Product Details

• Actors: Sleeping Beauty
• Format: Classical, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Spectacor Video
• VHS Release Date: November 30, 1990
• Run Time: 145 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303614183
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,356 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DREADFUL- 0 STARS, August 13, 2005

By	MrLopez2681 "Obsessive archaeologist of the B... (USA) - See all my reviews

This film of "The Sleeping Beauty" was released on VHS by Spectacor Video in the 9 or so video series "The Bolshoi at the Bolshoi" in 1989. It is without a doubt the most terrible production of "The Sleeping Beauty" I have ever seen by a company of the Bolshoi's calibre. To make matters worse, the Bolshoi still includes this god-awful production in their repertory.

The Bolshoi have been perfoming this ballet for well over 100 years. During the late 1970's and into the 1980's (the age of the 'Iron Curtain' at its zenith) the Bolshoi, due in part to thier world wide reputation and the lack of need to compete with other world-class companies saw a dramatic decline in the technique of thier dancers. There were exceptions to this of course; with dancers like Vasiliev, Pavlova, Mukhamedov, Semenyaka (from the Kirov), Maximova among others; but for the most part, especially with the ballerinas of the time, the dancing was slipping badly. This film of "The Sleeping Beauty" is a testament to this era, as well as the video series it was originally released with.

What we have is the former Bolshoi director Yuri Grigorovich's 1973 production, which is heavily influenced by Konstantin Sergeyev's 1952 production for the Kirov with regards to choregraphic text. As for this performance, the leading ballerina - Nina Semizorova - is not bad, but there is something "off" about her dancing that I just cant quite put my finger on. She has the usual Vaganova style grace and form, but there is definately someting just barely bordering on sloppy about her. Her acting is very 'blah' as well - the scene in which she pricks her finger is not very well acted. The two dancers who portray the king and queen are even more 'blah', and even in dramatic scenes they have no expression whatsoever. The ballerina perfoming the Lilac Fairy is Nina Speranskaya, and is pretty awful. There are moments in her performance that make one wonder how she ever made it out of the corps de ballet. In the coda of the Pas de Six in the first scene (the prologue), her releve turns in arabasque are nearly laughable, as she looks like a student trying out a step for the first time. The next and worst ballerina of this production is Maria Bylova as Princess Florine in the Act III 'Blue Bird Pas de Deux'. She is the finest example of this decline I mentioned (see her in the Bolshoi's film of "La Bayadere" as Gamzatti - the worst I have ever seen from a professional company). The men on the other hand are quite good. Alexei Fadeyechev is a true danseur noble. And Alexander Vetrov is a wonderful Blue Bird.

One very interesting part of this production is what occurs right after the prince awakens Aurora with the kiss - the 3rd act starts!!! It makes one wonder - were they all sleeping to? Or did they tag along with the prince to the castle (I didnt see them in the boat)?

And then theres the scenery. Simon Versildze does the honors here with his 'finger paint' looking sets. Bland colors and dull canvasas abound here. He has designed many productions in Russia for the ballet (his 1989 sets for the Kirov's revival of Gusev's "Le Corsaire" are really nice). Perhaps he was the only designer approved by the communists for his lack of imagination. I must say however that the panorama scene is very nice, mostly do to the Bolshoi's deep and wide stage. The costumes are very tacky, particularly the very "drag-queen-esque" headdresses the fairies wear in the first scene.

One reviewer below calls this production "traditional". Any production of "The Sleeping Beauty" that has the third act start right after the Prince awakens Aurora is anything but traditional. I suppose this would be a nice addition to a ballet film collection only as a referance to the Bolshoi's version, but thats it!

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, luscious ballet, July 15, 1999

By A Customer

This is a beautiful, luscious ballet with opulent costuming. The dancing and choreography are fabulous. It's only flaw is that of the Russian style of reserved emotion and passion in favor of technical perfection.