STRAVINSKY: Sacre du Printemps (Le) (NTSC)

Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle
Actors: Ariadna del Carmen, Sophie Semin, Robert Hunger-Bühler

Directed and Edited by Oliver Hermann
Executive Producer: Robert Zimmermann

Special Features: Interview with Simon Rattle, Interviews with the Actors, Storyboard

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9 (Bonus Material 4:3)
Menu Languages: GB, D, F, SP
Subtitles Languages: GB, D, F, SP
Region Code: 0 worldwide
Running Time: 127 mins
DVD9 / NTSC

Cat no.:100 333

"Herrmann's collation of images is fluid and cunningly timed (or anti-timed) with the music. He has a true director's ability to evoke beauty from the unlikely" -- International Record Review

This remarkable silent film by German director Oliver Herrmann (1963-2003) was presented with the award for Best Foreign Film Award at the 2004 Beverley Hills Film Festival. With music provided by Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, this DVD provides a revolutionary new take on Stravinsky's savage score.

Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps was inspired by prehistoric rituals as well as by a dance performed for the Slavic god Yarilo. Here the story is transposed to the realm of Santeria - one of the few still practiced archaic religions. The material world is represented as an emotionally impoverished big city, while the spiritual world is symbolized as a tropical island where the Santeria rituals are still practiced. The coupling of Stravinsky's revolutionary music with the ancient rituals and symbols of the Santeria religion creates a framework for the story of three individuals, oppressed by the pressures of everyday life, who experience personal sacrifice and transformation in the course of a Santeria ceremony.

Oliver Herrmann's previous film, Pierrot Lunaire / Dichterliebe, on Arthaus Musik (100 330) drew widespread critical acclaim for its innovative direction:

"This whole issue extends the boundaries of interpreting vocal works on DVD. I hope others find it as riveting an experience as I did and that it may be the forerunner of many similar reworkings of familiar pieces" -- The Gramophone