Arts Movie Reviews

This play revival marks the pinnacle of several noteworthy careers. Jose Quintero has made a reputation, in part, as his generation's foremost interpreter of O'Neill. Colleen Dewhurst was one of the great stage actresses of her time. Those aware of the history of the American Stage, know about Jason Robards' credentials when it comes to nailing down an O'Neill character. Throw in Hal Holbrooke for good measure, in ostensibly his finest stage performance apart from Mark Twain Tonight, and you've got a harmonic convergence of the highest order.

For those who were not lucky enough to watch the magic unfold on stage, this video will have to suffice. Though it suffers from the same limitations as other filmed versions of staged performances, it is nevertheless a record to be treasured by lovers of O'Neill, theatre fans, and connisseurs of great acting and directing everywhere and always.

Those of us who had the pleasure to know Jason Robards, know how close the actor's own past paralleled that of the character he portrayed in this play (James Tyrone, Jr.). Like Tyrone, Robards fought with his alcoholic demons. In his last decades, he conquered his disease, with the help of a strong, loving, Irish-American wife. Robards threw himself exhaustingly, night after night into this role, as did Dewhurst. The result was an evening of true catharsis, in the strict Greek sense of the word, for actors and audience. As Dewhurst cradles Robards in her pieta-like embrace and the lights fade out at the end of the play, we know we have all been changed by a profound confluence of talent and tears.

Written in 1943, it took "A Moon for the Misbegotten" over 30 years to find its place as one of the most important works in the Eugene O'Neill canon. First produced on Broadway in 1958, the play was originally dismissed as second-rate O'Neill. It took the powerhouse 1974 revival directed by Jose Quintero and starring Jason Robards, Colleen Dewhurst and Ed Flanders to finally earn O'Neill's painful reminiscence about his brother Jamie, unforgettably introduced to audiences in "Long Days Journey Into Night," the deserved accolade of "masterpiece."

The story is incidental: dirt farmers Josie and her father attempt to dupe their alcoholic landlord James Tyrone, Jr. into spending the night with Josie in the hopes of initiating a vague stab at retaliation against a scheme that Tyrone has hatched against him. But when the drunken lessor shows up for the assignation, what unfolds is a series of jolting revelations that leaves all of the characters - and the audience - emotionally spent, with only a lingering sense of compassion haunting their well-traveled spirits.

This DVD is the ABC television production of this landmark theatrical event, and admirers of great acting can only be thankful that the production was preserved on video. The performances of Jason Robards, repeating the role he created in the original Broadway production and film of "Long Day's Journey"; Ed Flanders, who received both the Tony Award for the Broadway production and the Emmy for the television presentation; and most especially Colleen Dewhurst, who is magnificent in her Tony Award-winning role as Josie, all offer such brilliantly moving performances that the memory of them will linger long after the final credits unspool.

The chance to see Jason Robards portray his signature role as "Hickey" makes this video well worth the price. This performance of the complete "Iceman Cometh" was originally aired on CBS in 1962, as a live two-part performance, and the video and audio quality suffer from the transferral, but what remains is an extremely well-directed version of this play, which preserves Robards in the role that first brought him acclaim. The supporting cast in generaly excellent, with standout performances from James Broderick and a very young Robert Redford. This version of the play makes an interesting contrast to the 1973 film version, directed by John Frankenheimer, which features a decent, though limted, Lee Marvin as Hickey, but which also displays two incredible actors, Robert Ryan as Larry, and Frederick March as Harry Hope, who are so wonderful in their final screen roles that they overshadow the rest of the characters, Hickey included. One can only lament the director's choice not to cast Robards, thus missing the opportunity to unite three of the greatest O'Neill interpreters in these three splendid roles. Oh well.......

This DVD is a wonderful supplement to the play. Read the play first, then buy this DVD. You'll be shocked at how wonderfully portrayed the characters are, and how close they are the the characters you've conjured in your mind. One of the best plays written, a great description of the hearts and souls of humankind. As the intro says, it is a play for people with mature minds and sensitive hearts.

All you have to do is look at the artists involved in this production to realize the landmark importance of this staging. Robards, considered the quintessential interpreter of O'Neill, reprises the role that first caused critics to sit up and take notice that a major league actor had arrived on Broadway. O'Neill roles were more like autobiographies for Robards. He faced the same alcohol-induced demons in real life as confronted such characters as Hickey and James Tyrone.

Though Lumet may not be in the same league as Jose Quintero as far as O'Neill directors are concerned, he nevertheless wrings solid performances out of every cast member involved in this historic production.

If you can, you may want to purchase this in conjunction with the 1976 Broadway Archive tape of William Saroyan's "The Time of Your Life." Both plays have similar bar room settings, about the same size cast, and similar themes. It's interesting to see how two major playwright's handle diologue and monologue, dramatic conflict and themes of dissipation. Personally, I've always felt O'Neill digs a lot deeper than Saroyan, but both productions are superb, as are most plays in the Broadway Theater Archive series.

This is the DVD version of a video recorded in 1987, obviously, to judge from its length of 53 minutes, for a television broadcast. The video quality is just passable (after you make all the adjustments possible for the color, a "ghost" remains around all the singers), and the sound is only PCM stereo, so I have given the disk only 4 stars. But the concert itself is absolutely superb, with Domingo still in his prime, though beginning to show the signs of age (physically only). After some wonderfully warm renditions of five great opera arias that I personally have not have seen or heard Domingo sing elsewhere, he invites us into his Spanish heart of hearts with three delightful Spanish arias that most of us will certainly not have heard before.

