nutcracker : the motion picture
the film' s poster title nutcracker: the motion picture is never seen on screen .
nutcracker: original motion picture soundtrack (musical cd, 1986) [ worldcat. org ]
the joy of the new york city ballet in an exciting family holiday motion picture .
make - up artist magazine - motion. picture. television. theater. print
we found some old vhs tapes with hours of behind the scenes footage from the original filming of nutcracker: the motion picture. we compiled the best moments to share with you for the ultimate # throwbackthursday. urltoken
but the new
nutcracker
seems less effective or enjoyable than carroll ballard' s 1986
nutcracker: the motion picture ,
a film then widely disparaged for its dancing, its directorial approach, its darkened interpretation .
and one can only expect that the ballet’s popularity will continue to grow in coming years. more and more companies are performing the nutcracker annually, and a major motion picture inspired by the ballet featuring professional ballerina misty copeland is in the works for 2018 .
nutcracker: original motion picture soundtrack / peter ilich tchaikovsky; carroll ballard; maurice sendak; neville creed; charles mackerras; london symphony orchestra. ; tiffin school. boys' choir. ; cleveland, ohio: telarc, ℗1986 .
nutcracker: the motion picture (also known onscreen as pacific northwest ballet' s nutcracker and simply nutcracker) is a 1986 christmas film, based on the 1983 - 2014 stage version of the nutcracker by kent stowell and maurice sendak. it was produced by hyperion pictures, the kusher - locke company, and pacific northwest ballet and originally released in movie theaters by atlantic releasing corporation on november 26, 1986 .
wade walthall is listed in the credits as playing the nutcracker, when in fact he plays the nutcracker prince. the nutcracker himself is billed in the credits as
fighting nutcracker
, and is played by jacob rice .
with animal epics like
the black stallion
and
never cry wolf
behind him, carroll ballard is more attuned to paws than pas de deux. the proof is in
nutcracker: the motion picture ,
his galloping maladaptation of the dance classic as revised by the pacific northwest ballet .
there is certainly a modern sensibility behind'' nutcracker, the motion picture.'' the key to its heartlessness lies in its final images. clara, the adolescent heroine, and her nutcracker prince conclude their fantasyland visit and zoom upward. so far so good - in traditional versions of the ballet, they fly up in a sleigh .
“nutcracker ballet show tickets” the best way to experience tchaikovsky’s ballet is with nutcracker ballet show tickets. if that’s not possible you can watch one of the several television and film adaptations of the ballet. film productions include nutcracker: the motion picture (1986), the nutcracker prince (1990), barbie in the nutcracker (2001), and the nutcracker in 3d (2010). there have also been versions featuring figure skating instead of dancing. productions of this ilk have starred world class skaters like dorothy hamill, peggy fleming, oksana baiul, rudy galindo, tai babilonia, and randy gardner .
there is every reason to approach
nutcracker, the motion picture
( citywide) with the highest hopes. its director is carroll ballard, whose eye and sure touch made
the black stallion
among a half - dozen of the best young people' s films ever made, and who followed that with the haunting
never cry wolf .
complete ballet score recorded for the 1986 motion picture directed by carroll ballard, featuring the pacific northwest ballet, with sets and costumes by maurice sendak. compact disc. program notes and synopsis by richard e. rodda (23 p. : ill .) laid in container .
i thought you might be interested in this item at urltoken title: nutcracker: original motion picture soundtrack author: peter ilich tchaikovsky; carroll ballard; maurice sendak; neville creed; charles mackerras; london symphony orchestra; tiffin school. boys' choir publisher: cleveland, ohio: telarc, ℗1986. oclc: 20237341
the much - loved and timeless christmas ballet nutcracker is brought to the screen in a magical feature film adaptation – nutcracker: the motion picture – designed by legendary author and artist maurice sendak (where the wild things are). based upon the pacific northwest ballet’s original production, this wonderful version has been in much demand for many years, and now it makes its long awaited arrival on dvd for the very first time, on 16 november 2015 courtesy of second sight .
of all the productions of the nutcracker i' ve seen, this one would win my vote for best picture out of the batch. it' s very well focused with regards to the actual storyline. good thing i taped it while i had the chance .
