Customer Reviews
A funny, romantic ballet with a great score - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 16 Aug 2007 
This filmed version of the Royal Balllet's 1969 Cinderella is a knock out, provided you're willing to accept it on its own terms. The DVD is a filmed record of the balllet's theatrical presentation. The camera takes in the stage in full shots, with medium & close-ups at times of the featured dancers.
What it makes it valuable is that this is the only record we have of one of the famed balllets of the Twentieth Century. What makes it so watchable, if you're so inclined, is a great score by Sergei Prokofiev, clever, funny, romantic, classic choreography by Frederick Ashton, a sumptuous production & superb dancing by Antoinette Sibley as Cinderella & Anthony Dowell as the Prince. They were the Royal Balllet's most famous & accomplished dancing pair after Margot Fonteyn & Rudolph Nureyev. And giving the balllet great verve & humor is Frederick Ashton & Robert Helpmann dancing the roles of the ugly sisters. Both were acclaimed premier dancers in their prime & had successful careers after, Ashton as one of Britain's great choreographers & Helpmann as an actor, choreographer & balllet manager. (You might remember Helpmann in The Red Shoes & Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.) They provide the comic relief throughout the balllet. The sisters are man hungry, jealous of each other & of Cinderella & absolutely unconscious of how unattractive they are. Ashton & Helpmann are great in the roles.
The DVD is no marvel of clarity, but it's certainly watchable. It's well worth having if you like Prokofiev, if you like a classic of balllet, if you like two great comic turns...or if you like alll three.
