Never have ballet, the theatre, and film come together to produce such a masterpiece. Even if you hate ballet (I usually don't care for it), you'll enjoy this. What can no longer be denied in spite of all the critics', and even my own best efforts (to hide it from children) is the Prince's obvious homosexuality. The Swan in its two incarnations, and the swans in general are not, not at all. In fact, that "allure of the forbidden" undoubtedly adds to the attraction the Prince feels for the Swan. I feel I must say this because every article, comment or review I have read about this ground-breaking production vehemently denies its link with homosexuality. I've gone along with the very complicated explanations since this is really not a gay ballet. In fact, I didn't know ballet dancing could come off as classically masculine as it does in this production of SWAN LAKE. However, when eight and nine year old kids I saw it with last, saw right through the Prince's enchantment with the SWAN(s) in spite of my over-wrought explanations, it's time to cut the lines. The kids just wouldn't buy my explanations, and it was left at that: the Prince was gay, no big deal. The depiction of the Prince from his infancy right through to the end is that of the supreme wimp which kids are used to seeing. He has nocturnal dreams about a strong and virile male (animal or human). His mother is domineering, hyper-feminine, and competes with him even in his sex life. I don't think a 'gayer' male stereotype could be created? As I said, the Swan is definitely not gay, in either of his incarnations: good or bad. He's just appealing to all; I generally mean heterosexual women and gay men, but really to all who find him appealing. I think it's time somebody other than a child recognized this without resorting to the cerebral rationalizations usually given . He's good, he's powerful, he's tender, he can be evil, and can even get into S & M and incest. And so what? It sounds like something out the latest Christina Ricci movie. This production of SWAN LAKE is so full of wonderful details, pokes so much fun at the reigning British royals, and is just so thoroughly accessible to all, that if this plot adjustment was necessary to achieve this grand "whole", so be it. Never has this so-tirelessly and often-played ballet been so riveting. Indeed never have ballet, theatre, modern dance, and contemporary life been so well mixed together in one great film!
10 Reviews
Different, but absolutely wonderful all the same
TheLittleSongbird13 June 2011
I love ballet, and I love Swan Lake. Swan Lake with males as swans and a somewhat anti-romantic(in musical eras that is) approach in some scenes is a different production, but I like it for its uniqueness.
And it is wonderfully done all the same. The story is classic and haunting, and the music is utterly amazing with a sense of elegance and melancholy about it.
The costumes and sets are big and grand, not to mention they look wonderful. The camera work and editing helps hugely, and David Frame's conducting of a 27-member orchestra is commendable.
The choreography is fantastic, not just in the solos and duets but also in the group dances which are very energetic without feeling too heavy. The performances also add a lot, Scott Ambler is great as the Prince and Fiona Chadwick is a suitably icy queen, but it is Adam Cooper's show all the way.
In conclusion, different, unique yet absolutely wonderful and not one to forget in a while. 10/10 Bethany Cox
And it is wonderfully done all the same. The story is classic and haunting, and the music is utterly amazing with a sense of elegance and melancholy about it.
The costumes and sets are big and grand, not to mention they look wonderful. The camera work and editing helps hugely, and David Frame's conducting of a 27-member orchestra is commendable.
The choreography is fantastic, not just in the solos and duets but also in the group dances which are very energetic without feeling too heavy. The performances also add a lot, Scott Ambler is great as the Prince and Fiona Chadwick is a suitably icy queen, but it is Adam Cooper's show all the way.
In conclusion, different, unique yet absolutely wonderful and not one to forget in a while. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Wow!
webby_tw3 November 2000
I remember seeing this on TV a few years back, and I only thought of it again when I saw Billy Elliot. Billy grows up to be Adam Cooper (the main swan) in swan lake. It was amazing. On the point of the supposedly gay Prince, I thinks Adam's explanation is the best. The swan is not a guy in a swan's outfit, he is a swan. You have to think of him as a creature not a gender. The Prince fell in love with a beautiful swan not a man in swan suit. And Adam Cooper is gorgeous, and absolutely brilliant!
