Adam - Giselle / Carla Fracci, Erik Bruhn, John Lanchbery, American Ballet Theatre

The dance performance is good. Video production is VHS quality, muddy and dark. It is too bad they couldnt remaster and clean up the video quality. Disappointing on DVD. No chapter divisions or random access to scenes.

How David Blair could allow this insult to the dancers is beyond me. I noted that some people liked the performance, but Im at a loss to know how they actually saw the performance! Trying to watch an artist dance, through the back of huge hats, bad quality glass and anything else the director could find to put in front of them, was, to say the least, distracting. Add to that a camera that was moving so constantly that I almost felt sea-sick and editing that rarely stayed on the same shot for more than a few seconds and constantly interrupted the dance with completely irrelevant and distracting views of everything from a plate of fruit to galloping horses as seen from a galloping horse! Ballet is a theatrical art, but many others have shown that it can be totally cinematic. If you trust it and leave it alone, it will automatically weave its magic spell.

I saw the name Carla Fracci and snapped like a salmon at this video.

I sympathize with reviewers who are put off by the artistic excesses in filming this version. A pity, because Ive owned many Giselles over the years and whenever I come back to this one, Im reminded of all the reasons Fracci remains my favorite. She has an energy and charisma that is not matched by other ballerinas who have performed this. That said, I rate Fracci 5*, the other principals and corps 4*, and the camerawork 2*. That averages somewhere between 3 & 4. For the best overall Giselle, combining youthful freshness, exquisite performances, direction and camerawork, my favorite is the La Scala version with Alessandra Ferri.

Excellent! This is a great example of why I like the American Ballet better than the Bolshoi. When the Bolshoi makes a movie, they just set up a camera or three in front of the stage, and you get no more than the audience gets. And you listen to the audience applause every so often, to let you know you should admire that particular bit. The American Ballet -- and the British -- make a movie of it, with different camera angles, including close-ups, and sets that could not be contained on a theater stage, and even a few special effects. Theyre still telling a story in music and dance, but they take advantage of what film can do. Also, the costumes are so much better. Again, they tend to go beyond what would be effective on a stage.

I saw this ballet danced by Brun in the 70s on T.V.. The performance by Brun was brillant. I ordered this DVD hoping I would still feel the same way after all these years. I was not disappointed and the DVD was of the highest quality and the dancing was as magical as I remembered it to be!

Lets be clear. The performances (excepting the corps) are mostly world class (although I prefer other Giselles). Unfortunately they have been done irreparable damage by screen directing and editing that is unfortunate at best (certainly in the second act) and inexcusable at worst. Especially in the second act, the camera uses tricks like showing dancers/images reflections in water (where in the Sam Hill should there be water in a cemetery in the woods?) and superimposing close-ups in order to (I suppose) beef-up the cinematic qualities of the video. Alas, it doesnt work and only detracts from the true genius of this masterpiece which deserves far better treatment. The corp in the second act, as seen from above, describing a circle, looks ludicrous and suspiciously like a bad Busby-Berkley musical. Where were the arbiters of good taste when this was put together??? They certainly were not David Blair (the re-choreographer) and Hugo Niegeling, the film director. A filmed performance with the same cast would have been infinitely superior and it is a great loss that we do not have one. What we have is more like a circus performance with trick photography at almost every turn (no pun intended) which trivializes the dancers as well as their art. Another minus is the totally lack-luster conducting by John Lanchbery who not only distorts the music but re-writes his own harmonies (as well as instrumentation) in place of the composer Adolphe Adam. Giselle need and deserves far better than this and it can only be recommended for the leads, who are handicapped by this travesty of film direction.

I thought it would be little more Modern ballet. Instead, theres an awful lot of traditional dancing around, and then everyone dies. Then they dance some more.

Carla Fracci died recently, and this DVD is a great example of her work! A great performance by everyone, and an extra highlight is seeing Fracci up close; so beautiful and expressive.............!

After reading all the glowing reviews I was sorely disappointed in this adaptation of my favorite ballet. The director seemed to think adding story lines. filmed like Van Dam action scenes would give the ballet to a different viewpoint. Instead it just serves to distract from a great dancing experience. Pass it up.