Reviews

I think Juliet Stevenson's portrayal of Nora in this production is probably the finest acting I know of. The way she can turn from a frothy light giddiness to sledgehammer-like intensity in the blink of an eye is simply breathtaking. It is a fabulously detailed and incisive performance. Last time I looked it was very easy to find online (just try putting "A Doll's House Juliet Stephenson" into the search engine of your choice), and then you can judge this all for yourself. The other members of the cast are also excellent but Juliet Stevenson is simply dazzling. If you ever thought that Ibsen might be a little dry or hard to comprehend I think you are in for a really big surprise.

There is something very odd about rating for this film. It seems strange that there are currently only eighteen votes, but it is staggering that three people gave it a score of two! I've admired this production ever since it was first broadcast on British TV which I taped, and have watched many times. However, I recently bought the DVD which is quite a revelation in video quality. Musically this production is a very solid, and the quality of the 6 channel DTS audio is excellent on the DVD. I like the singers, especially Francisco Araiza and Claudio Desderi. Frederica von Stade is very solid. She certainly has all the notes though she does have a tendency to use more glissando than is to my taste. The real star for me is Paolo Montarsolo whose bluff buffoonery is superb. Its hard to imagine a better performance than this. The acting of all the cast, including the chorus, is excellent and often very funny. The production values are truly marvelous. The sets and costumes of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle are exceptionally beautiful. The direction, also by Ponnelle, is very inventive. There is a clever variation halfway through where he gets Rossini rather than Alidoro to send Cinderella to the ball. Lastly the cinematography by David Watkin is fantastic. Watkin is a true genus, and he complements Ponnelle art perfectly. Come on guys, how can any of you think that this is only worth a rating if two?

Well if I was ever in any doubt about Dustin Hoffman's talent this movie truly has put an end to it. I've seen enough footage of the real Lenny Bruce to realise just what a great performance this is. He looks so like Bruce, and the mannerisms are so well done it is hard to think of any way this performance could be improved upon. The direction and camera work are also superb as is Valerie Perrine's performance as Bruce's wife. It seems impossible to give this less than ten out of ten.

This is the finest acting I know of. Previous to this the only part I knew Jane Horrocks for was that of Bubble in Absolutely Fabulous. Her performance in Suffer the Little Children is everything that Bubble was not, serious, intense, and mature. She re-enacts the story of Deborah Hayes, a woman tried for murder when she killed her second baby. Both children were born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a crippling disease of the spinal cord. The film is composed solely of a police interview where Mrs. Hayes gives her account of the tragic circumstances that befell her two young children. After the death of Michael, her second son, she had attempted to commit suicide; the act of a desperate women who had stoically, and cheerfully, endured many years of caring for her ill children. I know not how to describe Jane Horrocks' performance in this role, you have to see it to understand just how extraordinary it is. Hard it is to believe that such a case would be brought to court, but is was, and Mrs. Hayes' plea of not being guilty of murder was accepted. Her plea of being guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility was also accepted and she was sentenced to one year's probation.

Ripley is a 19th century vampire that is woken from suspended animation in London in the 1990s. He proceeds to do what vampires are best at, work in the stock market! The singing in this film is generally good. Omar Ebrahim is excellent as Ripley as are Phillip Salmon and Richard Van Allen. The production is very stylish and has many contemporary elements in what is essentially an old tale. It has a few truly sublime moments where modern life and an operatic form are brought together in a most convincing way. The little scene in the carwash is a good example if this. The words here are marvelous. A girl is seen coming to work and as she arrives the owner sings: "Morning susie, be a brick. Cup of tea would do the trick". Susie then reads the news from the morning paper. It's all very natural and fits in with the music very well.