The Tales of Hoffmann

This article is about the film, for the opera see Les contes d'Hoffmann.

The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) is a British film adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's opera Les contes d'Hoffmann, made by the filmmakers Powell & Pressburger.

In a tavern in Nuremburg, the young Hoffmann (Robert Rounseville) tells three stories of past loves (played by Moira Shearer, Ludmilla Tcherina and Anne Ayars). He recounts the stories during the interval of an ballet, which stars his new love Stella (also played by Shearer). Ballet dancers Léonide Massine and Robert Helpmann have roles in each story.

This is not just a film of a staged production but a truly filmic opera.

The production team included cinematographer Christopher Challis, Sir Thomas Beecham as musical director and Hein Heckroth as production and costume designer. Heckroth was nominated for two 1952 Academy Awards.

Criticism

"For the first time in my life I was treated to Grand Opera where the beauty, power and scope of the music was equally matched by the visual presentation." — Cecil B. DeMille, Letter to Powell & Pressburger.

External links

• The Tales of Hoffmann reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages
• The Tales of Hoffmann at the Internet Movie Database