Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986)

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.Every year there seems to be on variations on "Christmas Classics" There is always new "twist" done to "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol", "Groundhog Day", "The Gift of the Magi" and even variations on "The Nutcracker"The Nutcracker has been done as "A CARTOON" " A movie with no dancing" "A Semi-Musical" and even on "On Ice" This film however is not a twist it is just a beautiful filmed version of the famous ballet. Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, like the Stowell-Sendak stage production on which it is based, is presented as Clara's coming-of- age story. It depicts Clara's inner conflict and confusion, as well as the beginning of her sexual awakening, as she approaches adolescence; similar themes occur in many of Sendak's books.The film especially emphasizes the darker aspects of Hoffmann's original story and the significance of dreams and the imagination. The cinematography, by making considerable use of closeups and medium shots, attempts to bring viewers closer to the psychology of the main characters.For the film's soundtrack, Sir Charles Mackerras conducted the London Symphony Orchestra at the Watford Town Hall in London in a new recording of Tchaikovsky's score. The passage for chorus was performed by the Tiffin School Boys' Choir. The soundtrack also includes the "Duet of Daphnis and Chloe" from Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades, performed by Cathryn Pope and Sarah Walker. Telarc released the complete soundtrack on compact disc, coinciding with the release of the filmThis film however was not met with great reviews upon its initial release. They were okay at best. It was a huge box office bomb taking in less than $1 Million during its entire run. However since 1986 the film has developed a following and it is easy to understand why. The soundtrack / orchestra is perfect. You will never hear the score sound better. The staging and costumes are wonderful. Its was directed with such craftsmanship that even if your NOT a huge ballet lover (Which I am not) you will be swept into the scope of this production. If you stumble across it on TV once you watch 10 seconds your hooked. That is what happened to me. On home video however the film has never had a great release. The original VHS that was released by Paramount was only out for a short time and went out of print. It was later released by GOODTIMES home video and it was in the dreaded LP speed and lacked the stereo mix that the Paramount release had. Even today the film has never had a DVD release that was worth buying. When MGM finally released a DVD they used an old master that was most likely from the Paramount Home Video release some 25 years earlier. What worked for a VHS release doesn't work for a DVD. In fact its not even a Pressed DVD it is a MOD DVD which makes the picture even softer! Plus is was in the old 4x3 (Pan and Scan) format. Most film released on DVD are presented in the Widescreen Format if the movie was shot in that format. "The Nutcracker" was shot that way but MGM was to cheap to re-master the film. So we get a DVD that is soft and at times un- focused. The stereo soundtrack however is very good. There is however room for improvement if there is a future blu-ray release. I doubt a blu-ray release will ever see the light of day. Even if MGM wants to release a blu-ray the film will most likely need to have a restoration. I hope it gets one. On the bright side HD-NET a cable/satellite channel does have a respectable transfer of the film that they show. It is 16x9 and the sound mix is great and its also in stereo. Now why hasn't MGM used this transfer for a DVD is beyond me. Now back to the film itself. It is the best presentation that has ever been put on film! The only thing wrong is there is no "Mother Ginger in this production". The colors and costumes are as eye popping. The orchestra is one that will put others to shame. For years Video Stores (if they had a copy) reported that this was a huge rental during the holidays! A few years later Warner Brothers decided to make their version of the film! Just like other remakes the film industry thought they could do another film and do it better. So in 1993 they released a "Bigger Budget" production. That version was not 1/2 as good. The only thing it had that the 1986 version didn't was Macaulay Culkin and Mother Ginger. Catch this 1986 Version! Its worth seeing.