Erotic and haunting
mermatt24 November 2000
This is a beautiful variation on Tchaikovsky's ballet with all male swans. The play has a wicked sense of humor about ballet and theater in general, but the homoerotic element is what really sets this version off from all others. These swans are not males doing traditional female ballet movements. The dances are choreographed for males and are powerfully appropriate for the masculine, barechested young men. Adam Cooper is stunning as both the white and black swans.
The final scene is so touching as to bring tears. This is a movie for people who don't like ballet as well as for those who do. The mystery and mystique of SWAN LAKE will never be the same again.
The final scene is so touching as to bring tears. This is a movie for people who don't like ballet as well as for those who do. The mystery and mystique of SWAN LAKE will never be the same again.
these swans rock...
the_monkeys_raincoat31 August 2002
I saw 'Swan Lake' when I was 18 years old (a million years ago). I thought the music was pretty and the dancers were pretty and I might have wished in passing that I knew how to dance. But I never gave it or dance another thought. Fast forward to a few years ago when I was plopped down on a couch and told to watch this new all male version with a friend who had seen it in person. WOW!!!! It truly grieves me I have never seen it in person. Matthew Bourne is one cool dude and his swans are nothing short of spectacular. Adam Cooper drips a sexual tension you can feel even through the television screen. The band of carousing swans filter throughout the production sometimes in movements of dreamy poetry, sometimes in a furious fluttered heat, sometimes disturbingly aggressive - but always ethereally beautiful. The story has many facets and encompasses a lot of emotion - something I am learning Bourne and his dancers are quite keen at communicating vividly to the audience with just the slightest movement. So if you are ready to try something different...I highly recommend you try this on for size. Let go of your reservations, willingly suspend your preconceptions of what it is you think you are going to see and settle in for the ruffled feather experience of your life. These swans are hot and they really do rock. (Also see 'The Car Man' - another provocative work from the creative genius Matthew Bourne).
One word. Wow.
majin_melmo21 June 1999
This is truly a masterpiece. I remember the EXACT day the first and only time (so far) I ever saw this beautiful thing. It was June 4th, 1998....I had just gotten back from summer theater practice and my mother was having a Candlelite party. I'm not an extremely sociable person, so I took to my room, turned on the TV, and started flipping through the channels. Then I heard some familiar music on the PBS channel and so I stopped and watched. It was Swan Lake...and I must say...a very different Swan Lake. I was only 16 when I saw it...and I begged my PBS station to play it again for me--and I NEVER do that. Trust me. You'll like it too.
The first second I started watching it, I was mesmerized. I wanted to turn it because it was kinda weird...but I just couldn't. It was Tchaikovsky--the best composer ever...and I'm his #1 fan...so I just had to keep watching. I'm VERY glad I did. The Swan and the Prince...they're not gay, folks...it's something very different that I just can't explain. Boyhood tenderness? An old friend who was loved too much? Call it what you will. The dancing was gorgeous...every song was choreographed with beauty and passion and how I feel Tchaikovsky would have wanted it. THIS version of Swan Lake is what Tchaikovsky wanted but could never make because of the "honorable" status one had to uphold in the 19th century...because Tchaikovsky himself was homosexual--a "bad" thing.
If you're into modernized classics, wonderful stories, beautiful dancers/dancing, gorgeous music, and weepy finales, this is for you. To all the guys who hate this mushy stuff: I REALLY think you might like Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. It's definitely not your typical ballet.
The first second I started watching it, I was mesmerized. I wanted to turn it because it was kinda weird...but I just couldn't. It was Tchaikovsky--the best composer ever...and I'm his #1 fan...so I just had to keep watching. I'm VERY glad I did. The Swan and the Prince...they're not gay, folks...it's something very different that I just can't explain. Boyhood tenderness? An old friend who was loved too much? Call it what you will. The dancing was gorgeous...every song was choreographed with beauty and passion and how I feel Tchaikovsky would have wanted it. THIS version of Swan Lake is what Tchaikovsky wanted but could never make because of the "honorable" status one had to uphold in the 19th century...because Tchaikovsky himself was homosexual--a "bad" thing.