“the nutcracker suite” the music of the nutcracker debuted long before the ballet. in march of 1892, tchaikovsky conducted the nutcracker suite at the st. petersburg branch of the musical society. this suite became very popular and for while was more admired than the ballet. the suite features the nutcracker’s most famous sequences including the “dance of the sugar - plum fairy, ” “russian dance, ” “arabian dance, ” and “waltz of the flowers. ”
` 'nutcracker, the motion picture '` will be at best a footnote to the career of carroll ballard, the talented director of '` the black stallion '` and '` never cry wolf. '` by all evidence a hasty production - - the kind of thing a filmmaker does to keep busy between more important projects - - the film is basically content to be a record of the tchaikovsky ballet perennial, as staged by the pacific northwest ballet .
columbia city ballet’s * * the nutcracker * * is one of a few local productions .
hailed as
america' s company of firsts ,
the joffrey ballet' s long list of
firsts
includes being the first dance company to perform at the white house at jacqueline kennedy' s invitation, the first to commission a rock' n' roll ballet, the first and only dance company to appear on the cover of time magazine, and the first company to have had a major motion picture based on it, robert altman' s the company .
there are many versions of the nutcracker. however, this is the very best. the storyline goes beyond the usual interpretation: the dancing is outstanding ...
the nutcracker is holiday tradition. every year, millions of nutcracker fans from los angeles to new york attend local productions of the famous ballet at area concert halls, theaters, and performance venues. for many families, attending the nutcracker is an annual holiday tradition like hanging stockings on the chimney and caroling around the neighborhood .
swordplay and cannon blasts during the battle scene between the mouse army and the nutcracker' s soldiers. some scary faces and masks .
movies based on ballets are back in vogue.'' el amor brujo,'' a new film by carlos saura and antonio gades, is inspired by the ballet of the same name originally created in 1915. the choreography was by the spanish dancer pastora imperio, set to a now - celebrated score by manuel de falla.'' nutcracker, the motion picture,'' as conceived by maurice sendak and kent stowell and directed by carroll ballard, is a version of the even more famous 1890 russian ballet to tchaikovsky' s score .
creativity reigns: a 'nutcracker' that' s more than ...
i adore this production of the nutcracker. i loved the sets, by maurice sendak. i loved the costumes, by maurice sendak .
... bolshoi ballets nutcracker with maximova and vasilli which was brilliant. in this version the costumes
i thoroughly enjoy watching this version of the nutcracker; the choreography is superb, the dancers are magnificent, and - of course - the music is magical .
this is the best nutcracker i have seen! the costumes were fantastic, and the dancing was fabulous. tony randall did a fantastic job !
“synonymous with the christmas season” the nutcracker is a two - act ballet with a score written by pyotr ilyrich tchaikovsky. it’s based on the story “the nutcracker and the mouse king” by e. t. a hoffman. the work is probably the most famous ballet in the world and is synonymous with the christmas season. while santa and his reindeer make nary an appearance, the story of the nutcracker is set on christmas eve and its characters and settings embody the spirit of the season. other yule tide accoutrements include a christmas tree, a christmas party, and of course, a wooden nutcracker .
setting the scene, where maeve also essentially watches a trailer for her own life, to “motion picture soundtrack” could be an emotional cheat, but it’s the show attempting its own musical mad men or sopranos moment. the memorable epiphanies at the ends of those shows were soundtracked with songs like “i’d like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony) ” and “don’t stop believin’” as if they were the conscience of their main characters. maeve has finally achieved consciousness, and gets her own orchestral soundtrack .
however, despite the fact that the nutcracker is now arguably the most popular ballet in dance history, the performance is still one that dancers love to hate — understandable, given the endless repetition of performing the same story every year. still, ballet companies need the nutcracker as much as audiences want to see it performed .
it wasn’t until the american staging of the ballet in 1954 by george balanchine that the nutcracker began to gain popularity. the idea of the ballet as an annual tradition did not take root until the mid - 1960s .
sendak went back to the early 19th - century short story by e. t. a. hoffmann called
the nutcracker and the mouse king .
peter ilyich tchaikovsky 's ballet, the nutcracker, is probably america 's no. 1 stage attraction for the christmas season .
in seattle, the pacific northwest ballet performs the nutcracker to that same ubiquitous pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky score. the ballet tells the story of clara, a young girl whose grandfather gives her a nutcracker at a party. one night, clara goes searching for her nutcracker and walks right into a battle between a regiment of toy soldiers and a wily team of oversized rodents .
in the opening credits, macaulay culkin is listed as playing drosselmeier' s nephew, but he is not listed as playing either the nutcracker or the prince .
in seattle, maurice sendak' s' wild'' nutcracker' reaches its final act for more than 30 years, the pacific northwest ballet' s nutcracker has used sets and costumes designed by the author of where the wild things are. this year, the ballet is retiring the production .
the pacific northwest ballet' s nutcracker features choreography by kent stowell and sets and costumes by the late children' s book author maurice sendak .
below, are ten interesting facts about the nutcracker. use these nuggets of nutcracker knowledge when you and your family attend the holiday - themed ballet. our fascinating tidbits are not only a great way to get excited about the show but sharing them can help pass the time during intermission .
