- Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: PCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: None
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 1
- Studio: Bel Air
- Blu-ray Release Date: February 28, 2012
- List Price: $39.99
[amazon-product region=”uk” tracking_id=”bluraydefinit-21″]B005LL4TOG[/amazon-product]
[amazon-product]B005LL4TOG[/amazon-product]
Purchase Tribute to Jerome Robbins on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Raing:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Performance
[Rating:4.5/5]
Those who are only familiar with the work of Jerome Robbins from his Broadway contributions, like West Side Story or Fancy Free, will gain an entirely new appreciation for his choreographic talent through this Tribute to Jerome Robbins, presented by the Paris Opera Ballet and recorded in 2008, ten years after Robbins’ death. Three of Robbins’ original dance numbers, En Sol (Ravel Piano Concerto in G), In the Night and The Concert (both to music by Frederic Chopin) are presented, along with a world premiere, Triade (score by Nico Muhly) choreographed by Benjamin Millepied. You get a real sense of Robbins’ genius and how naturally he made the human body move to the music of great composers. Unlike much modern dance of our era, Robbins often called upon classic ballet technique and lent each work its own timeless aesthetic. The videography is astonishing in its capture of each ballet and the sound recording nearly perfect. Viewers will get a good sense of the moment, exactly what live performance is supposed to do. The cause is aided by one of the world’s top corps de ballet and sensitive music direction by Koen Kessels.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Ballet is a visual art form and here we get a stunning reproduction of dancers and stage. Much of the work is shot from a distant perspective such as one would get at a live performance. This will only be an issue for those who insist on watching sweat dropping close ups. For me, the camera work captures as much of the original intent as I think would be possible and gives us insight into Robbins’ intent.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The Robbins’ ballets, all choreographed around some awesome music, are a feast for the eyes and ears. The newer Muhly score is, unfortunately, a lot of noise, in the contemporary vein, and much less interesting or enduring. Regardless of these considerations and reservations, everything is very well recorded with a modest amount of ambience.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
An interesting accompanying booklet discusses Robbins’ career and the concept of this program in a nice essay by Deborah Jowitt. Unfortunately that is all there is. I would have enjoyed a bit of the rehearsals or interviews with the principals who are uniformly terrific.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
This is a gorgeous ballet video, period. The camera work is nearly flawless backed by great audio engineering. Most of all, you get to see the Robbins genius at work. It is slightly unfortunate that the Paris Opera Ballet chose to interject a new work by Millepied and Muhly as it suffers greatly in comparison. But that is why remote control devices have a skip button. I can assure you that the three Robbins ballets are more than worth the watch. There is a mesmerizing quality in his work that has largely disappeared from today’s dance scene. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Paris Opera Ballet for undertaking this tribute project. This is one Blu-ray that will appeal immensely to balletomanes of all ages and backgrounds.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product region=”uk” tracking_id=”bluraydefinit-21″]B005LL4TOG[/amazon-product]
[amazon-product]B005LL4TOG[/amazon-product]
Purchase Tribute to Jerome Robbins on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Raing:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
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