The Blu-ray Experience: Opera & Ballet

Billy Elliot(en)

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

Einstein on the Beach: The Changing Image of Opera(en)

The creative processes of avant-garde composer Philip Glass and progressive director/designer Robert Wilson are examined in this film. It documents their collaboration on this tradition breaking opera.

LIFT(en)

Lift shines a spotlight on the invisible story of homelessness in America through the eyes of a group of young homeless and home-insecure ballet dancers in New York City and the mentor that inspires them.

Edward Scissorhands(en)

In a castle high on a hill lives Edward; a boy created by an eccentric inventor. When his creator dies he is left alone and unfinished with only scissors for hands until a kindly townswoman invites him to live with her suburban family. Can Edward find his place in the well-meaning community which struggles to see past his curious appearance to the innocence and gentleness within?

The Sound of Identity(en)

In the spotlight of global media coverage, the first transgender woman ever to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera, makes her historic debut in one of the reddest states in the U.S.

Center Stage(en)

A group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.

Farinelli(fr)

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.

The Australian Ballet's The Nutcracker(en)

Sugar plums and snowflakes, dreams and spells –The Nutcracker is one of the world’s best-loved ballets, and this production by Peter Wright is one of the most enchanting stagings ever created. The Australian Ballet shines in this charming classic. Sumptuously staged and set to Tchaikovsky’s celebrated score, this ballet is a truly magical experience for the whole family.

Cinderella(fr)

Sergei Prokofiev's setting of the fairy tale "Cinderella" premiered at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater in 1945. In 1986, Rudolf Nureyev, then ballet director of the Paris Opera, choreographed the ballet anew and transposed the story into a private cinema, with sets reminiscent of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." ARTE shows the Paris Opera performance from December 31, 2018.

Rhythm is it!(en)

RHYTHM IS IT! records the first big educational project of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. The orchestra ventured out of the ivory tower of high culture into boroughs of low life for the sake of 250 youngsters. They had been strangers to classical music, but after arduous but thrilling preparation they danced to Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' ('The Rite of Spring'). Recorded with a breathtaking fidelity of sound, this film from Thomas Grube and Enrique Sánchez Lansch documents the stages of the Sacre project and offers deep insights into the rehearsals of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Save the Last Dance(en)

After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.

Verdi: Macbeth(it)

Star soprano Anna Netrebko created a sensation in her first Met performances as the malevolent Lady Macbeth, the central character in Verdi’s retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She is joined by Željko Lucic, who brings dramatic intensity and vocal authority to the title role of the honest general driven to murder and deceit by his ambitious wife. René Pape is Banquo, Joseph Calleja is Macduff, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi presides over Adrian Noble’s atmospheric production.

Cavalleria rusticana(it)

Franco Zeffirelli directs these two legendary La Scala productions telling tragic tales of jealousy. Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana features performances by Elena Obraztsova, Plácido Domingo, and Renato Bruson. Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci stars Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Juan Pons. Both are conducted by George Pretre. This production of Pagliacci earned director Franco Zeffirelli the coveted Emmy as Best Director in the category of Classical Music Programming.

The Phantom of the Opera(en)

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

The Metropolitan Opera: Nabucco(it)

The success of Verdi’s third opera, a stirring drama about the fall of ancient Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco), catapulted the 28-year-old composer to international fame. The music and Verdi himself were subsumed into a surge of patriotic fervor culminating in the foundation of the modern nation of Italy. Specifically, the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves ('Va, pensiero'), in which the Israelites express their longing for their homeland, came to stand for the country’s aspirations for unity and that exciting era in Italian history, the Risorgimento, or 'Resurgence'.

The Metropolitan Opera: Carmen(fr)

Director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day, in a contemporary American industrial town.

Romeo and Juliet(en)

Ballet performance by The Royal Ballet, recorded at Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, July 1984.

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake(en)

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake comes to cinemas with a fresh look for the 21st century and is ‘as bold and beautiful as ever’ (★★★★★ Telegraph). This thrilling, audacious and witty production is perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, which shattered convention, turned tradition upside down and took the dance world by storm. Filmed Live at Sadler's Wells in January 2019.

Adolphe Appia Visionary of Invisible(fr)

The life and work of stage designer ADOLPHE APPIA, originator of the most profound agitations in contemporary theatre. Through the dynamic alternation of animated drawings and choreographies specially conceived for the film, we discover the steps of his artistic evolution.

Pavarotti, Birth of a Pop Star(fr)

Although he is unanimously credited with having democratised opera, making it accessible to the greatest number, focus is rarely put on the strategy he devised and implemented in order to carry out his actions, nor what his actions reveal of the man and artist, and of the resulting metamorphosis from opera singer to pop artist. Through this angle, this film sets out to pay tribute to the man who summed up his credo, obsession and life’s work, in the following way: “They led the public to believe that classical music belonged to a restricted elite. I was the way to prove to the world that was wrong.