“one long night of music” the nutcracker’s premiere was part of a double bill with tchaikovsky’s final opera, iolanta. the cracker went on last and ended shortly after midnight—that’s one long night of music. the lateness of the hour was responsible for more than a few of the negative critiques. the production’s principal ballerina, antoinetta dell - era, didn’t hit the stage as the sugar plum fairy until the waning moments of the second act. basically the nutcracker made the audience wait for the ballet’s star attraction .
subscribe to trailers: urltoken subscribe to coming soon: urltoken subscribe to classic trailers: urltoken like us on facebook: urltoken follow us on twitter: urltoken nutcracker: the motion picture trailer - directed by carroll ballard and starring hugh bigney, patricia barker, patricia barker, vanessa sharp, wade walthall. the colorful holiday classic is finally brought to the big screen, designed by famed children' s story author and artist maurice sendak, and written for the first time to be as close as possible to the original story. a lavish, exciting and heart - warming celebration of dance, of music, and of life. based upon the pacific northwest ballet' s original production. mgm - 1986
this film adaptation of the fairytale and ballet tells the story of little clara stahlbaum and her christmas gift, a beautiful nutcracker. on christmas eve, clara' s godfather gives her the present, but her brother breaks it out of jealousy. the nutcracker is repaired, and late that night, when clara
with the help of a fake chin, nose and bald pate, hugh bigney, 30, created the starring role of herr drosselmeyer, the doll maker who sets the story of
the nutcracker
in motion. his daughter, shaundra, 8, is a baby mouse in the movie .
i find it difficult ,
says bigney ,
to go to lunch and come back and be the same way. carroll is interesting to watch. as the day goes on, i grow tired and get unresponsive. and he' s just the opposite !
near midnight, clara finds her nutcracker and puts him on the shelf. and as the clock strikes 12, the christmas tree gets bigger and all the toy soldiers, as well as the nutcracker, come to life and battle the mice. as the mouse king approaches, his head multiplies. when the mice overpower the soldiers, clara takes off her slipper and throws it at the multi - headed mouse king causing his body to become multiple little mice as the slipper glows. what remains of the mouse king is his shirt. the nutcracker crawls in transforming into a handsome prince and clara follows him. they dance romantically and as they depart, the snow falls and the snow fairies appear to dance the
waltz of the snowflakes
.
near midnight, clara finds her nutcracker and puts him on the shelf. and as the clock strikes 12, the christmas tree gets bigger and all the toy soldiers, as well as the nutcracker, come to life and battle the mice. as the mouse king approaches, grows to giant - size and his head multiplies until he has seven heads. when the mice overpower the soldiers and the nutcracker himself is threatened, clara takes off her slipper, which glows, and throws it at the multi - headed mouse king causing his body to shrink back to mouse - size and become one - headed again. what remains of the giant mouse king is his coat and his crown. the nutcracker crawls in the sleeve after the fleeing mouse and clara follows him, becoming an adult as she wanders through the coat' s passageways. she emerges from the coat onto a wintry pavilion, where she finds the nutcracker transformed into a handsome prince. they dance romantically, and as they depart the snow falls and the snow fairies appear to dance the
waltz of the snowflakes
.
the opening shots of
the nutcracker
show an illustrator setting out his tools and beginning to sketch some of the sets and characters in the story. the drawings are by maurice sendak, an artist whose work inspired this production, and they supply a promising beginning: perhaps this film will liberate
the nutcracker
from its fate as an annual holiday chestnut .
“adults instead of children” for the nutcracker’s debut, students from the imperial ballet school in st. petersburg were cast as children. it was not a popular decision. in a 1919 production by choreographer alexander groshky, adults were given the roles of clara and the nutcracker prince. fans loved the decision. using adults instead of children was one of the many criticisms addressed by the groshky’s version .
a review of the album in classical guitar magazine stated :
after listening to the cd, i must admit that sparks catches the essence of the music in a wonderful way. for the advanced player, this is an excellent edition to reap the rewards of the nutcracker suite .
neither the choreography (by kent stowell) nor the dancing (by patricia barker as the dream clara, and wade walthall as the nutcracker) is anything out of the ordinary. what makes this production special is the collaboration of children 's book author maurice sendak on the design of the sets and costumes .
nutcracker: the movie
first hit theatres in 1986. maurice sendak who wrote and illustrated
where the wild things are
did the designs for the visuals in the movie. my favorite of the christmastide stories... i truly enjoyed this version .
“lukewarm reception at best” today, whether it’s the nutcracker in atlanta or the nutcracker in philadelphia, tchaikovsky’s ballet is one of the most endearing and beloved live events of the year. back when it debuted on dec. 18, 1892 in st. petersburg, russia the ballet received a lukewarm reception at best. even tchaikovsky’s classic score received mixed reviews .
the difference here is that they now come plummeting down - to certain metaphoric death. a toy proscenium takes the form of a toothy nutcracker mask - the jaws snap shut with chilling finality .
whether through the classical ballet itself or one of the countless films inspired by its story or some holiday tv commercial featuring its famed tchaikovsky score, the nutcracker is everywhere this time of year .
