By Gia Kourlas
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Rudolf Nureyev as Basilio.
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Although Rudolf Nureyev met with
neither personal nor critical acclaim as an actor in films like
Ken Russell's VALENTINO and Pierre Jourdan's I AM A DANCER, he did
have a great appreciation for film. Unless he appeared in a character
role, however, it was nearly impossible for him to hone his dramatic
instincts for the camera and shed the presentational style he perfected
for the theater. In Otis Stuart's biography, PERPETUAL MOTION: THE
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIVES OF RUDOLF NUREYEV, New York City Ballet's
principal dancer Heather Watts says, "Rudolf was a stage animal,
theatrical to the bone. That's why he never worked well on film.
His impact was in the flesh." Stuart also quotes the Royal Ballet's
Nadia Nerina, who explains Nureyev was "first and foremost a stage
presence, [which] explains his lackluster performances in front
of the camera. His film career was a failure because in an arid
studio bereft of his sustenance, his audience, his performances
were wooden and two-dimensional."
In DON QUIXOTE, which could really be considered a hybrid between
a ballet film and a dramatic movie, Nureyev shines. That success
likely has much to do with the fact that Nureyev -- as its star,
director, and co-producer -- was truly in charge. He made no secret
that he hated working under directors Russell and Jourdan, but those
bad experiences managed not to taint DON QUIXOTE. Nureyev moved
back to London, installed a Moviola editing machine into his bedroom
and, with the help of an editor, worked on the film in between Convent
Garden performances.
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Basilio (Nureyev) feigns death.
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According to Wallace
Potts, Nureyev's companion during the 1970s and the film archivist
for the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, the ballet dancer was quite knowledgeable
about the technical aspects of filmmaking. For DON QUIXOTE, Nureyev
set out to revolutionize dance films -- he wanted to do for ballet
what WEST SIDE STORY did for musicals. Instead of a three-camera
recording, Nureyev made sure there would be cameras for close-ups,
moving shots, and crane shots, just as there are in Hollywood musicals.
It makes perfect sense; a ballet is never static. Nureyev wanted
the camera to move with the specificity and speed of a dancer.
For dance historians, worthy film preservation is of the utmost
importance. Nureyev, during the 1960s, recorded several performances,
including his Vienna Opera production of "Swan Lake" and Kenneth
MacMillan's
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Basilio (Nureyev) and Kitri (Lucette
Aldous).
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"Romeo and Juliet,"
both from 1966. In a speech for the Russian Institute of History
of the Arts, Potts stated, "Not only did [Rudolf] perform in 17
recordings of complete ballets and in several dozen recordings of
pas de deux or other shorter works, he tried to make ballet on film
more exciting than it has ever been done before."
With his star presence, Nureyev, who died in 1993 from complications
from AIDS, is also partly responsible for energizing The Australian
Ballet. Before DON QUIXOTE, the film, was created, Nureyev staged
his 1966 ballet on the company. Potts views the careful restoration
of the film as proof that it is considered part of Australia's national
heritage. "I think the Australians give Rudolf a lot of credit for
bringing The Australian Ballet into international prominence," Potts
stresses. "They regard this film highly."
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