MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE [2012] [Blu-ray] [USA Release] As Bold and Beautiful as Ever! Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is Witty, Menacing, Lyrical and Wild!
Leopards Films presents a New Adventures Production of the 2012 Production of this newly recorded presentation for the first time in High Definition. When it premiered at Sadler's Wells in 1995, Matthew Bourne's triumphant modern re-interpretation of SWAN LAKE turned tradition upside down, taking the dance world by storm. Now firmly crowned as a modern day classic, this iconic production is perhaps best-known for replacing the traditional female corps de ballet with a menacing male ensemble. Matthew Bourne blends dance, humour and spectacle with extravagant, award-winning designs by Lez Brotherston, to create a provocative and powerful Swan Lake for our times. Collecting over 30 international theatre awards including three Tonys, SWAN LAKE has been acclaimed as a landmark achievement on the international stage. It has become the longest running ballet in the West End and on Broadway and enjoyed four hugely successful tours in the UK, thrilling audiences all over the world.
Cast: Richard Winsor, Dominic North, Nina Goldman, Madelaine Brennan, Steve Kirkham, Joseph Vaughan, Ashley Bain, Tim Bartlett, Cindy Ciunfrini, Tom Clarke, Travis Clausen Knight, James Cousins, Tom Davies, Pia Driver, Gavin Eden, Ross Fountain, Philip Jack Gardner, Jack Jones, Nicola Kabera, Mari Kamata, Daisy May Kemp, Katie Lusby, Jamie McDonald, Luke Murphy, Samuel Plant, Alastair Postlethwaite, Danny Reubens, Anwar Russell, Christopher Trendfield and Shelby Williams
Director: Matthew Bourne (stage director) and Ross MacGibbon
Producers: Fiona Morris and Lucie Conrad
Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor: David Lloyd-Jones
Orchestra: New London Orchestra
Choreographer: Matthew Bourne
Cinematography: Matthew Bourne (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Audio
English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Running Time: 119 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: KULTUR Video
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE’ was first staged at Sadler's Wells theatre in London in 1995. The longest running ballet in London's West End and on Broadway, it has been performed in the UK, Los Angeles, Europe, Australia, Japan, Israel and Singapore. The story is based on the Russian romantic ballet Swan Lake, from which it takes the music by Tchaikovsky and the broad outline of the plot. Matthew Bourne's rendering is best known for having the traditionally female parts of the swans danced by men.
The plot of the ballet revolves around a young crown prince, his distant mother, and his desire for freedom, represented by a swan. The plot has evolved over the 15 years since the debut. The most conspicuous change Matthew Bourne made was to remove the subplot of the von Rothbart conspiracy to put his son on the throne. The Private Secretary now becomes just a functionary (no longer a von Rothbart counterpart, nor a villain) and the Stranger is no longer shown conspiring with him. The identity of the Stranger becomes even more vague and Matthew Bourne prefers to leave him and his relationship with the Prince up to the individual interpretation of the viewer.
It is 18 years since ‘MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE’ made its debut, substituting muscular male swans for the usual girls in tutus, and it says something positive about modern society that a homoerotic (swan) love story is mainstream entertainment these days. From the almost monochrome opening scenes in the palatial bedchamber to the vibrant explosion of colour in the Swank Bar, the modern twists provided by Mathew Bourne provided for a fresh and vivacious production which constantly surprised and delighted in equal measures. A combination of clever nods to the source material added to the joy, for example, Bourne boldly stages a ballet within a ballet, poking some tongue in cheek fun at the romantic ballets themselves, of which ‘Swan Lake’ is a prime example.
Aside from the technical mastery and bold choices what makes Matthew Bourne's productions so successful is their accessibility. From the bold posters outside the theatre depicting the imposing swans to the lack of pointe shoes and tutus, Swan Lake continues to defy and challenge the misconceptions about ballet. It shatters the fourth wall and brings the audience to the heart of the performance. Described as a "modern day classic" Swan Lake is a delight and sure to enthral audiences for years to come.