If you're into modernized classics, wonderful stories, beautiful dancers/dancing, gorgeous music, and weepy finales, this is for you. To all the guys who hate this mushy stuff: I REALLY think you might like Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. It's definitely not your typical ballet.
Stunning and brilliant
pyotr-33 December 2000
This is easily the BEST "Swan Lake" ever performed. Adam Cooper, who later made an appearance in the great film "Billy Elliot," is spectacular as The Swan, and the entire production is flawless. A spectacle never to be forgotten. Bravo!
a different SWAN LAKE
jaybob28 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I will admit to being a fan of Ballet.
Mathew Bourne version of this famous ballet by Tchaikovsky is different, How you innocently ask,ALL the swans are men.. Male Ballet Dabcers are known for there perfect bodies. Thwy dance naked from the waist up, The various movements are sensuous & thrilling to watch.
It has the same tragic ending & you not feel sad, as we know 2 lovers are together now forever.
The 2 leads are fantastic, & the dancer who plays the Queen & a mean nasty bitch of the first order, It is quite modern in its approach as they use cellphones in one scene.
See this for its fantastic dancing & glorious music. Since this is almost a documentary, there is no numerical rating given,
Rating **** (out of 4) IMDb 10 (out of 10)
Mathew Bourne version of this famous ballet by Tchaikovsky is different, How you innocently ask,ALL the swans are men.. Male Ballet Dabcers are known for there perfect bodies. Thwy dance naked from the waist up, The various movements are sensuous & thrilling to watch.
It has the same tragic ending & you not feel sad, as we know 2 lovers are together now forever.
The 2 leads are fantastic, & the dancer who plays the Queen & a mean nasty bitch of the first order, It is quite modern in its approach as they use cellphones in one scene.
See this for its fantastic dancing & glorious music. Since this is almost a documentary, there is no numerical rating given,
Rating **** (out of 4) IMDb 10 (out of 10)
Still gets 10 despite my reservations
ant50120 February 2005
This work of art is just stunningly beautiful and powerful; I saw it performed on stage in London and bought the DVD version the next day. The soundtrack is excellent, the orchestra is well balanced and well conducted. The on-stage performances are breathtaking and moving. My only complaints relate to the vision mixing; a few dodgy camera angles and the rapidity of some of the cuts. This is ballet and although TV directors have a golden opportunity to enhance the experience by showing far more than a square-on proscenium arch shot, they should only rarely cut to anything closer than a mid-shot; certainly not for just one second, it is disorientating and it ruins the flow. Despite the fact that I think the editing leaves a lot to be desired I still give it 10 for sheer mastery in every other area. It's worth adding that there was a Blu-Ray remake in 2011 and in my opinion the remake has far better better choices of shots and editing and is equally deserving of ten stars. Plus it's Blu-ray HD and wide screen so is probably the version I would recommend now. The 1998 original DVD has Adam Cooper in the lead role and no-one can beat him. But we can't make a dream ticket cast so on balance go for the Blu-ray.
ground-breaking version
didi-521 March 2004
Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures company produced this version of the classic ballet, using an almost all-male cast, first as s stage show and then immortalised in this filmed version: Adam Cooper and Scott Ambler head the group of excellent dancers.
This version has the prince enthralled by a male swan which eventually leads to a far bloodier destruction than in the well-loved version - the choreography is powerful and the settings are reminiscent of 30s and 40s movie sets. This company - now known as New Adventures - are clever and with their later productions The Car Man (a version of Carmen) and Nutcracker! (a version of The Nutcracker) have continued to add a great deal to the modern dance movement.
This version has the prince enthralled by a male swan which eventually leads to a far bloodier destruction than in the well-loved version - the choreography is powerful and the settings are reminiscent of 30s and 40s movie sets. This company - now known as New Adventures - are clever and with their later productions The Car Man (a version of Carmen) and Nutcracker! (a version of The Nutcracker) have continued to add a great deal to the modern dance movement.
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