Martha Graham Dance on Film - Criterion Collection

Buy This Item Martha Graham Dance on Film - Criterion Collection by Criterion Collection  Available from Amazon  $35.99  on 11-28-2008     One of the great artistic forces of the twentieth century, performer, choreographer, and teacher Martha Graham influenced dance worldwide. Criterion presents a sampling of her stunning craft, all collaborations with television arts-programming pioneer Nathan Kroll. A Dancer’s World (1957), narrated by Graham herself, is a glimpse into her class work and methodology. Appalachian Spring (1959) and Night Journey (1961) are two complete Graham ballets, the first a celebration of the American pioneer spirit, scored by Aaron Copland, the second a powerfully physical rendering of the Oedipus myth. These are signature Graham works and tributes to the art of the human body. Reader Reviews This release by the Criterion Collection is atypical of what they release but is very good. In it is a documentary by Martha Graham,"A Dancer's World" and two dance sequences that she choreographed. They are "Appalachian Spring" and "Night Journey". I have little knowledge of ballet and am not the best person to review them but given, Graham's prestige, I can assume that they are of high quality. There are many special features on the two disc box set which are very good also. Disc one contains the three films, a comparison of the version of Appalachian Spring presented here with an older version narrated by Deborah Jewett, an archival interview with Aaron Copland discussing Appalachian Spring, an audio essay by Nathan Kroll with a slideshow about Graham, a new interview with Ron Simon, head of Museum of Television and Radio, and interviews with editors, Eleanor Hamerow and Miriam Arsham. Disc two contains a 1994 PBS documentary on Graham titled "Martha Graham: The Dancer Revealed", interviews with six of the dancers from the films, senes from a 1975 dance demonstration narrated by Graham, and footage of Graham's company on a 1954 tour of Europe. This is a must buy for the ballet enthusiast.

Martha Graham Dance on Film - Criterion Collection Available from Amazon Price: $35.99 Updated on 11-28-2008.

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