This is MGM's film version of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous ballet, The Nutcracker, filmed at Burbank Studios in California.I would watch this movie when it is aired on TV during Christmas time for several years in a role. It tells the story of Clara dreaming about her Nutcracker Prince while The Pasha tries to win her heart and delight her with musical dance sequences - Spanish Dance, Arab Dance, Chinese Dance, Russian Dance, Dance of the Clowns and Waltz of the Flowers. These sequences are probably the highlight of the entire Nutcracker Ballet.Except for the narrator, there is no spoken dialog in the movie. It is just the cast of characters dancing around the huge stage through Tchaikovsky's rich music, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Maurice Sendak did a terrific job on the art and costume design - vibrant and brilliant and not too flashy. The story is told through the unspoken actions of the cast, which I thought were brilliantly done. While no dialog, it is still pretty simple to follow the story, even if you are not familiar with the original concept of the Nutcracker Ballet.Though a majority of the movie is shown on a typical theater stage, the special and visual effects made the setting much larger than it really is and it gives you the impression you are right on stage with them. The water scene with the "floating ship" is my favorite effect. I also like how the entire movie is told from the perspective of the toymaker; the plot of the movie begins after he falls asleep on his desk and the figurines begin to dance in a large music box he just designed, which then leads to the main story. The only problem I have with the movie is that some of the dancers were not in sync with the music, especially during the "Waltz of the Flowers" sequence. Other that that, this is an overall terrific film that brings back the nostalgia and spirit of past Christmases and today.Grade A

Thinking of all the great productions of The Nutcracker I've seen, I thought back to see if there was one I'd forgotten from childhood. I realised I had, this film version by Carroll Ballard, responsible for directing the brilliant Black Stallion. I knew I wanted to see it again, as I love the ballet so much- the story and ballet are among my all-time favourites in regard to anything- and would watch any production or film version. I was intrepid though as well, as I remembered that it was quite dark, darker than the usual production of The Nutcracker. And unfortunately not all the productions that take a darker edge have been particularly good, Maurice Bejart's production was a self-indulgent mess and the 2008 Mariinsky one was incoherent and ugly managing to waste the talented performers. But I watched Ballard's film version anyway for the first time since I was 10, in two minds of what to expect, and I am glad I did. Whether it is the best version of The Nutcracker I am not sure, seeing how much I love the 1977, 1985, 1989, 2001 and 2009 productions. But it is for me the most underrated one, and a long way from the worst. Considering some of the reviews I'd read beforehand(Ebert, Maltin, RadioTimes) I was expecting it to be bad. But it wasn't.It is as dark as I remembered, as well as quite serious with some sexual tension perhaps in the mix. But unlike Bejart and Mariinsky, this dark approach is actually cohesive and come to think of it the Hoffmann story has some dark elements anyhow. The more somewhat sensual chemistry between Clara and Drosselmeyer in the party scene is not going to please everybody, I am not sure myself. But compared to everything else, it is something I could ignore easily. The sets and costumes do look stunning, those of the second act of the ballet have many vivid colours. Ballard's editing has been much criticised, I think overly-complicated was how it was described, true maybe there are a few too many shots of dancers' limbs but overall it didn't interfere that much with the dancing. Speaking of the dancing, aided by the truly magical choreography(some of the best I've seen for any production of The Nutcracker), it is impeccable, not only does it look so elegant and graceful but the dancers don't forget to emote. The Pas-De-Deux brought tears to my eyes, the party scene is joyous with a very Christmassy feel and the divertissments in the second act are characterfully danced. The dialogue is only in the narration, and I was really impressed by how colourfully and affectingly the story was told without words spoken, narration excepted. The narration is thoughtfully delivered also.Summing up, not all my childhood favourites have held up, most have and this is one of them. While not my favourite Nutcracker ever it is an underrated one and much better than I'd heard it was. I'm glad that other people have a fondness for it also. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is an absolutely magnificent filmed production of The Nutcracker. I would dare to say that it even surpasses the great Baryschnikov's (sp?) production, which had only one thing truly going for it that this doesn't have - him. The dancing is gorgeous, the costumes and sets are designed by the great Maurice Sendak, and the narration is provided by the fine actress Julie Harris. And the music, of course, is classic. We started out taping this off TV, but then I discovered Amazon and was lucky enough to be able to find a couple of used VHS copies for sale. I don't know if it can still be found on tape now, but if not, you owe it to yourself this holiday season to search this out on TV. You are in for a treat you will want to make a yearly tradition! Cheers.