“george balanchine staged the ballet” every year around christmastime, nutcracker productions pop up all over the united states. fans are likely to find the nutcracker in boston, the nutcracker in houston, as well as several other major u. s. cities. this tradition began in 1954 when choreographer george balanchine staged the ballet in new york. his version, which used the best parts of the original production as well as some new elements including a nephew for drosselmeyer, became insanely popular in the big apple. balanchine’s production was twice broadcasted on network television .
this film adaptation of the fairytale and ballet tells the story of little clara stahlbaum and her christmas gift, a beautiful nutcracker. on christmas eve, clara' s godfather gives her the present, but her brother breaks it out of jealousy. the nutcracker is repaired, and late that night, when clara sneaks downstairs to look at it, she has a vivid dream in which an army of mice led by the mouse king threaten her and the nutcracker turns into a prince to save her .
thirteen - year - old vanessa sharp plays the adolescent clara, a bittersweet beauty torn between her toy nutcracker and the prince of her dreams. patricia barker, the elegant ballerina who dances the grown - up dream clara, is squired by wade walthall, who makes a swarthy, swashbuckling nutcracker prince. the familiar music is performed by the london symphony orchestra conducted by sir charles mackerras .
i watched the end of the bolshoi ballets nutcracker with maximova and vasilli which was brilliant. in this version the costumes, choreography and dancing don' t compare. in ballet go for bolshoi i
nothing explicit, but herr dosselmeier clearly has strong, perhaps sensual, feelings for his young god - daughter in this version of the nutcracker .
clara morphs into a woman as she follows the nutcracker through the folds of drosselmeier' s gigantic cloak. here, clara and the sugar plum fairy are interchangeable. moreover, the narrator speaks of the nutcracker
only having eyes
for her as they danced the night away. young viewers might not catch on to the subtext, but adults certainly will. meanwhile, the dancing, the music, the costumes and the sets are stunning. a good choice for more mature viewers and fans of sendak' s magical artistic contribution .
if you are looking for a nutcracker video and are confused as to which one to get, because there are just so many, stop here! this is the best version of the nutcracker, good for people who like a story and for people who like dance. this version has the most character development and best cinemotagraphy out of all the nutcrackers. the dancing and the sets are also exquisit .
a christmas party is at hand and a master craftsman is at work in his studio making toys for the children. when the eve of the big party arrives, clara and her brother fritz are enjoying the festivities with their friends and family when the craftsman, herr drosselmeier, arrives with a bag full of toys, including a doll house with two dancing dolls inside for his favorite goddaughter, clara. she, however, prefers the nutcracker which falls from the christmas tree, into her arms. after naughty fritz breaks the nutcracker, clara visits it at midnight to witness an army of mice come to life and engage in battle with the nutcracker and his army. clara follows the nutcracker on a journey where they meet many characters who fascinate them with their dances .
“entertaining and visually stunning version” the hard nut won ovation tv’s “battle of the nutcrackers” in 2007, 2008, and 2009. probably due to its immense popularity, the production was not included in the annual contest in 2010. this production of the nutcracker was choreographed by mark morris. he updated the sets and the costumes using images inspired by artist charles burns. since 2007, fans have been able to watch this entertaining and visually stunning version of the nutcracker on dvd .
we used to own this pacific northwest version of the nutcracker on vhs and it was our very favorite for many years. i must say when viewing the new dvd that we recently purchased, i was disappointed. they claim the copy to be widescreen but the editing is not the same as our old vhs copy. the old one had more panoramic shots when it mattered. this one has close ups when the panoramic would have been a better choice to really do the ballet justice. the ballet performers do an excellent job, but it takes a whole team to create quality. whoever edited this mgm limited addition collection version may have used what they had available to get the best picture quality, but the picture as a whole was compromised in the process. sad. also the cover photo does not match this particular version. on the back there is one small snapshot true to what one sees on the dvd. also, they say this dvd lasts for 85 minutes. the actual numbers on my dvd player came to 125 minutes, a far cry from what was printed. maybe if this could be re - done from the vhs version they would get a better product ?
the pacific northwest ballet' s nutcracker features choreography by kent stowell and sets and costumes by the late children' s book author maurice sendak. angela sterling / pacific northwest ballet hide caption
featuring sets and costumes designed by visionary author and artist maurice sendak, this big - screen adaptation of the pacific northwest ballet’s long - running performance of the nutcracker is a dreamy, fantastical take on the christmas classic .
