
Seeking to exorcise the failure of his current love affair, the poet Hoffmann tells the tales of his three past loves - the doll-like Olympia, the high-class courtesan Giulietta, and the ambitious but delicate Antonia - and recalls how each was thwarted by the evil influence of his rival. In this production by the distinguished film director, John Schlesinger, with spectacular designs by Maria Bjornson and William Dudley, Offenbach's nightmare world is brought to life. The all-star cast is headed by Placido Domingo as Hoffmann: his three loves are Ileana Cotrubas, Anges Baltsa and Luciana Serra and the manifestations of his rival are sung by Geraint Evans, Robert Lloyd, Siegmund Nimsgern and Nicola Ghiuselev. The score, which includes such favourites as the "Barcarolle" and the "Doll's Song", is conducted by Georges Pretre.

Seeking to exorcise the failure of his current love affair, the poet Hoffmann tells the tales of his three past loves - the doll-like Olympia, the high-class courtesan Giulietta, and the ambitious but delicate Antonia - and recalls how each was thwarted by the evil influence of his rival. In this production by the distinguished film director, John Schlesinger, with spectacular designs by Maria Bjornson and William Dudley, Offenbach's nightmare world is brought to life. The all-star cast is headed by Placido Domingo as Hoffmann: his three loves are Ileana Cotrubas, Anges Baltsa and Luciana Serra and the manifestations of his rival are sung by Geraint Evans, Robert Lloyd, Siegmund Nimsgern and Nicola Ghiuselev. The score, which includes such favourites as the "Barcarolle" and the "Doll's Song", is conducted by Georges Pretre.
1981-12-01
6.6
7.0Philippe Jaroussky as Ruggiero is in thrall to Patricia Petibon as the sorceress Alcina in Katie Mitchell’s virtuosic production of Handel’s opera from the 2015 Aix-en-Provence Festival, described by Bachtrack as “a night of a thousand delights”. Conducted by Andrea Marcon, this was, in the words of Opera News, “musically … a performance of the highest festival level”. The production of Alcina, by the British director Katie Mitchell, was welcomed by the Financial Times as “meticulously executed …, rich in detail, consummately polished”. As the New York Times wrote: “It involves a huge sorcery machine for turning people into animals (or whatever). And Ms. Mitchell works magic of her own onstage, constantly showing the enchantresses Alcina and Morgana alternating between glamorous public personas and their ‘real life’, older, private selves …There are also bits of simulated sex, mingling genders and suggesting, among other things, inventive new ways to hit high notes.”
6.1In answer to an orphan boy's prayers, the divine Lord Krishna comes to Earth, befriends the boy, and helps him find a loving family.
5.9At the end of September 1941, Soviet artillery troops in besieged Leningrad realize that pretty soon they will fire their last shot, and after that the defense of the city will be doomed. The film is based on a true event: a small group of fearless soldiers transported a large supply of gunpowder through enemy lines to Leningrad.
7.3An animated road-movie set across the vast and barren landscape of Australia's Nullarbor Plain.
A hitman is tasked to take out ex-mobsters when he suddenly hears a voice that questions his morality.
7.4Valdis Nulle is a young and ambitious captain of fishing ship 'Dzintars'. He has his views on fishing methods but the sea makes its own rules. Kolkhoz authorities are forced to include dubious characters in his crew, for example, former captain Bauze and silent alcoholic Juhans. The young captain lacks experience in working with so many fishermen on board. Unexpectedly, pretty engineer Sabīne is ordered to test a new construction fishing net on Nulle's ship and 'production conflict' between her and the captain arises...
6.7Struggling single father Jerry indoctrinates his son Joe into the sovereign citizen movement, teaching him that laws are mere illusions and freedom is something you take. But, as Jerry’s ideology consumes them, they are set on a collision course with a police chief who has spent his life upholding the rules that Jerry has spent his tearing down.
6.3Mater finds a small UFO called Mator and they have a night out. Later, when Mator is captured by military forces, Mater sneaks up and saves him with the help of Lightning McQueen and the UFO's mother.
6.2As a professional monster truck wrestler, Mater must work his way up through the ranks from an amateur tow truck to World Champion Monster Truck Wrestler. But rival wrestlers I-Screamer, Captain Collision, and The Rasta Carian aren't about to give up without a fight.
4.5Max films his friends having lecherous fun at his own birthday party; unaware of how it will change his life. Just out of high school, by haphazard, he becomes a big porno producer. His father, a principled police major, chases porno makers, not suspecting that one of them lives in his own apartment. Hoodlums and girls from good families, corrupted policemen, petty dealers find themselves in a luring and scary world of porno.
6.4Detective Mater is hot on the trail of a dastardly car-napping! When Tia's sister goes missing, Mater is the only car she can turn to. With this tow truck on the case, anything can happen.
The film tells the story of three best friends named Ako, Aki and Awang, who are well-known in their village for their mischievous and humourous pranks. The trio work for Pak Man. One day, they are assigned to pick up his daughter Misha, who has just returned from overseas and dreams of becoming a doctor. The trio have been in love with her for a long time but she does not pay them any heed. When Misha is robbed by a snatch thief one day, she is rescued by a doctor named Shafiq. Her face reminds the doctor of his late wife, and he begins to pursue her, which annoys the trio.
