El fantástico mundo del doctor Coppelius

Stilted Spanish-made adaptation of the ballet libretto "Coppelia", busy on its feet and yet with little personality behind or in front of the camera. In a small village, the curious Dr. Coppelius keeps the townspeople at bay by setting off innocuous explosions; what he's really hiding is a fantastic workshop filled with life-size dolls of his own creation. When intrepid young sweethearts break into the doctor's house, they discover his secret, with the girl impersonating the doctor's latest invention. "Dr. Coppelius" was apparently a labor of love for Ted and Jo Anna Kneeland--he directed, she choreographed the dancing, and they both had a hand in the writing; yet, despite an imaginative art direction and production design, the film seems rather unwieldy, most especially during the dance sequences which are poorly-staged. Barely circulated in the late-1960s, the Kneelands tried for another release in 1976 (using the title "The Mysterious House of Dr. C."), adding horrendous narration and character voice-overs, two animated dream sequences, and songs to explain nearly every bit of human interaction. It's certainly a curio--and a good-looking one, with changing light cues in garish golds, blood reds, mad pinks, and frosty blues--yet the effort is best described as a misfire. ** from ****

Ballet movie about an inventor named Dr. Coppelius (Walter Slezak) who creates life-sized mechanical dolls and passes them off as real people. When I say ballet movie, I should stress there is no dialogue. It's entirely driven by music and dance with silent acting. This might not be to everyone's tastes. I enjoyed it but this isn't the type of thing I could watch regularly. But every once in awhile is nice. It's a great-looking picture. The colors, the sets, the costumes are all vivid and lavish. The dancing is wonderful. I'm no ballet connoisseur but it all seemed lovely and graceful to me. There was a re-release version in the '70s apparently, which was poorly titled The Mysterious House of Dr. C. This version features narration, animation, and other intrusive elements added to it. Thankfully, that is not the version I saw. Dr. Coppelius might not be for everyone, but if you like ballet or you like to try new things, give it a shot and I'm sure you'll find it entertaining.

Film based on the ballet Coppelia from libretto Coppelia by Charles Nuitter and text based on ballet written by Arthur Saint-Leon . Dealing with a sinister inventor called Doctor Coppelius : Walter Slezak who is terrifying the population to keep his dark secret . He is making strange living dolls created in his fantastic mansion . While a young named Franz is interested in a doll of the Coppelius' creation and then his fiancee : Claudia Corday and her friends break into the doctor's house to investigate . This is "entertainment" !

This is rhapsody of colour expressionism, reaching delirious heights in the ballet scenes , but never becoming too brass and smothering its own nuances. Much better now that it's restored including impressive classy dances and superb Flamenco dancing, being embellished thanks to its chronatic aesthetic and high-caliber score . And being made in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger style as The Red Shoes , Tales of Hoffman , Honeymoon , though in Dr Coppelius is completely music and dance . Stars Walter Slezak as the weird doctor Coppelius, giving a sympathetic but silent acting by mime and gestures , and a lot of dancers and expert ballerinas and brief appearance by some actors as Luis Prendes playing the Mayor and voice by Terry Thomas .

Here stands out the splendorous Art direction from Gil Parrondo who won Academy Awards for Patton and Nicholas and Alexandra . As well as the picturesque and brilliant cinematography in Technicolor/Techniscope by Cecilio Paniagua who photographed international co-productions , such as : Treasure Island , 100 Rifles , Island of the Doomed , Commando, Sonatas and several others .The motion picture was professionally written/produced/directed by Ted Kneeland , aided by his wife Jo Anna Kneeland . Being shot in Madrid, in Samuel Bronston Studios . And it won several Awards , as it obtained Winner Prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle : Best Set Decorator Gil Parrondo, among others . Rating 7/10 for the general public and 9/10 for the classic ballet enthusiasts . Worthwhile watching .