Adam - Giselle / Carla Fracci, Erik Bruhn, John Lanchbery, American Ballet Theatre

Lets be clear. The performances (excepting the corps) are mostly world class (although I prefer other Giselles). Unfortunately they have been done irreparable damage by screen directing and editing that is unfortunate at best (certainly in the second act) and inexcusable at worst. Especially in the second act, the camera uses tricks like showing dancers/images reflections in water (where in the Sam Hill should there be water in a cemetery in the woods?) and superimposing close-ups in order to (I suppose) beef-up the cinematic qualities of the video. Alas, it doesnt work and only detracts from the true genius of this masterpiece which deserves far better treatment. The corp in the second act, as seen from above, describing a circle, looks ludicrous and suspiciously like a bad Busby-Berkley musical. Where were the arbiters of good taste when this was put together??? They certainly were not David Blair (the re-choreographer) and Hugo Niegeling, the film director. A filmed performance with the same cast would have been infinitely superior and it is a great loss that we do not have one. What we have is more like a circus performance with trick photography at almost every turn (no pun intended) which trivializes the dancers as well as their art. Another minus is the totally lack-luster conducting by John Lanchbery who not only distorts the music but re-writes his own harmonies (as well as instrumentation) in place of the composer Adolphe Adam. Giselle need and deserves far better than this and it can only be recommended for the leads, who are handicapped by this travesty of film direction.

After reading all the glowing reviews I was sorely disappointed in this adaptation of my favorite ballet. The director seemed to think adding story lines. filmed like Van Dam action scenes would give the ballet to a different viewpoint. Instead it just serves to distract from a great dancing experience. Pass it up.

This is a good video. The dancing is great! My only problem with it is that since it is made for video, the director gets a little artsy and takes away a bit from the dancing with his creative touches. I was also disappointed that the credits are very limited. The only dancers credited at all were the principals and soloists. Still worth the purchase.

I reviewed this yesterday and am only writing this because that was not quite correct. This is a movie which I hadn’t realized when I ordered it. The scenery, costumes are so elaborate they take aware from the gorgeous impact that actual ballet has had on me so many times. The filming of it is totally different than seeing it in person...

I saw this ballet danced by Brun in the 70s on T.V.. The performance by Brun was brillant. I ordered this DVD hoping I would still feel the same way after all these years. I was not disappointed and the DVD was of the highest quality and the dancing was as magical as I remembered it to be!

I detest this film. What should have been a glorious opportunity to capture Fracci and Bruhn in their signature partnership is ruined by the meddlesome and ignorant direction of Hugo Niebeling and David Blair. Giselle is a ballet; ballet is about dance; dance should be the focus of attention. We should have unobstructed views of the dancers dancing. Instead, we get shots through villagers eating and talking, shots from above, shots from the side, shots through machinery, shots reflected in pools, and so on - absolutely infuriating, unartistic, and puerile. What a shame and a sham! What a colossal misunderstanding of art!

Absolutely fabulous! It must be one of best versions of Giselle! Carla Fracci and Erik Bruhn were both sensational dancers, I guess thats the reason for this filmed Giselle.

The dance performance is good. Video production is VHS quality, muddy and dark. It is too bad they couldnt remaster and clean up the video quality. Disappointing on DVD. No chapter divisions or random access to scenes.

This studio performance of Giselle by the great team of Carla Fracci and Erik Bruhn, with members of the ABT and the Berlin Opera Orchestra was recorded in 1968, but it looks like it was done only yesterday! I do not know exactly how Deutsche Grammophon accomplished this feat, but the image(full screen) and sound(DTS 5.1) are absolutely at the highest standard, even by todays strict digital degree of perfection(this is shot on film with the crisp images that it imparts). The dancing itself is by some of the ballet greats of recent history and so, this qualifies also as a classic performance( I know of no other case where these two qualities come together in one recording!). Fracci and Bruhn are at their very best here, and we can see why they are so well regarded by history. Great artists are able to perform by the usual classical standards, but in an indescribable way that makes their performance unique. The choreography is also excellent and complete with the peasant pas de deux included as well as all the second act variations. The part of Hilarion, danced by Bruce Marks, is also given very extensive choreography in the second act and he dances it very well.

Im not a ballet fan by any means - this is the 2nd one Ive watched. So I speak for the naive.