Movies
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky's, too, of course, and the New York City Ballet's, and director Emile Ardolino's, in addition to the late choreographer Balanchine's. As a piece of dancing (excepting "guest star" Macaulay Culkin, who can barely walk), it is much preferable to Carroll Ballard's 1986 version with the Pacific Northwest Ballet (sets and costumes by Maurice Sendak). As always, however, it takes a while for the dancing to kick in, with a glorious swirl of Snowflakes, a steaming hot cup of Arabian Coffee, and so on. As a piece of filmmaking, it's a tossup: neither is quite fish or quite fowl, quite film or quite theater. Narrated by Kevin Kline. 1993.
Reader Rating:
MPAA Rating: G
