"The tales of Hoffmann" (1951) is the last really succesful collaboration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. After the success of the ballet in "The red shoes" (1948) they ventured into a combination of opera and ballet this time.
"The tales of Hoffmann" is an adaptation of an opera by Jacques Offenbach, which in turn was based on three short stories by E. T. A Hoffmann.
"The tales of Hoffmann" is al but a live registration of an opera, although there is nothing wrong with that. See the beautiful adaptation Ingmar Bergman made from Mozarts opera "The magic flute" in 1975. In "The tales of Hoffmann" however there are added animations and a color palette that is nearly hallucinant.
A major improvement in my opinion is the decision to record the soundtrack beforehand. This made it possible to seperate the singers (out of view) and the dancers / actors (in view). One thing that often undermines the credibility of a (real live) opera is the age difference between the singers and the characters they play. Personally I always have difficulties identifying with a singer way in his forties playing a teenager in love.
"The tales of Hoffman" consist of three tales. In all tales Hoffmann falls in love with a woman but finds his courtings precluded by a villain.
One review remarks that the three stories together form the erotic career of the average man. I am not convinced. I am much more inclined to distill the erotic career of the average man from the anthology film "Boccaccio '70" (1962). It runs from the timid teenager winning a night with the woman of his dreams (Sophia Loren) in a lottery (part directed by Vittorio de Sica) to the frustrated middle aged man protesting in the name of decency (he thinks) agains a billboard with a stimulating Anita Ekberg on it (part directed by Federico Fellini).
"The tales of Hoffmann" is an adaptation of an opera by Jacques Offenbach, which in turn was based on three short stories by E. T. A Hoffmann.
"The tales of Hoffmann" is al but a live registration of an opera, although there is nothing wrong with that. See the beautiful adaptation Ingmar Bergman made from Mozarts opera "The magic flute" in 1975. In "The tales of Hoffmann" however there are added animations and a color palette that is nearly hallucinant.
A major improvement in my opinion is the decision to record the soundtrack beforehand. This made it possible to seperate the singers (out of view) and the dancers / actors (in view). One thing that often undermines the credibility of a (real live) opera is the age difference between the singers and the characters they play. Personally I always have difficulties identifying with a singer way in his forties playing a teenager in love.
"The tales of Hoffman" consist of three tales. In all tales Hoffmann falls in love with a woman but finds his courtings precluded by a villain.
One review remarks that the three stories together form the erotic career of the average man. I am not convinced. I am much more inclined to distill the erotic career of the average man from the anthology film "Boccaccio '70" (1962). It runs from the timid teenager winning a night with the woman of his dreams (Sophia Loren) in a lottery (part directed by Vittorio de Sica) to the frustrated middle aged man protesting in the name of decency (he thinks) agains a billboard with a stimulating Anita Ekberg on it (part directed by Federico Fellini).