“not one of tchaikovsky’s favorites” the score for the nutcracker is not only tchaikovsky’s most famous work but it’s one of the most famous pieces in all of western music. despite its popularity and renown, the nutcracker score was not one of tchaikovsky’s favorites. for one, he was given very specific directions to its composition and for him, the strict guidelines sucked out all the fun. second, the maestro’s sister died shortly before he began working on the score—more than likely that had a negative effect on tchaikovsky’s attitude towards the commission .
sendak had designed three operas and one off - broadway children' s musical, but stowell says he regarded the typical nutcracker as, well, too cute .
celebrate the holiday season and create lasting memories with family and friends at the nutcracker. cardmembers will commemorate this special experience with a pre - signed program from the performance and a pre - signed pointe shoe from a ballerina .
dreams and fantasies are often punctured, it is true. and the film makers here are convincingly consistent about the action taking part in a dream. moreover, in a preface to his illustrated book based on e. t. a. hoffmann' s tale ('' the nutcracker,'' crown publishers) mr. sendak explains that he did not understand the saccharine sweetness of the ballet when compared to the dark side of the hoffmann tale.'' jack anderson' s book' the nutcracker ballet' helped unravel some of the mystery,'' mr. sendak wrote. he learned that the 1890 ballet was not based on the hoffmann tale about a nutcracker but on a lighter version by alexandre dumas pere .
: dreams are strangely familiar places. they are not all make - believe, but only the homely inside of yourself, like the inner lining of your favorite coat, or like the sweet kernel of the hardest nut that only the jaws of my nutcracker prince could reveal to me .
live performance of the ballet, composed by tchaikovsky, about a nutcracker doll that comes to life at the stroke of midnight. valery gergiev conducts the mariinsky orchestra, with the mariinsky ballet performing vasily vainonen' s choreography. the dancers include alina somova, vladimir shklyarov and fyodor lopukhov .
stowell (right) says sendak (left) needed some convincing before he signed on to design a new nutcracker. their version of the ballet debuted in 1983 .
“people of all ages want to believe in that victory, ” the director continues. “ballet companies all over the world are striving to send this message of hope through the nutcracker, which means they bring their best effort. ”
the classic feature - film adaptation of the timeless christmas ballet for the first time on dvd .
combining the visionary imaginations of two premier fantasists, director henry selick (the nightmare before christmas) and author neil gaiman (sandman), coraline is a wondrous and thrilling, fun and suspenseful adventure that honors and redefines two moviemaking traditions. it is a stop - motion animated feature – and, as the first one to be conceived and photographed in stereoscopic 3 - d, unlike anything moviegoers have ever experienced before .
it' s the core, and maybe the self - delusion, of this
nutcracker
that it' s presented as a ballet film of laborious integrity, when, in a certain way, it' s really another macaulay culkin vehicle :
home alone in fairyland st. petersburg .
not that he dominates
the nutcracker .
sadly, nobody seems to .
but
nutcracker' s
road to the screen really began in 1981 when artistic director stowell' s wife, francia russell, the pnb' s associate artistic director, saw the sendak - designed
the magic flute' in houston. she suggested he do it .
dance films turn great when some alchemy of performer, director and design creates a kind of visual music to bond with the aural. that doesn' t happen in
george balanchine' s the nutcracker .
acknowledging the occasion for which the piece was composed, handel attached descriptive titles to the two central movements: the third movement is called “la paix” (“the peace”) in honour of the treaty itself, and the fourth is called “la réjouissance” (“the rejoicing”) to commemorate the mood of elation that followed .
“the land of the sweets and all the unusual places visited within the adventure through dance interludes are opportunities for designers to explore fun places that differ from traditional ballet and dance design, ” says eric morris, lighting designer and production manager for the production of the nutcracker by ann brodie’s carolina ballet. “it allows for a great breadth of imagination. ”
for many, the nutcracker represents not only the festive holiday spirit, but also an enticing escape from everyday life. as much as any ballet could, this one embodies the desire of many artists to transport their audiences to a place beyond reality .
a monster from maurice sendak' s book
where the wild things are
can be seen peeking over the horizon during the boat ride at the start of the second act .
i try to watch a different dvd of the nutcracker every christmas. this was very different as it is a film, and not recorded in a theatre. all the costumes were beautiful, and the colours were brilliant. the music was excellent, but one of the
scores
they played, i had never heard before .
what the celebrated children' s illustrator and designer for new york city opera has actually
lost
is the hanging centerpiece in his set design for a new, unorthodox film version of tchaikovsky' s
nutcracker
ballet .
strangely, though, the tchaikovsky favorite has, until now, never been filmed. that oversight, however, has been corrected; the movie version, nutcracker, performed by seattle 's pacific northwest ballet, opens wednesday .
i gotta say. i just love this version of the nutcracker. i' m a fan of the ballet and i' ve seen quite a few renditions but none seamed to strike a chord as well as this one. i actually saw this version of the ballet performed live a couple years ago in seattle. if there' s a nutcracker movie to be seen, this is the one to see. it may have ommited the sugar plum fairy but it' s still excellent .
the performance was just ok. i didn' t see the pre restoration version so cannot compare the quality .
