Wikipedia

The Nutcracker(1993 film)

The Nutcracker,also known asGeorge Balanchine's The Nutcracker,is a 1993 AmericanChristmasballetfilm based onPeter Martins'sstage productionand directed byEmile Ardolino.It starsDarci Kistler,Damian Woetzel,Kyra Nichols,Bart Robinson Cook,Macaulay Culkin,Jessica Lynn Cohen,Wendy Whelan,Margaret Tracey,Gen Horiuchi,Tom Gold,and theNew York City Ballet.

The Nutcracker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEmile Ardolino
Written bySusan Cooper(narration)
Based onPeter Martins's stage production ofThe Nutcracker
Produced byRobert Hurwitz
Robert A. Krasnow
Starring
Narrated byKevin Kline
CinematographyRalf D. Bode
Edited byGirish Bhargava
Music byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 24, 1993(1993-11-24)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million[1]
Box office$2.1 million[1]

The film was released byWarner Bros.under theirWarner Bros. Family Entertainmentlabel on November 24, 1993, four days after director Ardolino died. It received mixed reviews and was abox office failure,grossing only $2 million.

Plot

edit

The film followsthe traditional plot of the Nutcracker.

Act I

edit

Scene 1: The Stahlbaum Home

Konstantin Ivanov's original sketch for the set ofThe Nutcracker(1892)

It is Christmas Eve. Family and friends have gathered in the parlor to decorate the beautiful Christmas tree in preparation for the party. Once it is finished, the children are sent for. They stare in awe at it sparkling with candles and decorations.

The party begins.[2]A march is played.[3]Presents are given out to the children. Suddenly, as the owl-topped grandmother clock strikes eight, a mysterious figure enters the room. It is Herr Drosselmeyer, a local councilman, magician, and Marie's godfather. He is also a talented toymaker who has brought gifts for the children, including four lifelike dolls who dance to the delight of all.[4]He then has them put away for safekeeping.

Marie and her brother, Fritz, are sad to see the dolls being taken away, but Drosselmeyer has yet another toy for them: a woodennutcrackercarved in the shape of a little man. The other children ignore it, but Marie immediately takes a liking to it. Fritz, however, breaks it, and she is heartbroken.

During the night, after everyone else has gone to bed, Marie returns to the parlor to check on her beloved nutcracker. As she reaches the little bed she put it on, the clock strikes midnight and she looks up to see Drosselmeyer perched atop it. Suddenly, mice begin to fill the room and the Christmas tree begins to grow to dizzying heights. The nutcracker also grows to life size. Marie finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of gingerbread soldiers and the mice, led by their king. They begin to eat the soldiers.

The nutcracker appears to lead the soldiers, who are joined bytin soldiers,and dolls who serve as doctors to carry away the wounded. As the Mouse King advances on the still-wounded nutcracker, Marie throws her slipper at him, distracting him long enough for the nutcracker to stab him.[5]

Scene 2: A Pine Forest

The mice retreat and the nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince.[6]He leads Marie through the moonlit night to a pine forest in which the snowflakes come to life and dance around them, beckoning them on to his kingdom as the first act ends.[7][8]

Act II

edit

The Land of Sweets

Ivan Vsevolozhsky's original costume designs for Mother Gigogne and her Polichinelle children, 1892

Marie and the Prince travel to the beautiful Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince's place until his return. He recounts for her how he had been saved from the Mouse King by Marie and transformed back into himself. In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced:chocolatefromSpain,coffeefromArabia,[9][10]teafromChina,[11]andcandy canesfromRussia[12]all dance for their amusement;Marzipanshepherdesses perform on their flutes;[13]Mother Ginger has her children, the Polichinelles, emerge from under her enormous hoop skirt to dance; a string of beautiful flowers perform a waltz.[14][15]To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a dance.[16][17]

A final waltz is performed by all the sweets, after which the Sugar Plum Fairy ushers Marie and the Prince down from their throne. He bows to her, she kisses Marie goodbye, and leads them to a reindeer-drawn sleigh. It takes off as they wave goodbye to all the subjects who wave back.

Cast

edit

Production

edit

Development onThe Nutcrackerbegan around Christmas 1989, when Peter Martins, Master-in-Chief of theNew York City Ballet,learned that Time Warner Entertainment ChairmanSteve Rosswanted to produce a film with the company.[18]Bob Krasnow,an avid ballet fan and executive of Time Warner subsidiaryElektra Records,worked on the film as a producer.[18]George Balanchine'strust hiredEmile Ardolinoto direct the film andMacaulay Culkinwas cast as The Nutcracker Prince due to his stardom as well as his experience dancing as “Fritz” for theSchool of American Balletduring the 1989 and 1990 seasons.[18]Initially there had been talk of hiring a major star such asDustin Hoffmanfor the role of Drosselmeyer, but the role ultimately went to dancer Bart Robinson Cook.[18]Ralf D. Bodewatched every film version ofThe Nutcrackerto ever be produced in order to decide how he'd shoot the film.[18]During production Culkin's father and managerKit Culkinrepeatedly sparred with the producers often threatening to withdraw his son’s likeness and support in all promotional materials due to Milchan’s refusal to reshoot footage and remix audio as well as removing narration provided byKevin Kline.[18]Despite Kit Culkin's objections and demands the narration was retained at the behest of George Balanchine's Trustee Barbara Horgan.[18]

