New Nureyev documentary

[Geoff]

Apologies for the old article (no doubt listed in links at the time) but this report of a new film might still be of interest:-

 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/jun/17/rudolf-nureyev-documentary-unearths-unseen-avant-garde-footage-ballet

[toursenlair]

cinema screenings starting Sept 18 in the UK are listed here

https://www.nureyevthefilm.com/

[jm365]

Thanks for the information - greatly to my surprise it is going to be shown at the Watford Vue Cinema on 25th September.  It will be interesting to see what the turn out is like

[Mary]

Thanks v much for highlighting this and the link!

[jmhopton]

I see a selection of Odeon cinemas is now announced to be showing this docu/film on either 23/9 (preview) or 25/9 (release date) but none in NW England, alas.

[Jan McNulty]

It's being shown at FACT in Liverpool and the Vue cinemas in Southport and Cheshire Oaks.

[fashionista]

On 02/08/2018 at 19:52, toursenlair said:

cinema screenings starting Sept 18 in the UK are listed here

https://www.nureyevthefilm.com/

Thanks for this information - have just booked - look forward )))

 

Amanda 

[John Mallinson]

The trailer

[jm365]

I don't really think this gives one any idea at all of what might be in a new documentary about Nureyev!  It has, after all, been shown endlessly.  I would like to know what new footage they might have discovered!

[Springbourne3]

It’s being screened in my sleepy part of Wiltshire at a new cinema complex near to me - I checked for seat availability and not one seat had been sold as yet - wasn’t there a fairly recent Nureyev documentary shown on TV with ‘previously unseen footage’ of him??

[alison]

Not everyone advance-buys cinema tickets, especially not 6+ weeks in advance ...

[Fiz]

A good ballet friend warned me before I moved here that it was somewhat of a ballet and cultural wasteland. She’s right. It’s not being shown here and apart from

Ballet Cymru - more power to them! - are the only dance company that visits. I have to go to Newark or Nottingham if I want to see this film or see live ballet. Given that my mother is seriously ill in hospital, I will have give it a miss. 😞

[alison]

I've put some more screening details in the cinema thread here:

 

 

[Pas de Quatre]

In both Times and Telegraph today there is photo of female dancers "attending" the premiere. In the former they are in a pretty balletic pose. In the latter they are in the auditorium with feet over the seat in front and eating a tub of popcorn. Anyone know who they are, from a school or freelancers employed for the occasion?  Just curious. 

[Odyssey]

No showings in Worcestershire , so I thought somewhere in Birmingham might be my best bet. Sad to say, the ‘second city’ doesn’t have a any screening either, in fact only one in the whole of the West Midlands. Fortunately I found there is a showing in Stratford  upon Avon. How sad that this hasn’ been picked up more widely.

[alison]

Can't believe the discrepancy in prices for this: £18.25 at my local Odeon - £5.50 at Stratford!  I know where I'll be going ...

 

Incidentally, it looks as though this may be part of Picturehouses' Tuesday documentary slot, in which case the prices may be lower than usual.

[annamk]

I went to see this today. It felt like a missed opportunity in that it neither attempts to get under the skin of the man and explore the complexities of his personality, nor does it convey much sense of his astonishing charisma. It really only tells the outline of his story which anyone interested in ballet will know already and most of the footage it uses of Nureyev himself can be found on YT.  It includes plenty of non ballet footage of the period it covers which maybe places him in the context of his time but for myself I didn't feel this added anything. Maliphant has choreographed a number of scenes for contemporary dancers representing either Nureyev family members or friends which sit really oddly.  Another irritation is that the background music is often so intrusive it's difficult to hear what the interviewees are saying. The second half is better than the first but it's hard to recommend as a film for knowledgable ballet lovers, maybe that isn't their intended audience. 

 

[serenade]

On 21/09/2018 at 10:43, alison said:

Can't believe the discrepancy in prices for this: £18.25 at my local Odeon - £5.50 at Stratford!  I know where I'll be going ...

 

Incidentally, it looks as though this may be part of Picturehouses' Tuesday documentary slot, in which case the prices may be lower than usual.

 

I know...my picturehouse has a cheap day on a Monday where all films are £7.50 or £5.50 if you're a member and they were showing it today so I definitely got a good deal considering other prices I saw.  Incidentally, am happy to report that it was sold out tonight!  Albeit it was a small screen of about 80 seats but still...

[alison]

Ah.  I suppose I should check on availability before I trek halfway across London  

[Mary]

Anyone else seen this? Have another chance to go and wondering, is it worth it?

 

(Maybe if we want to remember what was really uniquely marvellous about Nureyev,  we would be better off browsing youtube for an hour or so. I also have 2 documentaries on dvd already ....)

[jm365]

As a film, it is in my opinion, pretty terrible.  It is bitty, the music is overwhelming at times, the dance sequences are too short, the pieces are not identified until the closing credits.  If you know the Nureyev story it has some interest - I can't imagine how it is expected to appeal to a non-specialist audience.  It is true that there are a few sequences that I had not seen before - mostly on the documentary front.  I agree that you would get a better sense of Nureyev the dancer by watching him on Youtube.

 

If your local cinema is charging high prices, I wouldn't bother.

[serenade]

Personally I loved it.  I thought it was well made and put together, the contributers were great, clips were good, it was just a very enjoyable and interesting watch.  True, the performance footage is mostly on youtube but you get to see it on the big screen if you see it at the cinema 😃

 

But I can see that if you are already very knowledgeable about Nureyev you won't necessarily learn anything new.  It's a broad telling of events but I only really know the basic story so it was very interesting to me.     

[alison]

I was surprised there weren't more, and longer, clips of him dancing, to be honest.  And I know they dated from the 60s and 70s, but the quality of some of them wasn't good.  And yes, the sound balance wasn't always ideal.

[Ian Macmillan]

I tend to agree that it was well put together, given the material at hand, with the Maliphant dance interludes providing much of the glue.  And given that material, just a tad long, perhaps?  But I doubt that I learned much new from it, and would be unlikely to buy a DVD version, should one emerge.

[alison]

Looking back at it now, I don't remember getting a great feel for what he was like as a dancer, though.  And I found the AIDS awareness campaign tacked onto the end a little ... well, I'd say out of place if it weren't for the fact that that was the cause of his death.