The restoration of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) was recently completed and the film will be re-released in selected cinemas across the UK from the end of February.
This film adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's eponymous opera, itself adapted from stories of E. T. A. Hoffmann, is still worth watching for being a combination of opera and ballet, and a Technicolor fantasy.
Starring Robert Rounseville, Moira Shearer, Ludmilla Tchérina, Robert Helpmann, and Ann Ayars, the film included music conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham.
The story starts with Hoffmann watching prima ballerina Stella, dancing in "The Enchanted Dragonfly Ballet".
During the interval, the action moves to an inn, where Hoffmann recounts about his past loves. He starts with the story of Olympia, an automaton created by scientist Spalanzani and magic spectacle maker Coppelius.
The following tale is about Giulietta, a Venetian courtesan who seduces Hoffmann to steal his reflection for the magician Dapertutto, while the last story is about Antonia (Ann Ayars), a soprano suffering from an incurable illness. Antonia must not sing, but evil Dr Miracle pretending of being the spirit of her dead mother lures her to sing, causing her death.
The film was shot to a pre-recorded score, so it was controlled by the music tracks and edited to the rhythms of the music (only Robert Rounseville, who quite often proves dull and stiff while vaguely anticipating Liberace's looks, and Ann Ayars did their own singing).
The Tales of Hoffmann received two nominations - Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, and Best Costume Design - both for Hein Heckroth, at the 24th Academy Awards.
Though the choreographies, especially those involving Shearer are superb, visually speaking the colours and the imaginative sets and costumes by Heckroth remain the best elements with each tale told by Hoffmann being characterised by a different shade.
When the film opens Shearer performs as an ethereal dragonfly in an elegantly and energetically choreographed piece by Frederick Ashton (notable trivia: the arty programme for the ballet was designed by sketch artist Ivor Beddoes).
When she stars as Olympia, Shearer wears instead a pale yellow frilly frock with matching pantaloons that goes pretty well with the gold yellow shades of the curtain-like walls of her room. Olympia is also surrounded by male and female puppets and automatons, dressed in a mix of sunshine yellows and sky-blues, with some burnt orange thrown in, and wearing grotesque make up and wigs.
When the scene moves to Venice the colours change: red, aqua green, purple and black highlight passion and decadence. Giulietta's black leotard contrasts with her long green head scarf as liquid as the (painted) canals on which her gondola silently glides, while Dapertutto (who wears at the beginning and at the end of this segment a striking pink and fuchsia striped mantle with matching hat) enchantingly plays with Technicolor shades when he turns the coloured wax of the candles into precious gems.
Hoffmann's third and saddest love affairs, the one with Antonia, takes place on a Greek island and is shrouded in a dichotomy of blue and cool grey tones, hinting at fantasy and at the world of the dead.
The painted backdrops in this film (check out also the surreal Daliesque obelisks in the final scenes of Stella's ballet), visual tricks and rich costumes perfectly conjure up a non-realist world full of mystery, that somehow makes you easily realise why this was also the favourite film of George A. Romero.
While grotesque moods prevail in most of the story, there are horror elements scattered here and there: the disembodied remains of Olympia with her eyes still blinking; Giulietta walking over (sculptures of) dead bodies; and the vampire-like figure of Dr Miracle psychologically tormenting Antonia.
Yet the impressive and dynamic colours remain the most important thing in The Tales of Hoffmann: they are key elements that move the narration forward and they will undoubtedly prove inspiring to more and younger generations of creative minds in the newly restored version of this movie.
With many thanks to Kutmusic for lending me a copy of this film from its archives for the screenshots in this post.
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