Ballet 422

When you no longer live near Lincoln Center this film brings you back to your roots, your love of dance, your love of art, your love of the magic of brilliant people. Loved how this brought be back if only for a short while. Wow.

Since the beginning of the film I kept Balanchine in my mind. During the whole film I felt, not that I was looking at Peck's talent or Peck's choreography, but pure emotion of what this company has become so many years after Balanchine's death.I could appreciate the heritage from Robbins and Balanchine that this company has got. And I just observed what every member of the company who was shown, was the continuation of such geniuses. Their professionalism, respect, beauty, blind devotion, commitment come from them. There will never be a Balanchine again, so the NYCB is doing exactly what it should: to encourage young choreographers to do their best, and maybe they'll do at least one ballet that compares to a Balanchine masterpiece. HIS ESSENCE is everywhere in the NYCB as well as at his theatre, his temple.This is a film to be felt more that analyzed. At the end, when the music of Symphony in C is playing and Lincoln Center appears, some tears came out by remembering all the history of this unique company.

It truly portrays artistic spirit inside a ballet company - without the drama!

Ballet 422 was basically a professionally done home video, an accounting of an event that happened and not much more beyond that. The film depicted the rehearsal and execution of a performance but didn't have a story to tell.My expectation was to get some insight into the production and development process, more specifically, elements that set this experience apart as unique. While there were moments of conversations between the players, there were no insights imparted, no points to mull, and, sadly, no really strong emotions to share.Technically, the shots were done well, although the most of them were mundane and drab. It would have been helpful for the editor to have included chyrons or graphics to identify the players and their roles in the production; even having finished watching the film, there are still a lot of participants whose names or roles I don't know.Is Ballet 422 intended to be a documentary? Is it meant to be a story? Is it meant to be a behind-the-scenes accounting of the creation of a new work? Ultimately, the film hints at being each of these but ultimately fails at being any of these.

Beautiful to watch the process of choreography.

Gorgeously filmed. No extraneous narration, the pictures are allowed to tell the story. The only thing missing is a slightly more expressive and, yes, interesting central character. Justin Peck is a cipher -- either that or a very bland, inexpressive young man. It would have been more fun to have a more passionate, expressive, verbally facile choreographer at the center. As it is, the choreographic process -- why Peck chose particular dancers, for instance, why he made any choices at all -- becomes quite opaque. This movie would have been even cooler with, say, a young Mark Morris or Edward Villella at the center. That said, I love the way it was filmed. Three -- no four, no five! -- cheers for a director who doesn't break dancing up into fragments with with quick cuts and "artistic" angles featuring tortured faces and grasping hands. This director pulls the camera back so we can see full length bodies and then he lets the dancing and the choreography be the star.

This documentary is thoroughly dull unless you are a ballet enthusiast who has always wanted to be a fly on the wall while a ballet is being choreographed. There is no narration nor any compelling individuals/stories for the viewer to engage with unless, I assume, they have the requisite background knowledge/experience to connect to the information being presented. If you are hoping to find something informative or interesting I would suggest looking elsewhere.

My 2.5 year old son son loves ballet and documentaries and adores this! We've watched it so many times that we have it memorized. I love that he gets to see many aspects and the hard work of what goes into a performance. It's his favorite thing about it as well. I also truly appreciate how respectful and professional everyone is in it to each other and how great an example it sets for him about people who are passionate about what they love. Our only disappointment was in not being able to see more of the finished piece at the end, but understand why it wasn't shown. He's since made me look up Justin Peck videos to see more of his work. Overall love this for the happiness it brings my son.

Very nice Bluray !

Great film.

Can not be viewed in Europe. It is coded to region #1.only!