Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21542 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-10-05
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Classical, Colour, DVD-Video, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
This Swan Lake was the unexpected popular hit of 1996, when radical choreographer Matthew Bourne took Tchaikovsky's traditional ballet by the scruff of the neck and reworked it with a myriad of modern influences and themes to astonishing effect. Seldom have the dark psychological riptides at the heart of so many classical ballets been so brilliantly exposed. The Prince (Scott Ambler) is a wretched and dissolute young man dominated by his mother, the Joan Collins-like Queen (Fiona Ambler). Shades of Tennessee Williams, indeed. Von Rothbart becomes a press secretary, more sinister éminence grise than hissable villain. Most startling of all, The Swan (Adam Cooper) is a muscular, emphatically masculine male.

Bourne has stressed the universality of his interpretation, which proved such a success for his Adventures in Motion Pictures dance company. And indeed this is never an overtly "gay" Swan Lake, although the electricity of the pas de deux at the height of Act 2 delivers a palpably homoerotic charge. Its universal threads--as Bourne suggests, the need to be held and understood is common to us all--are synthesised in the utterly moving conclusion as the Swan cradles the lifeless Prince and raises him to a better place. Swan Lake becomes a human, rather than simply romantic, tragedy.

On the DVD: Swan Lake is presented in full screen 4:3 video format and this version would certainly have benefited from widescreen to show off the dazzling court and night club scenes as well as the lake and the impact of the all-male swan corps de ballet. But the lush Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound serves the rich interpretation of Tchaikovsky's score from The New London Orchestra to handkerchief-wringing effect. Extras include menu-driven resumes and a synopsis. --Piers Ford

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English\PCM Stereo English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
PCM Stereo
Booklet

Synopsis
The provocative and critically acclaimed all-male version of Tchaikovsky's ballet, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne and performed by the innovative British dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures.

Customer Reviews

Mesmerising dance/drama with a tragic story.
This is a triumph of dance and drama. The whole thing has me mesmerised each time I watch it. It has humour and evokes feelings of sadness and sympathy for the characters. Adam Cooper is superb as the swan and his dance is breath taking, representing perfectly the power and beauty of this wonderful bird. His performance as the evil doppleganger is equally as impressive, as he dirty dances his way into the queens affections. It is always Adam Cooper who is highlighted in these reviews, however Scott Ambler as the prince should not be forgotton. He mixes drama with dance perfectly and without his performance as the weak, shy, loveless prince who simply wants love and affection this production would be nothing. This is a wonderful production that stays with you long after you have finished watching it.

If you haven't seen it - DO SO!
Nothing anyone else will say about it is going to prepare you for this amazing ballet. I just wish I had seen it live! Having the DVD is some consolation, though. No ballet I have ever seen comes close to the emotional intensity this performance evokes: it makes me laugh and it makes me cry (and sometimes both at the same time). Adam Cooper is unparalleled in portraying the subject of a love-starved boy's fantasy; at once ethreal and earthly, at times soaring so high you find yourself holding your breath and at times earth-bound and accessible. His sexy alter-ego is no less compelling to the prince (or the viewer). He simply takes your breath away. It is, without a doubt, one of comtemporary dance's greatest triumphs - a truly inspiring piece.

The Ultimate 'Swan Lake'
If you ever thought Swan Lake was 'pretty to watch' but, ultimately incomprehensible, if you wanted a bigger kick than either Nureyev or Fonteyn could offer, if you'dont like' ballet then this is for YOU. If [you]have empathy with the tragedy of Love, Prejudice and Duty displacing Truth then this is a DVD you a must buy. Mathew Bourne and his company have created the ultimate interpretation of Tchaikovsky's heart rending score. If you sometimes fear to listen to the music in company or daren't play 'The Pathetique' unless alone, this is for you. Brilliant cinematography, capturing the ambience of the live performance almost perfectly, there is nothing in the canon of contemporary interpretations which comes close to this.
'Kaich'