User Reviews

March 17th is St. Patrick's Day. Appropriately enough, an IRISH-themed film will be opening up starting then, for what is claimed will be a limited 1-week period…

… The movie is a 3-D version of MICHAEL FLATLEY'S "LORD OF THE DANCE" musical that he first offered to the public at Dublin's O2 theater in 1996. As he explains at the beginning of the film, he's taken the show around the world since then, & he and his company were looking forward to coming back HOME to that theater for a new offering of the program…

… Overall, the show is designed to symbolically tell a story in Irish folklore about "good vs. evil". To no great surprise, Michael represents the side of "Good". Opposing him is a group of black-clad "warriors". That "Evil" group is led by the Dark Lord (TOM CUNNINGHAM), who's been with the show since 1997 when he started touring with the show at 18…

… There are around 37 or so dancers, males & females. The females often do BALLET-type moves on their toes. They also periodically switch into the TAP / clog numbers that the MEN specialize in (often with the typical hands-at-their-sides style-- tho some of the men do shift their arms at times, particularly when they're doing "boxing"-type moves)…

… The stage utilizes some very effective video PROJECTIONS to add to the "mood" of what is happening in the conflicts between good (usually dressed with some light-colored outfits, often with pastels for the women) & evil (in dark colors)…

… One of the most enjoyable elements are numbers featuring two very wonderful female FIDDLERS: GIADA COSTENARO is from Italy and has played the violin since she was 6. She studied Irish music, & joined the Flatley group in 2007…

… The other fiddler (who joins Giada in occasionally dancing around as they play) is VALERIE GLEESON, an Irish lass who's studied the instrument since she was four. After touring with other groups around the world, she joined the Flatley company in 2010...

… She & Giada play some numbers by themselves, others with the DANCERS, & with Michael Flatley as he (a master flautist) plays a huge thick long FLUTE during an elaborate number…

… Along with the afore-mentioned main male dancers, there are two featured female dancers: The blonde-haired lady, as "Saoirse", is BERNADETTE FLYNN. Born in Ireland (as you might "guess" from the name!), she's been dancing since she was four, & has won World Championships in Irish dancing. She's been with the Flatley group since she was 16, teaches dance, & has appeared on the Academy Awards…

… The dark-haired female lead, "Morrighan", is played by CIARA SEXTON. She also started studying at a very young age, taking dancing classes starting at age three. A World & All Ireland champion, she joined Flatley's show in 2007, and took over this lead role the following year...

… There's an exceptional level of ENERGY exhibited by the incredible dancers in this show. The amazing thing is, you seldom "see" them LOOKING tired or even breathing very heavily! As my friend Adrienne K. commented after seeing the movie, she took tap-dancing for like 8 years & she knows what a huge amount of WORK it takes to accomplish what they do!...

… Flatley has been doing his various shows for a number of years, & is in exceptional shape. He's the holder of various Guinness World Records, having been timed at more than 35 taps per second!...

… The show utilizes a flute-playing sort of "Sprite – Jester" lady who serves to carry the story "through" its various elements: she's dressed in colorful rhinestones with a headdress similar to a "feathery" type of "Jester" hat, and dances as she "leads" the diverse "sides" thru the "journey"…

… At one point, the "warriors" of the Dark Lord help him "take" the "Lord Of The Dance" belt away from Flatley-- but then Michael works hard & "wins" the Belt BACK from the evildoers… There's fine MUSIC to go along with the marvelous dancing, & it's a wonderfully enjoyable show…

… I have one complaint with what I saw, which has reduced my overall rating to 8.5 out of 10 stars: the show is basically very well-photographed, & the 3-D effect often ADDS to the pleasure because it allows added "depth" to the movements…

… But, while the "wide angle" scenes are fine, in a number of cases, in close-up shots of individuals, you are UNABLE to see the vitally-important FOOTWORK… [ As posted with PHOTOS at: voice-of-film.blogspot.com/ ]

… I don't know if it's a problem with the projection in the large theater or with the way it was originally filmed, but, while you can see the colorful "lights" at the TOP of such scenes, you on a number of occasions cannot see the FEET of the featured dancers, which is careless at best & something that needs to be "FIXED" as much as possible for a show highlighting dancing…