Reception

edit

Critical response

edit

The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. Based on eight reviews, it holds a rotten rating of 50% on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,with an average rating of 6/10.[19]The film was criticized byJames Berardinellifor not capturing the excitement of a live performance; he wrote that it "opts to present a relatively mundane version of the stage production...utilizing almost none of the advantages offered by the (film) medium."[20]Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timeswas mixed on it, and gave it 2 out of 4 stars criticizing it for not adapting the dance for a film audience and also its casting of Culkin who, he writes, "seems peripheral to all of the action, sort of like a celebrity guest or visiting royalty, nodding benevolently from the corners of shots."[21]InThe Washington Post,Lucy Linfield echoed Ebert's criticism of Culkin, stating that "it's not so much that he can't act or dance; more important, the kid seems to have forgotten how to smile...all little Mac can muster is a surly grimace." She praised the dancing, however, as "strong, fresh and in perfect sync" and Kistler's Sugar Plum Fairy as "the Balanchinean ideal of a romantic, seemingly fragile beauty combined with a technique of almost startling strength, speed and knifelike precision."[22]The New York Times'Stephen Holdenalso criticized Culkin, calling his performance the film's "only serious flaw", but praised the cinematography as "very scrupulous in the way it establishes a mood of participatory excitement, then draws back far enough so that the classic ballet sequences choreographed by Balanchine and staged by Peter Martins can be seen in their full glory."[23]

Box office

edit

During its theatrical run, the film grossed $2,119,994.[1]In North America, it opened at number 16 in its first weekend with $783,721.[24]

Home media

edit

George Balanchine's The Nutcrackerwas released onVHSon October 25, 1994, and onDVDon November 19, 1997, byWarner Home Video.

The film was released on DVD on August 11, 2015, from20th Century Fox Home Entertainment(now owned byDisney) through their exclusive partnership withRegency Enterprises.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^abc"The Nutcracker (1993) - Box Office Mojo".Box Office Mojo.Retrieved7 November2014.
  2. ^Maximova, Yekaterina; Vasiliev, Vladimir (1967).Nutcracker Suite Performed By The Bolshoi (1967).Moscow, Russia: British Pathé.
  3. ^The Nutcracker at the Royal Ballet: "March of the Toy Soldiers".London: Playbill Video. 1967.
  4. ^Dancers of the Moscow Ballet (2017).Doll Dance.Moscow, Russia: Moscow Ballet.
  5. ^Dancers of the Moscow Ballet (2017).The Rat King Appears.Moscow, Russia: Moscow Ballet.
  6. ^Dancers of the SemperOperBallett (2016).Snow Pas de Deux.Dresden, Germany: SemperOperBallett.
  7. ^Bolshoi Ballet (2015).The Nutcracker(Casse-Noisette) – Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema (Preview 1).Moscow, Russia: Pathé Live.
  8. ^Dancers of the Perm Opera Ballet Theatre (2017).Вальс снежинок из балета "Щелкунчик".Russia: Perm Opera Ballet Theatre.
  9. ^Dancers of the SemperOperBallett.The Nutcracker– Arabian Divertissement.Dresden, Germany: SemperOperBallett. Archived fromthe originalon 2020-01-15.
  10. ^Cecilia Iliesiu (2017).Arabian Coffee/Peacock.Pacific Northwest Ballet.
  11. ^Dancers of the Mariinsky ballet (2012).The Nutcracker– Tea (Chinese Dance).Mariinsky Ballet. Archived fromthe originalon 2021-10-30.
  12. ^Dancers of the Boston Ballet (2017).SPOTLIGHT The Nutcracker's Russian Dance.Boston Ballet.Archived fromthe originalon 2021-10-30.
  13. ^Dancers of the SemperOperBallett.The Nutcracker– Mirlitons Divertissement.Dresden, Germany: SemperOperBallett.
  14. ^Kyra Nichols and the NYCB Corps de Ballet (2015).New York City Ballet: Waltz of the Flowers.New York City: Lincoln Center.
  15. ^PNB dancers.Nutcracker Flowers Excerpt.Pacific Northwest Ballet.Archived fromthe originalon 2021-10-30.
  16. ^Alina Somova & Vladimir Shklyarov (2012).Sugarplum and Cavalier variations.St Petersburg, Russia: Ovation.
  17. ^Darci Kistler.Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.New York City: Ovation. Archived fromthe originalon 2021-10-30.
  18. ^abcdefg"George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (1993)".AFI.RetrievedDecember 2,2023.
  19. ^"The Nutcracker".24 November 1993.Retrieved7 November2014.
  20. ^"Review: Nutcracker, The (1993)".Retrieved7 November2014.
  21. ^"George Balanchine's The Nutcracker".Chicago Sun-Times.
  22. ^Linfield, Susie (24 November 1993)."George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (review)".The Washington Post.Retrieved5 November2010.
  23. ^Holden, Stephen (24 November 1993)."George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (review)".The New York Times.Retrieved5 November2010.
  24. ^"Weekend Box Office Results for November 26-28, 1993".Box Office Mojo.Retrieved7 November2014.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Nutcracker_(1993_film)&oldid=1217220328"