clara, her family, and all their guests dance and play at the christmas party. as herr drosselmeyer approaches the room with a bag full of presents, he gives the toys to the children. he also entertains them, especially clara, by playing a castle - shaped music box with a ballerina doll inside. from the same castle comes another figure doing the sword dance and the guests are entertained by a trio of masquerade dancers. but clara, in this version of the ballet, is noticeably uncomfortable around drosselmeyer, and he seems to be leering at her. suddenly, an object drops off the christmas tree; it is a nutcracker. clara, who has found the nutcracker, dances happily around the room, but fritz snatches it away and damages it with a toy sword, which makes her cry. luckily, he is stopped by his father and to make her feel better herr drosselmeyer mends the nutcracker with a handkerchief. the guests depart the party and clara' s parents go upstairs .
clara, her family, and all their guests dance and play at the christmas party. as herr drosselmeyer approaches the room with a bag full of presents, he gives the toys to the children. he also entertains them, especially clara, by playing a castle - shaped music box (the project he ws creating at the film' s start) with a ballerina doll inside. from the same castle comes another figure doing the sword dance and the guests are entertained by a trio of masquerade dancers. but clara, in this version of the ballet, is noticeably uncomfortable around drosselmeyer, and he seems to be leering at her. suddenly, an object drops off the christmas tree; it is a nutcracker. clara, who has found the nutcracker, dances happily around the room, but fritz snatches it away and damages it with a toy sword, which makes her cry. luckily, he is stopped by his father and to make her feel better, herr drosselmeyer mends the nutcracker with a handkerchief. after everybody dances, the guests depart the party and clara' s parents go upstairs .
in this holiday classic, when a girl' s toy nutcracker comes alive, she is whisked away to an enchanted land of dolls and a dangerous mouse king .
across the sea, clara and the prince sail to a castle where they are welcomed by the prince' s royal court. there, the prince and the jealous, one - eyed pasha, who strongly resembles drosselmeyer, develop a rivalry over clara. the members of the court perform the famous act ii divertissements (trepak, chinese dance, arabian dance, dance of the toy flutes, etc .) as well as the waltz of the flowers, and clara performs the dance of the sugar plum fairy. she and the prince dance a romantic pas de deux. at the end, she and the prince, locked in each other' s arms, are magically levitated by the pasha after bidding farewell to the court. suddenly the pasha waves his hand, and clara and her prince are separated and begin to freefall. before they can hit the ground, the prince turns back into a nutcracker and clara is jolted awake from what has turned out to be a dream .
one of the last true pieces of las vegas history, at just under 31, 000 square feet, hartland mansion is the largest private residence ever built in the city. we are very pleased to offer the mansion to you as an extraordinary location for your wedding, reception, mitzvah, birthday party, anniversary or corporate event. hartland has hosted some extraordinary events, including book launches and photo & film shoots. it was used for the motion picture' casino' starring robert de niro, sharon stone and joe pesci, and most recently was used for ceelo green and the muppets' music video' all i need is love'. we can coordinate every service you could possibly need, including event location, invitations, catering of food & beverages, transportation, audio / video, live entertainment, custom linens and award - winning floral design. you and your guests will be captivated by the history and mystique that fills this opulent home. hartland mansion is truly one of those once - in - a - lifetime experiences !
seattle — the dancers of the pacific northwest ballet who have never seen a film company at work on their stage are somewhat in awe of the commotion caused by transferring their successful production of
the nutcracker
to the screen. mostly in their 20s, they wander around in their 18th - century dress or mouse costumes fascinated by the mechanics of repeating and repeating steps and sequences for director carroll ballard .
stowell (right) says sendak (left) needed some convincing before he signed on to design a new nutcracker. their version of the ballet debuted in 1983. david cooper / pacific northwest ballet hide caption
sendak, writer and illustrator of children' s books, designs the fantastical sets and bases the story on e. t. a. hoffman' s original fairytale ,
the nutcracker and the mouse king .
the music is still tchaikovsky. but look elsewhere for your sugarplum fairies. the themes here confront darker dreams of childhood - - the heroine clara' s sexual awakening, the sibling rivalry between clara and her horrid little brother fritz, and the ambiguity of her relationship with her godfather herr dr. drosselmeier .
remember: only subscribers enjoy the best seats in the house and great benefits .
“ the nutcracker is ultimately a celebration — of good over evil, love over anger, hope over despair, and extravagant beauty over the mundane, ” columbia classical ballet artistic director radenko pavlovich offers. the ballet has a near constant presence around the midlands each holiday season, with pavlovich’s company offering one of four productions slated for the area' s major performance spaces .
the movie' s director is carroll ballard, the great cinematographer whose first two films as a director were the wonderful
the black stallion
and the scarcely less wonderful
never cry wolf .
both of those movies were big - scale, lyrical, brawny outdoor productions about man and nature. what attracted ballard to the fragile and cutesy - poo
nutcracker
? watching the film, i never got the feeling of freedom and joy he communicated so clearly in his other films .
across the sea, clara and the prince sail to a castle where they are welcomed by the prince' s royal court. there, the prince and the jealous, one - eyed pasha, who strongly resembles drosselmeyer, develop a rivalry over clara. under the pasha' s direction, the members of the court perform the famous act ii divertissements (trepak, chinese dance, arabian dance, dance of the toy flutes, etc .) as well as the waltz of the flowers, and clara performs the dance of the sugar plum fairy. she and the prince dance a romantic pas de deux. at the end, she and the prince, locked in each other' s arms, are magically levitated by the pasha after bidding farewell to the court. suddenly the pasha waves his hand, and clara and her prince are separated and begin to free - fall. before they can hit the ground, the prince turns back into a nutcracker and clara (a young girl again) is jolted awake from what has turned out to be a dream .
