The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)

 

The Tales of Hoffmann is a colorful spectacle of ballet and opera directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who are best known for the ballet film The Red Shoes. The tales of the title are stories related by the poet Hoffman (Robert Rounseville) about three of the women in his life. The story is framed by the performance by his current lover Stella (Moira Shearer, also of The Red Shoes) of a highly stylized ballet entitled The Enchanted Dragonfly Ballet and their plans to meet at a tavern afterward. It’s during an intermission that Hoffman tells his fellow tavern-goers about his previous exploits. It’s quite an odd assortment of stories that he relates, and several of the cast members play multiple roles, the most notable being Sir Robert Helpmann as the villain in each of the three tales and in the frame story. Olympia (Shearer again) is an automaton who is made to appear alive through the use of magic glasses that would make the 1970s-era Elton John jealous. The second tale concerns Giulietta (Ludmilla Tcherina), a courtesan who is used to distract Hoffman so that an evil magician can steal the poet’s reflection. The final tale is about Antonia (Ann Ayars), an opera singer who will die if she sings. As these summaries suggest, none of the tales ends happily for Hoffman, nor does the one involving Stella. Even though the film’s libretto is sung in English, I will admit to not being able to follow all of the words. However, it’s not the stories that will capture your attention. It’s the settings and costumes and the cinematography with its superimpositions and split-screens of multiple shots of dancers that you remember. Each of the sequences has its own dominant color, from the saffron yellow of Olympia’s story to the blues and grays of Antonia’s story. The costumes are quite spectacular and elaborate, and they are complimented by exceptional make-up work. (The eyebrows that Helpmann wears in the role of Coppelius, the eyeglasses maker, are worthy of a movie of their own.) The sets are meant to depict Paris, Venice, and Greece, but there’s no attempt at making them truly realistic. Instead, what we see are settings that are simultaneously minimalist and extravagant. You’re always aware that what you are witnessing is “staged,” but that only contributes to the overall visual impact.

Oscar Nominations: Best Color Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Color Costume Design