ACT ONE: In the prologue, the Prince, as a child, is awakened by a nightmare of a swan. The Prince's mother comes in to comfort him, but becoming nervous by the situation's intimacy, leaves. Scene One opens with the Prince being prepared for a day of official duties by chambermaids and valets. In Scene Two, arrayed in his full dress uniform, the Prince becomes bored by a boat christening, a ribbon cutting, and other official tasks. His mother prods him to keep up appearances, even as she devotes more attention to the soldiers than she does to him. During this scene, there is a transition from the child actor playing the young Prince to the identically-dressed adult dancer who portrays the grown Prince. This now-adult Prince is introduced to a girl called "the Girlfriend". Although the girl seems foisted on him by von Rothbart, the Private Secretary, the Prince prefers her to his duty-bound life. In Scene Three, the Queen, one of her admiring soldiers, the Private Secretary, the Prince, and the Girlfriend all appear in a theatre box, where they watch a ballet that is staged for the actual audience as well as for the characters. The ballet's backdrop (from a design for Castle Falkenstein by Christian Jank), ornate costumes, and acting parody the romantic ballets of which the original ‘Swan Lake’ was an example. The Girlfriend's responses to the dance, and her eventual dropping her purse from the royal box, annoy the Queen and von Rothbart. In Scene Four finds the Prince drinking in his private chambers in front of a mirror, to his mother's shock. A nearly violent pas de deux ensues in which he pleads for her attention and love, while she rebukes him. The Prince then goes into the streets and into the Swank Bar, a 1970s-style disco, in Scenes Five and Six. Here is where the choreography veers from classical ballet, with jazz forms and modern dance dominating. The Prince gets into a fight with sailors at the bar, and he is thrown out into the street. In Scene Seven, he sees the Girlfriend being paid off by von Rothbart, and he is totally shattered to discover that the only person who appeared to love him is a fake. This increases his desperation and he vows to kill himself. While sitting in the street at the end of Scene Seven the Prince imagines a group of swans flying towards him but the vision disappears. It is the first flash of the Prince's descent into mental turmoil.
ACT TWO: Distraught and disappointed that he will never find affection, the Prince writes a suicide note and goes to throw himself into a lake at a public park inhabited by swans. He is saved by a vision in which he encounters the lead Swan, who had appeared to him in his dreams. Initially rejected by the lead Swan, the Prince is gradually accepted and eventually taken into his arms, realizing what the Prince now knows he always desired. The Prince is elated and abandons his plan to kill himself. This Act contains the most talked-about element of the ballet in which bare-chested, male dancers play the swans, and it contains a very sensual pas de deux between the lead Swan and the Prince.
ACT THREE: In Scene One begins with princesses from various European nations and their escorts arriving at the palace gates for a grand ball. The Girlfriend sneaks in amongst them. Scene Two takes place in a proto-fascist ballroom where gigantic torchieres gripped by fists recall those of Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête. It commences with the arrival of the Queen and the Prince and some formal dancing, but quickly degenerates into a debauched party of drinking and lascivious come-ons. Into this arrives the charismatic and sexually aggressive son of von Rothbart, and the Private Secretary, in black leather pants, who intensifies the sexual tension even further by flirting with every woman present, including the Queen. Each woman finds herself drawn to him and actively participates in the mutual, sometimes lewd, flirtation. Just as in the original Swan Lake, where customarily (although not always) one ballerina performs the roles of both the white swan [Odette] and the black swan [Odile], the same ballet dancer performs the white Swan and the black-clad young von Rothbart in this version. The Prince sees something of his beloved Swan in the son, and he is very attracted to his bravado and animal magnetism but shocked by his lewdness, especially towards his mother. During bump and grind group numbers and a sequence of national dances, it becomes clear that the Queen is powerfully attracted to von Rothbart's son. His father, the Private Secretary, looks on with an increasingly triumphant approval. The Prince also tries to approach young von Rothbart, only to be rebuffed. The Prince retreats into his mind and imagines dancing intimately with him, but the Prince's confusion interrupts the fantasy, and the son's movements turn from love to violence. The Prince imagines the Queen and young von Rothbart flaunting their growing physical affection for each other. They join with the other guests at the ball to laugh and ridicule him because of his growing distress. The Queen and young von Rothbart end their dancing with an embrace and passionate kissing. The Prince, in his fury, violently separates them and is rewarded by outrage from both and a slap from his mother. Overwhelmed by conflicted feelings, the Prince produces a pistol and threatens to shoot his mother. In an ensuing scuffle the Girlfriend tries to dissuade the Prince, while the Private Secretary draws a pistol and points it at the Prince. As shots ring out, the Girlfriend and the Prince fall to the ground, but only the Girlfriend has been hit. She lies unconscious and the Prince is dragged away, while the Queen throws herself into young von Rothbart's arms. He gives the pistol he had taken from the Prince to his father, the two of them laughing.
