Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's The Tales of Hoffman, an adapttation of Jacques Offenbach's opera, is a cinematic opus of sound, color, and light that would make a kalediscope blush. Written, directed, and produced by Powell & Pressburger I can't imagine this wasn't a passion project for them, taking advantage of the film medium to accentuate an already bombastic opera. I have to be upfront with you right away in saying that I have never been able to appreciate Opera, so going into The Tales of Hoffman I wasn't sure what to expect. The main problem I have with Opera is I have a hard time following the dialogue when it is entirely sung by the actors, and unfortunately this was true to some degree with The Tales of Hoffman. The gist of the story is centered around Hoffman's past loves, Olympia, Giuletta, and Antonia, each having their own chapter. The lovers aren't exactly typical, being made up of a mechanical doll, Venetian courtesan, and the daughter to a celebrated composer who suffers from a rare illness and cannot sing because of it. This is a playful film and Powell & Pressburger pull out all the stops in attempting to capture the power of Opera through a camera lense. Every frame is full of lavish costumes and production desigh, and I found myself completely entranced at times by this hypnotic nature of the film. While The Tales of Hoffman is simply the type of film that I have trouble appreciating, Powell & Pressburger really created a playful riff on Opera, with creativity and ingenuity flowing through every frame, making it impossible not to appreciate.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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