… But, that problem covers only a SMALL part of the film's running time (of around 1 hr 35 minutes), so it's not significant on an overall basis… … Flatley's motto is, "nothing is impossible... follow your dreams"; he's obviously DONE that in his life's work, & it's clearly evident in this finely ENJOYABLE musical experience

I'm not one for dancing. I certainly don't like doing it, and I'm not terribly bothered about watching it. Which is not to say I'm completely ignorant about it - I've been to ballets, I admire Astaire and Kelly, I recognise that Michael Jackson in his heyday pushed the boundaries of dance, I even watched the couple of 3D streetdance movies in 2010 and quite enjoyed them (I admired the athleticism, at the very least).

I have always tended to refer to the Riverdance/Flatley stuff as broken-arm diddley-dee dancing (hopefully I don't have to explain what I mean by that).

The ould folks (no, they're not Irish, they're just old)(by which I mean they are in their 80s) wanted to see this, and I'm always up for a bit of 3D, so off we went.

There's this woman in a jester's costume who plays the penny whistle, and I think she's the Spirit of Dance or something. Then there is the Dark General of Dance and his Dance Stormtroopers in black leather and buckles. Then there are the goodies, led by Michael Flatley. And there's some sort of dispute over a belt which has Lord Of The Dance written on it. There's a couple of women who play fiddles from time to time, and a blonde lady who does very high kicks, and at one point all the girls whip their dresses off (I quite liked that bit), and all the girls seem to have extraordinarily long legs.

I'm being a bit unfair - I'm playing it for laughs, and it doesn't deserve that.

Flatley deserves kudos not only for his incredible dancing skills (and sheer stage flash), but also for being the driving force behind putting together this unique spectacle - for a spectacle is exactly what it is - and, in so doing (also with Riverdance before it) having the imagination to fuse traditional Irish dancing with tap, jazz dancing, flamenco and modern dance within a framework to create a unique stage ensemble presentation: a dance genre which didn't really exist before. It is a remarkable achievement.

As I said, I'm not a dance fan, but I have never ever seen 90 minutes of ensemble dancing where every foot movement - and, often, there are several foot movements every second - is exactly simultaneously carried out by every member of the ensemble. The precision is quite extraordinary.

The 3D in this film doesn't make the show any better than it is, but it does give you an idea of the scale of it: it places you at many locations in the huge Dublin O2 auditorium so that you see the show intimately - closeups of footwork - from views which let you appreciate the patterns of movement, from the rafters: you get the best seat in the house, all the time.

The 3D was really good, there was falling confetti, which seemed catchable, it is the best 3D movie I have seen. The 3D was throughout the entire movie. With Michael Flatley being so old, you might think that he isn't in it a lot, but he is. Also, they took out the singers which I never cared for. They also focused the camera more on the footwork. If you like any of his other movies, know that he still can dance!!! The only part I did not like was the very beginning, which was only five minutes (no previews) and that was just him describing how he directed this movie. I thought at first that was how the movie was going to be, but it turns out that it is like his first Lord of the Dance, just with different costumes and less of the routines without Michael Flatley dancing. Which is a good thing.

Michael Flatley, reportedly the highest paid dancer in the world, recorded this show, "Michael Flatley Returns As Lord of the Dance", in 2011. Filmed live in Dublin, 2d and 3d cuts of the film were prepared. Apparently the 3d version is atrocious. For a concert film, the 2d version features atypically excellent camera work. Whilst most dance concert footage tends to busily zoom into feet and body parts, here a good balance is struck between performer and stage. We get a healthy sense of both distance and horizontal space, and the film's editing is classical and never intrusive.

I know little about dance, but the dancers I saw the film with seemed enthralled. Flatley combines traditional Irish dancing with tap, jazz, modern dance and flamenco. Famed Irish composer Ronan Hardiman is responsible for the show's now iconic score. Dance connoisseurs scoff at Flatley - his is a kind of pop-dance, mass market kitsch - but you can see the attraction. It's a sexy show, designed for a wide audience. Most impressive to me, though, were the concert's solo routines, in which you're allowed time to soak up the nuances of solitary performers. In contrast, the concert's group routines expose Flatley's lack of imagination.

8/10 - Worth one viewing.