ACT FOUR: In the final act, the Prince, regarded as having lost his mind, is confined to an asylum in a room with a high barred window, and is treated by a doctor and a team of nurses wearing masks that resemble the Queen's face, in a scene reminiscent of his dressing at the beginning of the ballet. The Queen visits but, again, she is still unable to fully express love for her son. The Prince crawls into bed and appears to sleep. However, he begins writhing as he dreams of the troupe of swans emerging from under and behind, dancing around him. He wakes from his nightmare, checking under his bed and around his room for swans. His tortured expression and jerky movements convey the Prince in turmoil. His lead Swan then slowly emerges from within the Prince's bed. The Swan dances with the Prince and assures him of his continued affection. But, the rest of the swans turn on the lead Swan when he makes it clear that he values his relationship with the Prince more than he does them. They separate the two and begin attacking the Prince before the Swan leaps in to save him. The Swan embraces the Prince and envelops him in his wings. The swans' fury increases and their next attack dismember the Swan, who then disappears. Heartbroken and despondent, the Prince wails and collapses onto the bed. The Queen then finds her dead son's body and breaks down in sobs. However, in death the Prince and the Swan are reunited; as shown by a tableau depicting the lead Swan tenderly holding the young Prince in his arms.
There is absolutely nothing to fault in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, which is why, 18 years after its initial two-week run at Sadlers Wells in London; it is still thrilling audiences around the globe. It could never have worked as well, though, without the imagination of set and costume designer Lex Brotherston and lighting designer Rick Fisher. What they have put together is out of this world, enveloping you in this magical world unfolding on the stage. No matter how many times you see the production, you notice something you hadn’t previously. If you haven’t decided to buy the Blu-ray disc yet, what are you thinking about, as it is an absolutely stunning production that will thrill you each time you view the Blu-ray disc. As a piece of theatre and as a piece of dance, this is hard to surpass. Sexy, sassy, superb!
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Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE’ is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Classics and KULTUR video. The 1080p image is really presented in a very nice looking high definition presentation, which is helped along with the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Even though it was filmed in the theatre, the overall impression has a very nice vivid crispness that some of the recent releases of, say, Opus Arte presentations of The Royal Ballet presentations routinely do. Sometimes the image is just slightly fuzzy and is not helped by a tendency to have lighting schemes placed upstage of the dancers, which sometimes cast their silhouettes in effulgent glows, but despite this slight aberration, it is still a good image effect. But on the other hand, the colours just really pop out at you quite admirably throughout its presentation, and close-ups reveal some very nice fine detail, including the occasional fly away dust mite from the swans' feathers. Contrast is generally very strong, though shadow detail is somewhat lacking in some very darkly lit scenes, but despite this, the overall impression is totally beautiful and exquisitely presented for your viewing enjoyment.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Here you have two audio presentations for your choice of audio pleasure and they are 2.0 LPCM Audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio and the latter is presented with a standard surround mix. The 2.0 LPCM mix is also very nicely presented, especially with a nice hall ambience effect. The orchestra tends to sound okay at times, especially with a big massed wall of instrumentation with occasional solos panned left or right. The New London Orchestra plays very well under the baton of David Lloyd-Jones. Again you have a choice of the Dolby track or the LPCM track, both are of equal presentation and only you can decide what audio presentation you prefer. But at least it immerses the listener completely in some surround activity and provides a bit more ambient that will give you many hours of superb audio presentation that will immerse you in what you view with this Blu-ray disc.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: Unfortunately no supplements are included on this Blu-ray. A featurette examining the differences between Matthew Bourne's staging and the Tchaikovsky ballet would have been a great idea. There's not even an insert booklet, just an insert leaflet.
Finally, the grace, elegance and sheer talent of the entire cast of ‘MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE’ was undeniable and simply could not be faulted in any way. The infusion of different style of dance, from ballet to jazz and beyond was seamless and fitted the traditional score perfectly whilst the narrative aspect of the production was easy to follow and conveyed the story well. From the opening scenes to the terrifying and tearful finale, this show has everything to recommend it including humour, style, spectacle, originality and genuine emotion. As a piece of theatre, it cannot be recommended highly enough. This Blu-ray really could have used some supplementary material putting this ballet in its proper context, but otherwise this package offers a good solid video and audio presentation. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
