Reviews

I looked forward to this opportunity to see Nureyev's Don Quixote on PBS 30 years after it was made.

It is marvelous-- beyond compare. Ballet has not been this good in many, many years. While Nureyev's whirling jumps are breathtaking, it is his delicate footwork that is spellbinding. I have not seen anyone to compare. It seems as though no one even tries to be this good anymore.

The most delightful surprise of this film is Lucette Aldous, who plays Kitri. I had never heard of her. But the diminutive New Zealander is as good a ballerina as I have ever seen. The partnering between her and Nureyev is magical.

Even if the legendary Nureyev were not in this movie, Ms. Aldous' performance by itself would have made this one of the best ballets I have seen. Notwithstanding sharing the stage with the Russian ex-patriot, Ms. Aldous' strength is a sight to behold. Her pointe work is spectacular and sustained.

The two stars are well supported by other members of the Australian ballet.

The camera work is excellent, with overhead shots giving a perspective unavailable in the live theatre. The set is interesting and the dancers master stairs and other landscape features.

This gem of a movie replaces the Kirov at Wolf Trap as the best dance performance I have seen on television.

Moulin Rouge was a disappointment.

A musical needs its own music. Not only did Moulin Rouge! fail in that, but the music it had was well-known prior to the movie and identified with a modern era.

Indeed, each time the characters broke into song it yanked the viewer out of the 1899 setting of the movie. So well-known is the music that it seemed like even the most serious scenes were comedic, with the joke being the character partaking in anachronism.

The costumes, however, were wonderful. They suck the viewer into the period and feel of the movie.

Too bad the music causes the viewer "toulouse lautrec'' of time.

I was disappointed by this movie by Paul Shrader, who has certainly turned in much better efforts.

Yaphet Kotto, Richard Pryor, and Harvey Keitel did a good job of representing blue collar workers. But their acting and the music were about the only things to recommend this movie.

The plot of three factory workers trying to burglarize their own corrupt union was dumb and undeveloped. It's difficult to root for the success of three guys with obviously devoted wives who: sneak out at night to snort cocaine and screw their brains out; cheat on their income taxes; and complain they have no money while evidently spending most of their money and time drinking at the local tavern. Evidently there are one or more homicides in their past, too.

But, this movie urges, let's concentrate on the important things: the union has failed to get Richard Pryor's locker fixed at work.

The oppression of their factory bosses and their union seems like a deserved punishment. Even so, we might hope for the come-uppance of the hopelessly evil union if the acting of the person playing the FBI agent investigating it were not much more horrid than the union.