The Tales of Hoffmann

Three adventures of the poet Hoffmann in his quest for the eternal woman, involving a puppet-doll Olympia made by scientist Spalanzani, courtesan Giulietta for whom Hoffmann kills a man and Antonia a girl who loves to sing all day long but when she would do so she would die. The film remains faithful to the spirit of the opera, but it achieves its fidelity by removing us as far as possible from the experience of opera as we have known it. "The Tales of Hoffmann" is a successful, delightful and very lavish experiment in filmed opera, thanks to the music of Offenbach and the many contributing talents.