Puccini: Madame Butterfly -- 1995 film version [1997]

See Larger Image	List Price: £19.99 Our Price: £5.97 Availability: Usually dispatched within 6 to 10 days Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Starring: Ying Huang, Richard Troxell, Ning Liang, Richard Cowan, Jing Ma Fan Directed By: Frédéric Mitterrand Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: Parental Guidance Binding: DVD EAN: 5035822467330 Format: PAL Label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Number Of Discs: 1 Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2002-03-04 Running Time: 128 Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 1995
Related Items Otello Verdi: La Traviata -- Royal Opera House [1994] (NTSC) Puccini: Tosca -- 2002 Film Version Bizet's Carmen [1985] [ English subtitles ] Cavalleria Rusticana - Mascagni / Pagliacci - Leoncavallo [1983]
Editorial Reviews: Like the finest of film scores with its fluid beauty and succession of intensely romantic tunes, Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly has a surprisingly cinematic feel. In 1995 director Frederic Mitterand exploited this quality of the story, exposing a young woman's disillusionment against a backdrop of cultural chasms. Shot on location, with Tunisia doubling convincingly as a turn of the century Nagasaki, this Butterfly shines with fragile beauty. The house becomes a brilliantly used set; airy and full of the scent of flowers and at the same time a cage for the trapped woman. Archive footage of bygone Nagasaki is used skilfully to underline the distance between the 15-year-old bride and Pinkerton. Purists may prefer a more traditionally robust, stage-bound Butterfly, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more visually heartbreaking interpretation. Chinese soprano Ying Huang doesn't rock the rafters with her vocal power; hers is a tender, delicately observed performance. Tenor Richard Troxton's self-seeking Pinkerton is well sung. Overall, this is a haunting cinematic treatment of an enduringly popular opera. On the DVD: Madame Butterfly is presented in a letterbox widescreen format (enhanced for 16:9 widescreen televisions). The Dolby Digital surround soundtrack engulfs the listener in some of Puccini's most memorable tunes, stringing you out and leaving you emotionally spent. The main special feature is a charming portrait of Ying Huan, providing interesting insights into how the film was made and how she won the role. --Piers Ford
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Unmissable Version Of a Wonderful Opera Comment: Its not surprising that Madam Butterfly has remained to this day one of the most popular operas in the Operatic Repertoire. For the music and the story is timeless. It is very emotive, full of love and tenderness, and also very tragic. This version succeeds admirably in more ways than one. Rather than being stagebound, it is filmed on location (in Tunisia of all places!) and does manage to convey to the viewer the feeling of being in Japan with its wonderful sets, and location shots of the sea and the surrounding landscape to give this production that cinematic feel which works wonderfully well. The singing by both tenor and soprano in the lead roles is a delight. Mind you, I have been spoiled by the wonderful Pavarotti/Freni version which in any case would be difficult to surpass, but I was pleased by the extremely good quality of this production. There is also a short "Making Of...." which is very interesting as there is an interview with the Chinese Soprano Ying Huang and also there are some nice location shots of the sets. My only criticism however, is that during the famous scene of the Humming Chorus, black and white footage of old Japan did spoil it a little for me, but that was a minor thing though. Some viewers may not mind this insertion, but I am not so sure it worked. Still, a great production, and I am sure many fans of this beautiful opera will enjoy this anyway. And yes, I agree with many other reviewers, keep plenty of tissues handy, it is a real tear jerker. Customer Rating: Summary: Get ready for some serious tears! Comment: Whether you like it or not, you will be in tears with this film. Fantastic story, wonderful music, magic scenery, great Opera Singers/Actors! You cannot go wrong with this film whether you like Opera or not. Customer Rating: Summary: BRAVO !!! a standing ovation Comment: WAOH . guys, if you get that DVD, you better get the pack of paper tissues that goes with , as you will end up with wet eyes I can assure you that . This is by far the MOST outstanding performance of Madame Butterfly i ve seen, either on stage or on screen . Ok, i admit, I m an opera old timer, but this version of Puccini masterpiece is just outstanding . go and get it .. it s a must have if you re an opera fan or if you want to discover what Opera is all about . great music + tons of emotions + magical voices. and by all mean , on this one, let your feelings go . Even adults can cry and have emotions.. and there s nothing wrong with that.. Customer Rating: Summary: Wonderful except... Comment: This is a beautiful film of one of the best loved Operas by Puccini. The cast is excellent throughout and it makes a great change to see a singer in the leading role who actually looks the part. The film looks beautiful even if there are some minor mistakes in the design of the set (on the whole accurate) such as the graveyard having stones very unlike any Japanese ones I have seen in Japan as well as the sotoba wooden memorials looking not quite authentic. At least the kimono etc are authentic on the whole like on most other productions of this opera (ENO's production in London comes to mind where the kimono sleeves were very wrong...more chinese than Japanese). These are very small issues but can irritate the viewer as it would have been easy to make things look authentic even if it was shot in Morocco and not in Nagasaki. My one real complaint lies in the lack of the several languages in subtitles[...]. I bought this here because of the price as a gift for my mother who is finnish. Yet there are only four languages subtitles available on this disc. Curiously I had previously bought this DVD [...] and it does have finnish subtitles. Because of this my mother was unable to fully enjoy this marvellous DVD![...] Customer Rating: Summary: Sublime Comment: This is truly one of the best opera films ever made. Puccini could have written it for the screen! The characters are real and believable. The singing is sublime and the cinematography complements the wonderful score. Butterfly is vulnerable, Pinkerton is self-absorbed, the marriage broker is evil and the mixed Asian/Caucasian cast works perfectly. Surround sound transforms viewing into a highly emotional experience. Buy it now - get a large box of tissues and prepare to have a truly emotional expereience More Reviews