Review of The Firebird

The Firebird (1952)
Forget the plot, enjoy the ballet dancing!
30 October 2001
This movie focuses around the dancing talent of Swedish ballet dancer Ellen Rasch and the singing talent of Italian baryton Tito Gobbi, two of the greats in their respective fields at the time. The movie does have a plot, centering around the main character Linda (Rasch), and her passion for the art she is practising.

For any fan of ballet dancing, this must be a real treat. Even a less cultured individual such as myself found atleast the first ballet number in the movie to be highly enjoyable. The movie does run a bit long, however, clocking in at just under two hours. The dialogue does at times seem a bit forced, probably due to the fact that the entire dialogue is in English, spoken by (mainly) Swedish actors.

The movie has been digitally restaured by The Swedish Film Institute, which means you get to enjoy the movie in all its original, colorful glory. The colourwork seemed very tasteful, not falling for the temptation of exaggerating the saturation level for effect. However, the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. Although not intolerable, with technology being what it is today, the quality is surprisingly low.

To sum things up, unless you detest watching movies from the 1950's, I can highly recommend seeing this movie if you enjoy the "fine arts".
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