The Turning Point (1977)

I really like this movie, it has a fine cast and the stories are woven together very nicely. I was busy raising a family when this was in theaters in the late 1970s, but now was able to watch it on Netflix streaming movies.It is a story about dancers and families in ballet. It seems its whole inspiration came from the family of one of the cast members, Leslie Browne, whose family are all dancers and Ross, the director, is in real life her godfather. Nonetheless she is perfect for the role, young, beautiful, and a fine ballerina.The leads are veterans Anne Bancroft as 40-something Emma who is still a featured ballerina, even though she is probably past the years where she should be performing, and her old friend Shirley MacLaine as Deedee, who was a competitor of Emma's those 20-odd years ago, and who chose to leave ballet and be a wife and mother.In fact her daughter is teen dancer Leslie Browne as Emilia, showing so much promise that part of the family moves to NYC and stays in a small apartment inside Carnegie Hall for the summer so that Emilia can study. There she is noticed and appears destined for the career that her mother was never able to realize.Another dancer is 20-something Mikhail Baryshnikov as Yuri, one of the dancers in the company. He and Emilia dance together and also romance each other. Reliable Tom Skerritt is Deedee's husband, Emilia's dad, also a former dancer. The dancing is great because real ballet dancers are used. This is an old-fashioned drama, and it was nominated for several awards. The old friends have old issues to settle, the young dancers have to decide what their career choices will be. Good movie!

I had no knowledge or interest in ballet before viewing The Turning Point on HBO about a year after it was first released to theaters. The HBO promotions department concentrated more on the cat fight between Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft and less on the numerous ballet dances. I thought it was going to be an unintentional laugh riot. Boy, was I wrong.MacLaine and Bancroft as former dance rivals do a great job separately and together. You sense the history of both characters and the issues that have colored the decisions they made. MacLaine's character, Deedee, getting pregnant and leaving the ballet company, while with Bancroft's character, Emma, the veteran prima ballerina who never married and struggles to stay a ballerina not knowing when or how to gracefully end her career.Director Herbert Ross and screenwriter Arthur Laurents conceived an interesting, albeit thin, story within the backdrop of ballet. The lead actresses and the supporting cast, including James Mitchell, Anthony Zerbe, Tom Skerritt as MacLaine's husband and especially Martha Scott as the blunt, money-minded owner of the ballet company, do a very good job and, in some ways, improve on the material given to them.As far as the ballet dancers in acting roles, well they are great dancers. To be fair, hiring anyone with little or no acting experience and expect them to act in a major movie for the first time would be a challenge for anyone. Leslie Browne, as Emilia, Deedee's oldest who is in the process of becoming the next prima ballerina, had a very tough task and, when it came to the dialog, I thought she did as good a job as she could. But when she was in her element, namely in the dance studio and on stage, she was wonderful. (It's a shame that actress/former ballerina Neve Campbell was only four years old when The Turning Point was first released. Acting-wise, Campbell would have been a more convincing Emilia. But I digress.)Mikhail Baryshnikov fared much better as the main male ballet dancer/Lothario. He oozed charisma on screen and his jumps on stage are breathtaking. Years after The Turning Point, he has done some decent work in White Nights on screen and Sex and the City on television.Interestingly, out of all of the non-professional actors, I thought Alexandra Danilova, who played Emilia's ballet teacher, gave the most natural and less stilted performance. She seemed very comfortable essentially playing herself. I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with her real ballet experience of over 50 years when the film was released in 1977.The last time I viewed The Turning Point was in 2005. The material is still pretty thin but I do believe that if it wasn't for the strong performances (acting and dancing) the film would not hold up after all these years.

I absolutely love this movie! There are some slow parts, but the decision to dance or to have a "normal" life is such a difficult one, and does take its toll on those who face it.Seeing a very young Baryshnikov is a thrill - and Leslie Browne is lovely as Amelia (not the best actress, but very good at portraying a vulnerable young lady and is an excellent dancer). My favorite part is the "dancing drunk" section... very funny...! MacLaine and Bancroft make this a real treat, too - especially the final slapping scene on the terrace of Lincoln Center...If you love ballet, or even the stage, and have ever faced the "fork in the road", you'll love this movie. Even if you haven't, it's a very entertaining ride featuring some of the greatest ballet stars of the time (the 70s).Great!

The Turning Point is still an enjoyable film almost 30 years after it was first released. The actors are all outstanding, as are the dancers, but the movie is stolen by ballet dancer Lesile Browne. Browne is only 19 in the film, but her dance skills are remarkable. Limited as an actress, yet she had a screen presence which made her enjoyable to watch.She looked stunning dancing in the studio, as her leg-warmers slid down her shapely legs, she is a vision of pure beauty. Amazing that Browne was not cast as a dancer in the movie FAME.The dance numbers are enjoyable, but unless you're a big fan of classical ballet, it may be somewhat boring. The male dancers all come across as very girlish, and the principal female stars very strong, a typical theme of some of the early 80s films.So, put on your on tights, yank your leg-warmers to your thigh, pop on your ballet slippers, and enjoy The Turning Point.