While carousing in a basement barroom during
intermission, a sworn enemy intercepts a rendez-vous note from the show’s star
as the poet tells the tragic stories of three long-lost loves. Done in Michael
Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s grand style, The Tales of Hoffman is an uncompromising vision of Jacques
Offenbach’s opera featuring stunning singing and dancing (including Moira
Shearer fresh off of her appearance in the filmmakers’ The Red Shoes) and outlandish and unforgettable set design.
*** ½ out of ****
