulubeva
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Video Artists International
• DVD Release Date: December 2, 2003
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000YEDLI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,308 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dazzling Plisetskaya, June 11, 2005

By 

V. Stasov - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / Maya Plisetskaya, Nicolai Fadeyechev, Bolshoi Ballet (DVD)

Historic performances must be evaluated utilizing entirely different criteria from those applied to contemporary works. To judge a recorded performance from the past using modern audio-visual standards is to entirely miss the point of historic art preservation. Even precious snippets of performances, however poor the quality, enable us to time travel back to an earlier era in which artistic practices were markedly different from today's. These differences, however, in no way diminish the gifts and genius of earlier talents.

These older and sometimes extremely rare artifacts are a spectacular opportunity for those of us who appreciate having these otherwise lost cultural treasures salvaged and preserved.

In this case, we have the legendary Maya Plisetskaya - youthful, beautiful, and phenomenally flexible, charismatic and dramatic, in the quintessentially Russian Swan Lake.

The sound and picture quality are by no means inadequate. It is a stunning experience just to be able to see Plisetskaya in her milieu at the Bolshoi, creating two completely different characters - one vulnerable, magical, the other seductively evil and predatory. Her gracefulness, her almost supernatural ability to incarnate the soul of a bird, make the cuts and audience shots irrelevent.

In fact, for those who truly appreciate history - cultural and political as well as artistic - this video is priceless. We see the Soviets at their propagandistic best. It's as if we're seeing two videos - one an historic ballet performance starring one of the 20th century's immortal artists, the other an adroitly executed and subtle propaganda film - in which the well-groomed, appreciative audience from all classes in this classless society is as much a part of the performance as the dance.

Besides Plisetskaya, the other stars of this film are the audience and the stage crew: beautiful young intellectuals mingle with sturdy loyal Party members. The less elegant but apparently no less artistically informed workers, both in the audience and behind the curtain, seem to appreciate ballet as much as the intelligentsia in the boxes. We even see Maya, behind the scenes, relieved and gratified to receive the loving approval of the woman who helps her change her costume. After all, in this vast Marxist experiment, all comrades are equal....

The conducting of the Bolshoi orchestra is excellent. The dancing is consistently superb. The jester has the outstanding athleticism and power we associate with the Russian school. The Rothbart plays out his death scene with such dramatic potency that the audience explodes with spontaneous applause.

Yes, there are cuts; yes the film quality is not Hollywood. But to have the opportunity to view Plisetskaya at the Bolshoi, in her youth, in the stellar role of her career is priceless. I highly recommend her autobiography "I, Maya Plisetskaya" which candidly and passionately tells the story of the grinding struggles even artists at the highest levels were forced to survive in the Soviet Union.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Maya, March 15, 2007

By 

Georgios Xenias (Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / Maya Plisetskaya, Nicolai Fadeyechev, Bolshoi Ballet (DVD)

I have to agree with Ivy Lin on most counts, -I usually find her reviews objective and helpful,- I'd just like to add a few comments of my own. First, about the sound. Either the orchestra was playing off-key, or there is a great deal of distorion on the soundtrack. (Perhaps both.) The picture is typical of a 1950s movie and would have been ok, if it were of uniform quality. Unfortunately, portions of the film used for the transfer are worn and others have been "burned" (exposed to too much light). I don't complain, though. This is a historical document and I'm glad to own it in any shape.
Of course, what makes this dvd worth having, is the presence of Maya Plisetskaya. Her Odile is unforgetable, -I don't think I'll ever fully enjoy another ballerina in the part, after having seen this demonic seductress she brings to life! But, -and here I have to disagree with Ms Lin,- I also found her Odette superb. Unusual, yes. Unique, definitely. This is not the gentle, delicate princess we expect to see in the Swan Lake. Plisetskaya's Odette is a tormented, frightened, tragic being. To watch her is shocking, but also wonderful. Seeing her here, gave me an idea of how 1950s' audiences must have felt when they heard Maria Callas turn those famous bird-like coloratura roles into dramatic parts. I'm not saying that this is how Odette should be performed from now on (and how could it, after all, unless another Plisetskaya came along?) But I can not put her down because she does not conform to our preconceptions of the role. Her interpretation is unconventional, but quite valid (Odette IS tortured and frightened and anguished,) and I think it's great that she chose to use these emotions, which are often brushed aside in favor of superficial gracefulness, as a basis for her portrayal. It's been two days since I first saw her and I still can not break the spell.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent dancing by Maya, January 5, 2004

By 

MimiMeow (Milpitas, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / Maya Plisetskaya, Nicolai Fadeyechev, Bolshoi Ballet (DVD)

This is a historic ballet film from the fifties. Notably the sound and video is not first rate. It is not recorded as a live performance per se. There are cuts here and there to the performance.
In spite of the sound and video quality, I thoroughly enjoy the dancing of Maya Plisetskaya. I am not a ballet expert, but I also own the Kirov (with Galina Mezentseva) and the Nureyev versions. In my opinion, among the three, Maya is the best Odette/Odile, followed by Galina. Her whole body can dance - her legs, arms and face. The Russian dancers seem to have more facial expressions which make them look more "into" the role, enhancing the effectiveness of their performance.
If you want a complete Swan Lake, this may not be the DVD for you. This DVD is recommended for its historic value.
For more info, please see reviews of the same film in VHS format.