Caravaggio/Malakhov/Connelly
(2008/Naxos/ArtHaus/3Sat Blu-ray w/CD)/Henryk
Gorecki: The Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs
(1993/ArtHaus)/Napoli/Bournonville
(2014/Opus Arte)/Richard
Strauss (2014
documentary/ArtHaus/all Naxos Blu-rays)/The
New Rijksmuseum
(2014/First Run DVD)
Picture:
B-/C+/B-/B-/C Sound: B/C+/B+/B-/C+ Extras: B/C-/C-/B-/C-
Main Programs: B-/B/B/B-/B-
Here
are some new releases from the world of classical arts and music...
First
we have Vladimir Malakhov's Caravaggio
(2008) in a Bruno Bigonzetti-choreographed ballet based on the
painting and icon of the title character that is not bad throughout,
though obviously we don't see arrows with blood, not much violence
and outright sexualized nudity, yet the 93-minutes program (stage
directed by Andreas Morell) with the Staatsballet Berlin (conducted
by Paul Connelly) is a good length to get the story and experiences
across without wearing thin.
Listening
to the CD of the music score, it works well enough in isolation
(dancers can use it to practice movements form the work itself) and
is never co-dependent on the image, which is why it makes the images
and fine dancing all the more effective. It is a challenging subject
and material to take on (constantly re-referenced, as it was in the
R.E.M. ''Losing My Religion'' Music Video), but here it is and
if interested, it is worth a look and those who look with be
impressed.
Tony
Palmer is one of the great documentary filmmakers and never gets
enough credit for it. Very smart and thorough, most of his work has
covered music of all kinds over the years (even helming the Frank
Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention's experimental counterculture
film 200
Motels
(1971) which turned out to be first non-concert theatrical film
release shot entirely on videotape) beginning on various anthology TV
series and the landmark All
You Need Is Love
(1977) mini-series and has a solid catalog of vital work like no
other. Not even listed on many of his filmographies, Henryk
Gorecki: The Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs
(1993) tells the incredible, shockingly untold story of an amazing
composer in Poland disowned by his own then-militarist government and
yet created vital work and survived the oppression.
The
title refers to his amazing piece about The Holocaust (written in
1976, but oppressed for years), something he knows about as Auschwitz
was only miles away from his hometown where he lived and grew up, a
place that has seen all kind of horrors and as 'reward' for standing
up to the Nazis, Josef Stalin slapped an environmentally hazardous
steel mill in the middle of his town, guaranteeing the snow would
never be white again. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg
of those horrors, like the Polish Government (in pro-USSR,
anti-Jewish and all-totalitarian mode) stigmatized him as a
non-person and banned his works, yet he was an underground success
and celebrated more and more in free Europe until the USSr finally
collapsed in 1990.
This
runs only 53 minutes, but as is the case with Palmer's works, he gets
to the point, has many of them and loads his work with such vital
ideas, facts and truths that you just cannot stop watching. A
performance of the work is included and all that makes this one of
the top music Blu-ray releases of the year!
For
more of Palmer's work, try these links...
All
My Loving on The Beatles on DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6044/All+My+Loving+(Beatles+Documentary
Fairport
Convention/Matthew's Southern Comfort DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6650/Tony+Palmer+%E2%80%93+Fairport+Convention
Space
Movie (1980) DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6249/Tony+Palmer%E2%80%99s+Space+Movie+(MVD/Vo
Our
other ballet this time out is August Bournonville's
Napoli (2014) celebrating Italy and resets the 1842 romance in the
1950s very effectively (iconography, clothes and more) with an
exceptionally good set that has the flavor of the period, great
dancing and it all builds to a conclusion that has more payoff than
most ballets we've
seen of late. Graham Bond conducts the Det Kongelige Kapel and
Sorella Englund & Nikolaj Hubbe adapt Bournonville's original
moves well. And yes, Federico Fellini's work is referenced, but so
is a broader sense of Italian Neorealism without overdoing it
visually or getting sidetracked. Italy was still rebuilding by this
time and this work does not forget that.
Thus,
this is interesting and worth your time.
The
new Blu-ray on Richard
Strauss
has as its main program a 2014 documentary Und
Seine Heldinnen
from Director Thomas von Steinaecker, but also offers Skizze
Eines Libenes,
co-directed by Marieke Schroeder & Barbara Wunderlich from the
same year. But offer deep biographical information, rare interviews,
new interviews, facts and rare footage of the man himself, one of the
most important music composers of all time... and certainly one of
the most successful and popular.
For
classical fans, this is nothing short of an event and for music and
even film fans, a must see set of films that both offer much for only
running 52 minutes each. Add the bonus music and this is a reference
quality release on the master composer that is one of the nice
surprises of the year.
Museums
are sometimes considered boring to go to and some are better than
others, but all of them are not easy to put together. They also cost
serious work and money. Oeke Hoogendijk's The
New Rijksmuseum
(2014) spends over two hours showing just how hard this is, from
resources, to design, to availability of items, to the constant
support that is needed to bring one to life. In this case, the 2003
restoration of an Amsterdam museum that will feature works by masters
like Vermeer and Rembrandt, so it has to be taken seriously, politics
have to be dealt with and the utmost care has to be taken with so
many irreplaceable objects.
This
might not be for everyone and will be long for some (the time is
spent well enough, but what we see, for better or worse, is not
always narrated), but others will likely love this long-often
untouched look at the revival of a great place for learning, seeing
and experiencing some of the rarest treasures in life.
The
sources for each release are varied and presented in a wider range of
ways that expected, so we get Caravaggio in a decent, colorful
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image has some motion blur at
times, but is as good as any entry here as is Napoli with
similar blurring issues at times. I liked its color reproduction
enough too. Gorecki and Strauss are offered in 1080i
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers can show the age of
the materials used since we get our share of not-always restored
vintage footage, but Gorecki does not fare as well since it is
a 1.33 X 1 upscale in the 16 X 9 frame all the way. Yet, it is as
watchable as anything here due to content.
That
leaves the anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Rijismuseum
stable enough to match Gorecki and not bad throughout. It
would likely benefit from a Blu-ray version, especially with all the
art featured.
As
for sound, Caravaggio
is easily the sonic winner here with a well-recorded DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix that is that much better than the
also well recorded, consistent DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.0 lossless
mix on Napoli
that itself has a nice, consistent soundfield, so both are sonic
winners just outperforming their image counterparts. Gorecki
and Strauss
are offered
with PCM 2.0 Stereo that is not bad, but Gorecki
tends to be flatter throughout being a totally older program, so the
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on the Rijismuseum
DVD (an all new recording) can compete.
Extras
for each Blu-ray include booklets on the respective releases (though
the Strauss
booklet is only in German!), while Caravaggio
adds a Making
Of
featurette & a CD of the music score already noted and Strauss
bonus music short films. Rijismuseum
and some of those Blu-rays only add Trailers.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