5.8Dev Kumar Verma comes from a middle-class family and must find employment to support his dad and mom. Dev, however, has set his mind upon becoming a music sensation like Elvis Presley. He loses his job because of this, and refuses to work until and unless he gets a job to his liking, much to the dismay of his parents and his brother, Shiv Kumar. Dev does get employment at Charlie's Disco, where he meets with Maya and falls in love with her. When Charlie's Disco's competitor, Rana, finds out about Dev, he wants to hire Dev, but Dev decides to continue to work with Charlie's Disco, as a result Dev and Charlie get a beating by Rana's men, and Dev is unable to sing. After recuperating, Dev is devastated to find out that Maya and Shiv Kumar are in love with each other. What impact will this have on Dev and his brother on one hand, and what of his career in music?
5.8"Maine-Ocean" is the name of a train that rides from Paris to Saint-Nazaire (near the ocean). In that train, Dejanira, a Brazilian, has a brush with the two ticket inspectors. Mimi, another traveler and also a lawyer, helps her. The four of them will meet together later and live a few shifted adventures with a strange-speaking sailor (Mimi's client).
5.7Divers go to work on a wrecked ship (the battleship Maine that was blown up in Havana harbour during the Spanish-American War), surrounded by curiously disproportionate fish.
6.8Story unfolds in the scorching heat of the Mexico border, where rival drug dealers Griff and Abbott arrive at a remote drop point for a routine drug deal. But when the exchange goes down, both reveal undercover badges — Griff is FBI, Abbott is DEA — and neither knew they were working the same case.
6.2Pretty Joy and her friend come to Moscow to shoot a commercial. A taxi driver, who recruits girls for an underground organization run by a distant descendant of Rasputin, suggests they visit the Rasputin Museum. During the tour, the girls are hypnotized by the evil character, who hypnotizes his victims before using their charms to seduce the rich tourists.
7.3Beautiful young housewife Séverine Serizy cannot reconcile her masochistic fantasies with her everyday life alongside dutiful husband Pierre. When her lovestruck friend Henri mentions a secretive high-class brothel run by Madame Anais, Séverine begins to work there during the day under the name Belle de Jour. But when one of her clients grows possessive, she must try to go back to her normal life.
7.3Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.
7.0Based on the first book of the Bible, Genesis is a sweeping and poetic look at the beginning of man's relationship with God. While Jochebed (Venus Monique) hides in a shelter to protect her son from being murdered, she tells him the story of her people over the course of a dangerous night. This film explores the idea that mankind will one day return to the place where we started, but that the journey will be filled with hardship, beauty, and a desperate need to trust the Creator.
7.3Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.
8.0Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
8.1A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.
7.7A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.
0.0Desdemona in Verdi's Otello was a career role for soprano Renata Tebaldi, from her first operatic performance outside of Italy to her final appearance on the opera stage. Between those landmarks she performed the role nearly 100 times all over the world and made studio audio recordings that became reference recordings for the role. This 1962 production with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Giuseppe Patane was planned as a media event from the outset and blessedly captures a consummate artist in a signature role at the peak of her gifts.
7.1The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.
An anthology of four abbreviated operas: "William Tell" by Rossini, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart, "Don Pasquale" by Donizetti, and "Carmen" by Bizet. Filmed in Italy with major opera stars, and accompanied by English narration.
8.4A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
0.0An invitation to enter the soul of an artist - director Erick Ifergan - through a highly personal retelling of the Orpheus tale suffused with Ifergan's striking paintings, sculpture and conceptual photography.
0.0Here is a rare and exceptional example in which the director and costume designer amuse themselves with `silly' costumes, but it actually works. I usually loath the stupid concept of 'clever' producers' of dressing opera singers in an motley set of `modern' and bizarre costumes (mostly tasteless) to help the `stupid' spectators to understand the universality of the opera across time and place. However, in this particular production I enjoyed every moment of it. All my reservations withstanding, I found that the costumes have actually helped highlight the `buffa' aspects of this supposedly `siria' opera. This work may not be among Handel's greatest masterpieces, but the way it is presented and sung here makes it a thorough pleasure for the senses.
7.3During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.
7.0Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.
7.0The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.
0.0This live version of Puccini s superbly dramatic opera was recorded in Rome in the exact locations and at the precise times of day as Puccini had written into his score. The action opens in Rome's beautiful 16th-century church of Sant Andrea della Valle, where Cavaradossi (Plácido Domingo) is innocently painting, moves to the Farnese Palace where Tosca (Catherine Malfitano) dramatically stabs the lustful Scarpia (Ruggero Raimondi), and finally to the battlements of the Castle Sant Angelo at dawn the following day where Cavaradossi is cruelly killed, and Tosca takes her own life.
0.0The director, Roland Schwab, has created his version of Hell. The set is like a high iron walled hanger and the stage is continually occupied with people who look like fugitives from Mad Max and who interact with Mefistofele. The orchestra and choir are wonderful. Rene Pape gives a nuanced interpretation with a certain amount of sardonic humour under the evil. His singing and acting are first rate, as is that of Kristine Opolais and Joseph Calleja.
7.9Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
9.0La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cendrillon by Charles Perrault. The opera was first performed in Rome's Teatro Valle on 25 January 1817.---- IMDB id refers to Great Performances: Season 24, Episode 12 La Cenerentola (3 Apr. 1996) from Houston Grand Opera so release date is misleading.