* please note: the program will be signed by someone from the artistic team. the shoe packet contains a pointe shoe used in a performance, signed by the dancer whom the shoe belongs to, as well as a bio of the dancer .
besides being seen as a film, sendak 's nutcracker can also be seen in book form - - crown has published an oversized volume containing a new english translation of the tale, plus sendak 's illustrations .
been looking for this on dvd forever, has yet to be released. thanks itunes, its the only nutcracker i' ve seen thats sufficiently creepy instead of fruity with mice in tutus. made my christmas day !
ballard is huddled behind a camera in the empty orchestra pit of the university of washington' s meany auditorium rethinking many elements of the christmas classic for the camera. he wants the chandelier removed from the camera' s shot because
the void works for us ,
he tells sendak .
commissioned by lev ivanov and choreographed by marius petipa, the first ever performance of the ballet was a flop. this story that pavlovich refers to as a “message of hope” was called boring and nonsensical by critics. one critic even said that “for the artistic art of... ballet, ” the story of maria, her prince nutcracker and their journey to the land of the sweets was “yet one more step downwards. ”
the most fantasy - filled magical version of the nutcracker on film i' ve been able to find. it' s the version which always captured my imagination like none other. i think it' s designed to put kids to sleep on christmas eve, because it has a dreamy look and feel .
for more than three decades, seattle' s nutcracker has used sets and costumes designed by sendak, who died in 2012. but now the pacific northwest ballet is retiring its one - of - a - kind production .
the film features choreography by kent stowell, direction by carroll ballard (whose movies include the black stallion) and designs by maurice sendak, the world 's leading writer - illustrator of children 's books (where the wild things are, outside over there, etc .). considering sendak 's unique stature in his field, one wonders why he never tackled the nutcracker years ago .
during the private pre - show reception, inside access guests will be offered hors d' oeuvres, beer, wine, and holiday - inspired beverages. two ballerinas in nutcracker costumes will be available to take photos with guests .
“we live in this computer - generated, digital world and the nutcracker comes along and it’s visceral, tangible, breathing life even in the setting of a dreamscape, ” pavlovich says. “we see the human form at play — in sensual movement, in the freedom of flight, in the celebration of nature and in the unity of heroic love. where else can you go to see all of that on a damp, cold winter’s night? ”
that premiered in london on april 27, 1749. the work was composed for performance at an outdoor festival celebrating the end of the
pacific northwest ballet' s jessika anspach says a scene from act i of sendak' s nutcracker, in which snow falls on twirling ballerina snowflakes, made her want to be a dancer .
with gorgeous sets designed by the legendary maurice sendak, this version of the nutcracker ballet uses the film media very nicely. there is a surreal quality to the story which does not always come across on stage. dream sequences - - dreams within dreams - - and journeys through time and space unfold, lotus - like, as the story progresses. though there is no dialogue in the ballet, this movie employs an older clara narrating her experiences at christmas, while mentioning her complicated feelings for her godfather, herr drosselmeier (hugh bigney), who cannot tear himself away from young clara (vanessa sharp). this characterization of a man who seethes with jealousy when clara dances with the nutcracker brings a different dynamic to the classic christmas tale .
sendak, as one of the few writers for children to preserve an appreciation for the dark side of fantasy, is a good match for the grotesque, often frightening e. t. a. hoffmann tale upon which the tchaikovsky score is based. structured as a dream in which a young girl finds her christmas toys come to life, the story is actually a fairly twisted family romance, involving a seductive father (transformed into the nutcracker), a competitive mother
parents need to know that this theatrical version of the nutcracker ballet hints at an attraction between clara and her godfather. a teensy bit creepy perhaps, but it serves to create some interesting tension that will go over most kids' heads .
when stowell first approached sendak in 1979 with the offer of designing pacific northwest 's new nutcracker, sendak was completely turned off by the idea. his first response to stowell was '` no, how banal! , '` scoring his abhorrence for '` the illogical, sugarplum fairy productions '` of the ballet he had seen all his life in new york .
