Nijinsky

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May 22 The low average reviews for this brilliant film reflect the fact that viewers must know quite a few things to understand and appreciate it. They must know about Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes and the gigantic impact they had on the ballet, musical, and artistic world of the earlier 20th century. Without this knowledge, how can an audience bred on 21st century consumer junk entertainment possibly appreciate Alan Bates’ extraordinary recreation of the path-breaking artistic entrepreneur Diaghilev? Or how to appreciate the utterly original choreography Nijinsky applied to Debussy’s "L'après-midi d'un faune" and to Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du printemps”, a work fully intended to outrage its 1913 audience? For those of us who know a couple of things, this film delivers remarkably well. My only complaints are in its factual errors, as when it shows Diaghilev “upset” that there was a riot at “Sacre’s” premiere, when this savvy showman in fact rejoiced in the publicity this brought. And this scene comes after Diaghilev has shown delight at the notoriety gained from Nijinsky’s mimed masturbation at the end of "L'après-midi d'un faune" (which was part of the choreography, not a loss of control on Nijinsky’s part). Far worse is the film’s foolishness that Diaghilev ‘discovered’ Nijinsky as a mere ‘peasant boy’, when the actual Nijinsky was born into a family of dancers, and had already starred in Imperial Russian Ballet performances when he joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. This film ultimately tells us far more about Diaghilev than about Nijinsky, who remains a mystery at the end. But perhaps this is the closest we can get to such a rare and single-minded genius. See more 05/03/2019 Dennis Schwartz / Ozus' World Movie Reviews: This is not a documentary. It's a biopic. See more 08/21/2009 Biographically, the decision to exclude Bronislava Nijinskya baffles me. Cinematically, the dialogue is not very good and drags down the movie. However, I would like to see a restored version of the film and the dancing is (of course) well done. See more Read all reviews

Nijinsky

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