The first Spanish piece is a long and passionate duet with the Columbian mezzo Marta Senn, who proves herself fully capable of standing her own against Domingo's consummate lyricality. Next we meet the Romanian baritone, Eduard Tomagian, who delivers an unforgettable performance of another Spanish aria with total self-mastery and great style. I heard from a Romanian studying in Tokyo about a great classical music festival that is held in Romania, and singers like Tomagian and Angela Gheorghiu demonstrate that the country is home to an incredibly vibrant musical culture, which has undoubtedly been flowering since the overthrow of the country's Communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, back in 1989.

As Domingo fans from the audience flooded up to the stage at the end of his last scheduled number to present him with flowers, I noticed something about the "culture" that has grown up around Domingo and the Three Tenors that I was not aware of before. At least at this concert, all of the fans who presented flowers were women, and it was very reminiscent of an Elvis concert except that all of them seemed quite well on in years. There was no dearth of young opera lovers in the audience, but the dominance of those close to or already in their "autumn" years was obvious. The same thing applied to the members of the English Chamber Orchestra, who put in a tremendous performance that was not hindered a bit, and probably greatly enhanced, by the proud presence of many musicians where were past what used to be considered the age of retirement -- again most prominently women.

I think this speaks of one of the most salutary things that has happened to society, in the "advanced" countries in particular, in the last few decades. With the decline in the birthrate and the increasing average age of the population, more and creative people have continued to contribute actively to society and culture well into their sixties and seventies -- and even beyond. All I can say is "bravo" to this trend, and to all those musicians, like Domingo himself, who have refused to let aging bring an end to their creative activities.

If one stops and thinks about it, it is really a natural thing for the world of culture -- "high culture" at least -- to be led by those with the most experience. And music in particular, unlike sports and dance for instance, is a realm of creative activity where the deepening of one's spiritual maturity is least affected by the gradual decline of the physical frame in which that spirit is cased.

After seeing the first Three Tenors video I became a true Domingo fan. Not only do I have the DVD but I also have the video .. so of course I tracked down everything Domingo. When I came across the video of An evening with Plaacido Domingo I was so happy with the video I had to have the DVD. His choice of songs was great .. and of course there is that magnificent voice. I would say that of all my videos and DVDs this is one of the best.

You will want to stand up for most of this one. Alas, it will do no good. The simpletons have cut off the feet in over half of the Covent Garden Performance. When will they ever learn feet require at least one meter of stage perspective.
The Red Square portion is somewhat better in this regard. However, the outdoor staging is quite distracting.
In my opinion, the Kirov Ballet Company is a near perfect human endeavor and deserves better. These recordings will become the standard by which future dancers will be judged.

A magnificent DVD! Simply breathtaking !

This DVD features excerpts from performances of the Kirov Ballet at Covent Garden and an open-air concert from Red Square in Moscow.

It is difficult to know were to start: there are so many exquisite performances on this disc. I will pick out a few (really, you could mention all of them)
The beauty, grace and sensitivity of Julia Makhalina as Odette(with Andris Liepa) in the Adagio from "Swan Lake".
The obvious joy and subtle sadness, coupled with the incredible dancing skill of Altynai Asylmuratova and Konstantin Zaklinsky in " The Leaves Are Fading " (especially the second part); music by Antonin Dvorak.
The unbelievable athletic abilities of Farukh Ruzimatov in his Pas de deux with Larisa Lezhina from Drigo's "Diana and Actaeon".

And then there were the young dancers from the Vaganova Ballet Academy doing a wonderful job on Minkus's "Paquita: Polonaise and Mazurka" and also a credible rendition of the Dance of the Mirlitons from Tchaikovsky's " The Nutcracker"

Overall, I personally enjoyed the Covent Garden section a little more and yet my favorite piece is probably the Pas de deux from the Act II of Giselle (Adam) by Carole Arbo and Kader Belarbi; the smoothness, the height of the lifts, the glides, the quiet touches and the grace of both performers is simply hard to believe.

As a bonus there is a short commentary on the history of ballet by Ruth Leon in the accompanying booklet that is interesting reading.

All in all, some of the greatest performances of the greatest ballet works you'll ever find on one disc.
The only thing I would change on this disc is the name: Instead of "Essential Ballet", maybe "Quintessential Ballet" might be more accurate, because I believe you'd be hard pressed to find any better anywhere.

if you enjoy the ballet, this is a must for your dvd library.

O'Neill doesn't get much representation these days. Staging his plays isn't always practical. This is a really excellent video version of the play that was produced for Connecticut public television. The cast, including Joan Hackett, Roberta Maxwell, Bruce Davison and Jeffrey DeMunn is really excellent. They breathe such natural life into these supertragic, archetypal, and arguably over-Freudian, characters that you really understand why this is a magnificent tragedy and not just some soap opera. The settings are good and the staging takes advantage of the medium with scene transitions that wouldn't have been possible on stage, but would no doubt have gladdened O'Neill's heart, and give further power to his already lavish dramatic design.

Unfortunately, this IS produced for public television, and there is no attempt to hide the fact. The play is presented in a series of "Episodes," with "scenes from last time" and an opening of waves on cliffs that can not fail to remind viewers of the series "Dark Shadows." But the score by Maurice Jarre is perfect and evocative throughout the production. There is
also a clinching review/discussion/commentary at the end of each episode by, for some reason, Erich Segal. I avoided this like the plague.