Le songe. Choreography & film by Jean-Christophe Maillot(fr)

Spring(ru)

This is a story about a city guy Nikolai, who will have to go instead of his friend on a rural business trip. A series of funny events, meetings and the beauty of the Yakut village encourage Nikolai to make an important decision in his life…

Souvenir, Souvenir(fr)

For ten years I pretended I wanted to get my grandfather to share his memories of the Algerian War. Today, I'm not sure I want to hear what he has to say, or whether I want to make this film at all.

Sasquatch Mountain(en)

A lonely tow-truck driver gets caught in a deadly struggle between a pair of bank robbers with a beautiful hostage, local cops, and a monster that has come down from the Arizona mountains to eat human flesh.

Good Idea(ru)

He went through the circles of hell that he created himself. He is doomed by illness. The surprises did not end there, life presented another one, he found himself alone with nature, alone among the snows and endless tundra with a blanket and matches. How it got here, who threw it here. Now he is in the hands of the Lord, and can he survive?

Phosphor(uk)

Returning wounded from the war Maksym was overcome by self-doubt, in his physiological state. He is undergoing rehabilitation. He loses contact with his wife. He is tormented by dreams. In one of his dreams Maksym goes to the island to catch a lot of fish, as the paramedic advised him. Maksym takes a boat, net, dynamite from the best man and sails to the island.

Let Me Go Home(ru)

In hustle and bustle of urban life, we sometimes don't know our neighbors next door. And in the village, everyone knows each other and lives with the joys, troubles, and worries of a neighbor, like one big family. That's why a person is pulled to their small homeland, to their roots. The one who forgets their roots experiences a burdensome emptiness and dissatisfaction with their achievements in life.

Human Hibachi: The Beginning(en)

A brutal look at how Jin and the Human Hibachi movies got their start in Japan.

Family Film(cs)

A couple embark on an early vacation. Left alone, their children cut loose until the boy gets caught for skipping school and things take an unexpected turn. Boasting exquisite camera work, the film is also unforgettable for its wholly original ending.

You(en)

Through new camera techniques never before attempted we are able to put your audience on the edge of their seats, gasping for breath through FEEL-A-VISION. Your audience will boast that in one night they were able to whip a young girl to her masochistic climax - feel the warmth of a young female hitchhiker's gratitude for giving her a ride - answer a voyeur's plea to endure his young wife's sensuous desires - be sucked into a back alley profession they only dreamed existed - be pulled into a religion that requires a witness to an act of awareness by two young female believers and finally to participate with them in the most bizarre rite of depravity - take pictures of a would be starlet in a celebrated model studio and for a few dollars more get exactly what they want - get anything they wanted from a young Mexican girl in trouble with the police in return for helping her escape.

Female Urologists 3(ko)

Haeil, wounded by his wife's words of 'premature ejaculation', goes to a urology department. But because the doctor is a woman, she is so surprised and embarrassed that she tries to go out. Then, a word from a woman doctor catches him. "How long will you live with premature ejaculation?". After that, after receiving special treatment, the beautiful female doctor Jeongyeon and glamor nurse Mijoo, Haeil gradually became a man loved by his wife.

Modern Love(en)

Modern relationships are examined in this comedy drama.

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky(sv)

This documentary offers a rare glimpse of the legendary Soviet filmmaker, Andrei Tarkosvky, at work. Tarkovsky made only seven films in his brief, but brilliant, career; Michal Leszczylowski's respectful movie chronicles him at work on his last film, The Sacrifice. Offering insight into Tarkovsky's working methods and transcendental aesthetics, the movie is a compelling account of the difficulties of film production. In the case of an uncompromising and visionary filmmaker like Tarkovsky, the practical problems of filmmaking are only magnified, as cast and crew struggle to realize the ambitious concepts in Tarkovsky's mind.

Omar & Salma 2(ar)

Now parents, Omar and Salma hit some obstacles while raising their two children and staying in love after the honeymoon ends.

The Fixies: Top Secret(ru)

The Fixies are little creatures that, unseen by humans, help them maintain their appliances – and generally make sure things don’t fall apart… Until an unexpected occurrence of gargantuan proportions threatens to reveal the Fixies’ existence!

4:3(en)

Separate projections combine, unifying, becoming whole. Twelve animated projections combine to develop a rhythmic dialogue exploring the intrinsic relationship between sound and image using 16mm film, paint and a projector. Responding to a hand-drawn soundtrack, each projection is individually created by painting and scratching directly on 16mm film stock.

Films(en)

A video work by Nicky Hamlyn

Unified MMA 50(en)

Unified MMA 50 took place Friday, March 31, 2023 with 10 fights at River Cree Resort & Casino in Enoch, Alberta, Canada.