This movie version of Offenbach's opera is a revival of a 1958 production from the Komische Oper in Berlin, Germany. There isn't much information to be found about this movie online. Some pages say this production was an attempt at recreating the "original score" as it was at the opera's 1880 premiere, others seem to claim this is a play adapted from the opera for the screen.
Whatever the reason may be, this movie has replaced almost all of the singing with plain dialogue, except for some of the more recognizable pieces. This makes the movie insufferably boring. They don't seem to have realized the dialogue falls flat without it, and the music is vital in communicating the story to the audience. For example: when Councelor Lindorf makes his entrance in the Prologue the music would have indicated he's villainous and dangerous; without it he merely seems a debauched old man with nothing better to do than sitting in a tavern by himself.
The movie has some saving graces, however. Melitta Muszely plays all three of Hoffmann's loves (Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta) fantastically, both in singing and in acting. Sylvia Kuziemsky as the Muse/Nicklauss plays the sarcastic and frequently exasperated voice of reason well, but again the humorously witty songs she should have sung are mostly absent and make her character a little less likeable. Visually it has some merit in the set design and costume design; especially that of Act 1 is playful and evocative and John Schlesinger's 1980 production seems to have been directly inspired by it. This movie has a satisfying opening and conclusion. Unlike some other productions, this version includes the Muse's monologue in the Prologue in which she explains her motives. The Epilogue gives Hoffmann's love Stella plenty of lines and establishes her as someone with empathy and agency instead of a shallow diva who lets herself be courted by Lindorf. Even Hoffmann breaks out of his drunken bitterness and in a moment of lucidity vows to teach others about love and life through his writing.
Whatever the reason may be, this movie has replaced almost all of the singing with plain dialogue, except for some of the more recognizable pieces. This makes the movie insufferably boring. They don't seem to have realized the dialogue falls flat without it, and the music is vital in communicating the story to the audience. For example: when Councelor Lindorf makes his entrance in the Prologue the music would have indicated he's villainous and dangerous; without it he merely seems a debauched old man with nothing better to do than sitting in a tavern by himself.
The movie has some saving graces, however. Melitta Muszely plays all three of Hoffmann's loves (Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta) fantastically, both in singing and in acting. Sylvia Kuziemsky as the Muse/Nicklauss plays the sarcastic and frequently exasperated voice of reason well, but again the humorously witty songs she should have sung are mostly absent and make her character a little less likeable. Visually it has some merit in the set design and costume design; especially that of Act 1 is playful and evocative and John Schlesinger's 1980 production seems to have been directly inspired by it. This movie has a satisfying opening and conclusion. Unlike some other productions, this version includes the Muse's monologue in the Prologue in which she explains her motives. The Epilogue gives Hoffmann's love Stella plenty of lines and establishes her as someone with empathy and agency instead of a shallow diva who lets herself be courted by Lindorf. Even Hoffmann breaks out of his drunken bitterness and in a moment of lucidity vows to teach others about love and life through his writing.
