This is a fantastic filmed version of the classic ballet. The closeups and cuts in my opinion enhance the experience. Aram Khachaturian wrote the melodious score to the Spartacus ballet between 1950 and '54. It wasn't till April 9, 1968 did Spartacus achieve its definitive form in a performance given at the Bolshoi, this time, with choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. His version is a three-act ballet divided into two main categories. There are the major soldier/crowd scenes and also the monologues in which one of the four principal dancers is the only one onstage, and he or she dances against a dark background. At the premiere, the four principals were: Vladimir Vasiliev as Spartacus, Ekaterina Maximova as Phrygia, Maris Liepa as Crassus, and Nina Timofeyeva as Aegina. So, with the exception of Maximova, who was replaced by Bessmertnova as Phrygia, these were the dancers in this famous 1977 film.
But that's where the good news ends and the problems begin. First, they used some dated cinematic techniques that are downright irritating. For example, they superimposed images (double exposure) to make a battle scene look bigger than it is. Elsewhere, they slowed down the motion of one of Spartacus' leap sequences; I'm sorry, that format just doesn't suit ballet--dance movements should correspond with the music. Furthermore, the picture itself is sometimes very dark, which makes it hard to see the corps de ballet. And the sound quality is only passable.
The producer decides to cut forty-odd minutes of dance and music out of the film, which makes the work much less coherent. Because of the overall (poor) quality of the '79 Vasiliev, I will recommend it to true aficionados ONLY for its completeness. Alas, if only it were better shot...
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