Nijinsky (1980) -
I couldn't actually remember whether I had checked the synopsis for this film beforehand and whether it might have been about a horse instead. My Mother certainly insisted on telling me that there was also a horse called Nijinsky all the way through it, despite it obviously being about the ballet dancer.
Either way, I knew nothing about the man, well played by George De La Pena and now I know something. He seemed like a bit of a diva actually and although it was clear that Sergei was using him for his talents, at least to some degree and that their love might not have been true, I felt that the dancer was probably doomed to come to the end that he did due to his passion and determination that would only ever be disappointed.
The character of Sergei, who was the lover and benefactor, didn't look like the Alan Bates I knew. I would still have kissed him though, without the use of a handkerchief between our lips, as was the oddity of their first meeting on screen.
There had always been something roguishly charming about Mr. Bates, especially when he had his beard and that came across in this great and interesting character, which was well delivered.
I would have liked to have seen more of Nijinsky actually dancing, although the Faun performance was a bit odd and lacklustre. More a sort of strange rolling around than the traditional beauty of a ballet that I'm used to. Actually, most of the dances were too strange for me and I was disappointed, having only recently started to get in to the art form via the likes of 'Swan Lake' and 'The Nutcracker', but also 'Car Men' and an old BBC2 performance I saw entitled 'Enter Achilles' from a season they did named '2 Dance'. Perhaps what was shown in this film would be received positively by those that knew more, but for myself as a layman it just came across as a bit forced and daft.
However I would have been very surprised if anyone could choreograph any kind of dance to Igor Stravinsky's (Ronald Pickup) God awful music, as it was performed in this film. It was painful to listen to.
Other than that, I thought that this story of Vaslav Nijinsky's life was produced fairly well. I would definitely have liked more sex and nudity, but I understood the restrictions that the studio would have been under at the time.
However I did also think that it was very poorly lit, making it very dark throughout and therefore lacking in definition at times, or perhaps it may have been the quality of the film used, but it definitely needed something.
In general it was interesting and it kept my attention, which many other films have failed to do. The final moments appeared a bit rushed as if they had sacrificed filming that segment of his life due to time constraints, because it was sad and that did lead me to thinking that it was a poor end for both Nijinsky and the film.
640.89/1000.
I couldn't actually remember whether I had checked the synopsis for this film beforehand and whether it might have been about a horse instead. My Mother certainly insisted on telling me that there was also a horse called Nijinsky all the way through it, despite it obviously being about the ballet dancer.
Either way, I knew nothing about the man, well played by George De La Pena and now I know something. He seemed like a bit of a diva actually and although it was clear that Sergei was using him for his talents, at least to some degree and that their love might not have been true, I felt that the dancer was probably doomed to come to the end that he did due to his passion and determination that would only ever be disappointed.
The character of Sergei, who was the lover and benefactor, didn't look like the Alan Bates I knew. I would still have kissed him though, without the use of a handkerchief between our lips, as was the oddity of their first meeting on screen.
There had always been something roguishly charming about Mr. Bates, especially when he had his beard and that came across in this great and interesting character, which was well delivered.
I would have liked to have seen more of Nijinsky actually dancing, although the Faun performance was a bit odd and lacklustre. More a sort of strange rolling around than the traditional beauty of a ballet that I'm used to. Actually, most of the dances were too strange for me and I was disappointed, having only recently started to get in to the art form via the likes of 'Swan Lake' and 'The Nutcracker', but also 'Car Men' and an old BBC2 performance I saw entitled 'Enter Achilles' from a season they did named '2 Dance'. Perhaps what was shown in this film would be received positively by those that knew more, but for myself as a layman it just came across as a bit forced and daft.
However I would have been very surprised if anyone could choreograph any kind of dance to Igor Stravinsky's (Ronald Pickup) God awful music, as it was performed in this film. It was painful to listen to.
Other than that, I thought that this story of Vaslav Nijinsky's life was produced fairly well. I would definitely have liked more sex and nudity, but I understood the restrictions that the studio would have been under at the time.
However I did also think that it was very poorly lit, making it very dark throughout and therefore lacking in definition at times, or perhaps it may have been the quality of the film used, but it definitely needed something.
In general it was interesting and it kept my attention, which many other films have failed to do. The final moments appeared a bit rushed as if they had sacrificed filming that segment of his life due to time constraints, because it was sad and that did lead me to thinking that it was a poor end for both Nijinsky and the film.
640.89/1000.