Thinking of all the great productions of The Nutcracker I've seen, I thought back to see if there was one I'd forgotten from childhood. I realised I had, this film version by Carroll Ballard, responsible for directing the brilliant Black Stallion. I knew I wanted to see it again, as I love the ballet so much- the story and ballet are among my all-time favourites in regard to anything- and would watch any production or film version. I was intrepid though as well, as I remembered that it was quite dark, darker than the usual production of The Nutcracker. And unfortunately not all the productions that take a darker edge have been particularly good, Maurice Bejart's production was a self-indulgent mess and the 2008 Mariinsky one was incoherent and ugly managing to waste the talented performers. But I watched Ballard's film version anyway for the first time since I was 10, in two minds of what to expect, and I am glad I did. Whether it is the best version of The Nutcracker I am not sure, seeing how much I love the 1977, 1985, 1989, 2001 and 2009 productions. But it is for me the most underrated one, and a long way from the worst. Considering some of the reviews I'd read beforehand(Ebert, Maltin, RadioTimes) I was expecting it to be bad. But it wasn't.It is as dark as I remembered, as well as quite serious with some sexual tension perhaps in the mix. But unlike Bejart and Mariinsky, this dark approach is actually cohesive and come to think of it the Hoffmann story has some dark elements anyhow. The more somewhat sensual chemistry between Clara and Drosselmeyer in the party scene is not going to please everybody, I am not sure myself. But compared to everything else, it is something I could ignore easily. The sets and costumes do look stunning, those of the second act of the ballet have many vivid colours. Ballard's editing has been much criticised, I think overly-complicated was how it was described, true maybe there are a few too many shots of dancers' limbs but overall it didn't interfere that much with the dancing. Speaking of the dancing, aided by the truly magical choreography(some of the best I've seen for any production of The Nutcracker), it is impeccable, not only does it look so elegant and graceful but the dancers don't forget to emote. The Pas-De-Deux brought tears to my eyes, the party scene is joyous with a very Christmassy feel and the divertissments in the second act are characterfully danced. The dialogue is only in the narration, and I was really impressed by how colourfully and affectingly the story was told without words spoken, narration excepted. The narration is thoughtfully delivered also.Summing up, not all my childhood favourites have held up, most have and this is one of them. While not my favourite Nutcracker ever it is an underrated one and much better than I'd heard it was. I'm glad that other people have a fondness for it also. 9/10 Bethany Cox

My parents found this movie in a used bin at a video store and bought it when I was about 3 or 4 years old. I'm 17 years old now (almost 18), and this movie has a special place in my heart. We've watched it so many times that it's beginning to wrinkle, so we can only watch it once a year - at Christmas.The sets are superb and brilliant in the way they created the 'different worlds'.The London Symphony Orchestra do a beautiful job, as usual! This movie is responsible for the best presentation of the Tchaikovsky music masterpiece.The ballet sequences are beautiful, graceful, and contemporary. The Pacific Northwest Ballet does an absolutely beautiful job! I've seen other versions of Nutcracker, but this is the best above all of the others. The scene of 'Pas de Duex' used to wrench my heart out as a child, almost moving me to tears. Now that I'm older...it has not changed. The passion between the two characters is absolutely breath-taking! No only can the Pacific Northwest Ballet dance like a dream, but their facial expressions are wonderful, professional, and very moving!I highly recommend this version of "The Nutcracker" to everyone!

We taped this off of television when I was very small, and since then one of my aunties taped over it and broke my Mom's heart. I was lucky enough to find an old library copy of it on ebay, and restore the Christmas tradition to my house. As an arts major, I'm sensible that there can't be too clean a transition from ballet to "motion picture." But I believe this film came as close as possible. It is, for the most part, a very well-taped performance of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker," with a few special effects and some narration. It's filmed on the Seattle Stage, and because of its movie-like qualities it can focus close on the dancer's faces and shows the great acting skills that many of them possess. I've heard a lot of criticism of the seeming obsession Drosselmyer holds with Clara, but I like it. It adds so much more the the scenes in her parent's party, and I don't think that he's got so much of a sexual yearning as he longs to connect with someone, and he loves his little niece. They shoot the family's congratulations with him when he presents the beautiful doll house, but then they all go off and leave him and, when he tries to join in conversation with Clara, she is afraid of him and backs away. Her fear of him and the sub textual sexual tension are what add to the somewhat erotic and sensual world of her dream, in the palace in Act II. Kent Stowell's choreography is the best I have ever seen in a production of this ballet, and the orchestra is amazing. I was always a huge fan of "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen," so Maurice Sendak's costumes and sets hold a very special place in my heart. And the passes des deuxes are some of the finest pairs ballet suites I've ever had the pleasure of watching. All in all, this is my number one favorite holiday film. And if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend you add it to your family's must-watch list this year. :-)

I'm one of those people who think classical ballet is dull, dull, dull. It's not the music. I never get tired of listening to Tchaikovsky's ballet scores - `The Nutcracker' is something I can enjoy in any mood - and I have different kinds of fondnesses for Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Delibes, Khachaturyan, et al. But what's the deal with the dancing? If storytelling is the point, then the dance is a remarkably inefficient means to that end; if some kind of pure expressionism, it's too earthbound and formalised. I'd much rather watch an orchestra.In any event, transferring classical ballet to the cinema screen is a daft idea. (Not that I have a quarrel with a film ABOUT classical ballet - that's a different thing altogether.) It's like filming stage productions of Shakespeare. Shakespeare can survive, intact, in the cinema; but only if one throws out the whole apparatus of the theatre and starts thinking of the cinema screen. Tchaikovsky's ballet music, too, can work on the screen. For proof look no further than the Nutcracker sections of `Fantasia', which are so good I think they're the kind of thing the music was REALLY meant to accompany, all along.`Nutcracker' looks at first as if it will be a cinematic treatment of the score, with no connection to stage-bound dancing - but this hope is dashed within the first quarter hour or so. The second act in particular is just a stage presentation with extra-lavish effects. But then, unless one is prepared to be REALLY radical (the way Disney was), what else is there to do? The other thing that dooms the project is the disjointed nature of the narrative behind Tchaikovsky's ballet, the second act being just a succession of dances without a plot. Tchaikovsky had to push himself to wring any decent music out of the material.I'm not being hard on the dancers, the director, or anyone: I think they've done a first-class job, given the impossible task they've set themselves. But when I saw `Nutcracker' I'd already seen `Fantasia'. Nothing will now convince me that a screen version of classical ballet is a good idea.