“the celesta” one part of the score tchaikovsky did enjoy was his use of the celesta, an instrument he discovered during a trip to paris. the celesta is a keyboard which looks like a piano but instead of hammers striking strings, the hammer strike steel plates. the celesta was used in the “dance of the sugar plum fairy, ” the christmas party scene, and a few other occasions in act ii .
go behind the scenes of the mission: impossible movies, check out the latest videos and trailers, and see which spy movies topped the box office in our mission: impossible guide .
there weren’t as many anachronistic surprises on the soundtrack to westworld this week, but one song on the player piano was all the show needed to put the hosts’ robotic fears into perspective .
brief excerpt from the overture of george frideric handel' s music for the royal fireworks; from a 1952 recording by the wind ensemble of the berlin philharmonic orchestra conducted by fritz lehmann .
over the years, seattle' s nutcracker has changed at least one child' s life. it was the first ballet seattle native jessika anspach ever saw, and she says watching a scene at the end of act i — in which snow falls on top of twirling ballerina snowflakes — made her want to dance. now she' s in her 11th year with the pacific northwest ballet .
clara is vulnerable and strong at the same time. she is the one who kills the mouse king by throwing her magical slipper at him .
ardolino' s unobtrusive style, meant to enhance the production, may actually diminish it. the dancing is fine, but not scintillating. (to an untrained eye, the best turns were by kistler, jessica lynn cohen as little marie, and unheralded wendy whelan, as the sinuous harem girl coffee .) the effect of the stark light on the stark ter - arutunian sets is to emphasize their sheer minimalism, and recall how much more interesting and delightfully elaborate the sets were in ballard' s
nutcracker ,
with maurice sendak' s magically eerie post - freudian designs .
kent stowell and his wife, francia russell, were the ballet' s artistic directors back in the 1980s, when they envisioned a different kind of nutcracker production and approached sendak to help them realize it .
i flew to new york ,
stowell says ,
and we sat down and started talking about it. and i said,' well, i want to do a nutcracker.' and [ sendak ] says,' well, i don' t even like ballet.'
a re - creation of the late, legendary ballet master' s staging of tchaikovsky' s seasonal classic, featuring balanchine' s old troupe, the new york city ballet, with its film superstar graduate, onetime student dancer macaulay culkin, as the nutcracker prince, it' s a film that should be a marvel, but isn' t .
interestingly, the current'' amor brujo,'' despite a modernistic junk - heap setting, is closer to its source than this'' nutcracker,'' which has fairy - tale decor but also an out - to - shock revisionism that makes mincemeat of the original ballet' s conception .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him. riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you. …
two executives from the walt disney studios also attended the premiere, and they urged stowell and sendak to make a film of it. they suggested as director carroll ballard, whose second movie, never cry wolf, was a disney release. after a lengthy period of dickering (should they make simply a film of the ballet or a film based on the production ?), ballard, his wife and 5 - year - old daughter nora went to seattle to see the nutcracker. the three - - particularly little nora - - fell in love with the show, and ballard agreed to do the movie .
this article is issued from wikipedia - version of the 1 / 24 / 2014. the text is available under the creative commons attribution / share alike but additional terms may apply for the media files .
here it is! ever since pbs broadcast the pacific northwest ballet' s
nutcracker
with sets & costumes (and some other input) by maurice sendak, i' d been trying to videotape it. no luck - the show was mysteriously never announced in the schedules, and if i was lucky i might catch the last 20 minutes. the cover art on this dvd gives no clue as to sendak' s involvement; but thanks to a helpful reviewer i' ve at last located the elusive sendak
nutcracker
! the production itself: the cinematography is perfect, allowing us to enjoy close - ups as well as see the action from a theatrical distance. sendak' s sets & costumes are amazing & whimsical, and there' s a rather dark subtext that older viewers may catch (nothing inappropriate for kids; they' ll just miss it).
nutcracker : the motion picture , also known as pacific northwest ballet 's nutcracker or simply nutcracker , is a 1986 american christmas performing arts film produced by pacific northwest ballet in association with hyperion pictures and kushner/locke , and released theatrically by atlantic releasing corporation . it is a film adaptation of the ballet the nutcracker by pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky and the short story " the nutcracker and the mouse king " by e. t. a. hoffmann . 
nutcracker: the motion picture, also known as pacific northwest ballet's nutcracker or simply nutcracker, is a 1986 american christmas performing arts film produced by pacific northwest ballet in association with hyperion pictures and kushner/locke, and released theatrically by atlantic releasing corporation. it is a film adaptation of the ballet the nutcracker by pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky and the short story " the nutcracker and the mouse king " by e. t. a. hoffmann.
nutcracker: the motion picture, also known as pacific northwest ballet's nutcracker or simply nutcracker, is a 1986 american christmas performing arts film produced by pacific northwest ballet in association with hyperion pictures and kushner/locke, and released theatrically by atlantic releasing corporation. it is a film adaptation of the ballet the nutcracker by pyotr ilyich tchaikovsky and the short story " the nutcracker and the mouse king " by e. t. a. hoffmann.