Customer's review

SUBLIME film, but the sound is just AWFUL !

Having seen this film years and years ago in the cinema at least twice, I jumped at the chance to get it on DVD when I saw that it was released.

I wasn't disappointed - if you can abstract from, say, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, walking around in a corn field singing in Dolby stereo, you are in for a rare treat !

Aaaah, the settings, the costumes, the singers, the time details are just fantastic ! Especially Dame Kiri is at the height at her vocal powers and possesses enough dramatic flair to act as well as sing but the show stopper MUST be Kenneth Riegel, singing his heart out in "Il Mio Tesoro" - I have rarely heard a more heart-felt and passionate rendition of the aria !

This film would definitely get 5 stars if it hadn't been for the poor sound transfer ! On the back it is marked "digitally mastered audio" and "Dolby Surround" - full of anticipation I switched on my dolby surround system only having to switch it off again and go for "normal stereo". Sometimes during the film it sounded as if the singers were singing inside a tin can so I have to deduct a start for bad sound remastering - otherwise maybe the BEST opera adaptation for the screen EVER !

The Don Giovanni to buy!

There are countless recordings and videos of Mozart's masterpiece but this one surpasses each and every one of them! First of all there is the PERFECT cast: Ruggero Raimondi spoiled me for all other Don Giovannis, including Brownlee, Siepi, Hampson, Allen etc. etc. His seductive bass-baritone not only can sound as smooth as silk (E.G. in the sexy "La ci darem la mano") but also sound furious, excited, noble and incredibly HOT. No wonder Elvira is wax in his hands as he acts as if he were in love with her again. And being very tall and extremely good looking (Not in the boyish way but MASCULINE and SEXY) he fits the bill. At times he looks like a handsome demon. His acting is absolutely incredible, for his facial expressions alone were Oscar-worthy! Two thumbs up! Then there is Edda Moser, the best Donna Anna ever! Not a dumb, neurotic canary but a strikingly passionate and vivid woman who is obviously aroused by the Don (Hey, who wouldn't be?). She acts this conflict to perfection, her voice has the hotness of lava! Glorious, fiery coloratura and a WONDERFUL actress. Kiri te Kanawa gives her best performance as the loving Elvira who's torn between revenge and the love for her treasure. (She calls him that!) Her meltingly beautiful soprano fits Elvira to a T, her noble and heartbreaking acting are even more +++++++++++ for her. Teresa Berganza spoiled me for all those stupid lyric coloratura Zerlinas. Her lyric mezzo is seductive and beautiful, her chemistry with Raimondi is astonishing. The only weak point was the Don Ottavio who lacked a full middle. The Massetto and Commendatore were fabulous. Losey's direction is brilliant, the costumes lavish and gorgeous. Maazel conducts the score to perfection. This is the best DG ever!

A Masterpiece viewed through a broken window

This cast and production are a once in a century (if that) event; there is no better performance available, period. Raimondi is at the height of his career and the finest Don Juan in anyone's memory, Kanawa is brutally on target as Elvira, Edda Moser has only one better Donna Anna performance (but there is no better person to play her), van Dam is stupendously played (almost too well)... one can go on and on. Losey, and everyone else was involved in this project really know their performance history of Don Giovanni and the Don Juan legacy in general. This literary myth has a life of its own over the past few hundred years and this project created huge ripples throughout the European opera community. Casts like this almost never see the transfer to video. The actual production conditions were authentically grueling and difficult, much like a live stage performance.

This movie suffers from technical flaws in the filming, sound production, DVD transfer, etc. There is even an encoding mistake in the DVD that overlaps for about 5 seconds of audio at one point, though overall the audio and video are cleaned up from the previous VHS/PAL releases.

What I can say without hesitation is that it is akin to viewing Michelangelo's David, through a broken and slightly hazy window. Once you forget about the lens, you will never see anything to compare to what you are seeing. And the clarity of the window does not in any way reflect on the actual miracle.

Marvelous Audio Visual Experience

This was a fantastic experience for me in that the sum of the parts was greater than the whole. If I had to rate parts individually, I would Rate Cinema effects 3, Audio 2 Acting 3 Singing 3 (because much of it appeared to be lip synched). Nevertheless, the Italian country side views were exquisite! If you compare this work to a visit to La Scala, you'll be diappointed. But if you compare it a good movie, you'll be happy. In this context I rated it a 4 to Amadeus' 5.

DVD-company admits this DVD should not be released

From inside information from the company: Something went wrong during the soundtransfer. Expensive to remake this DVD. Majority of buyers will not complain...

Don Giovanni

Customer's review

SUBLIME film, but the sound is just AWFUL !

The Don Giovanni to buy!

A Masterpiece viewed through a broken window

Marvelous Audio Visual Experience

DVD-company admits this DVD should not be released

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