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RODDY MCDOWALL in NUTCRAKER FANTASY (1979)Ī story with high fantasy like “The Nutcracker” is almost certainly going to receive the animated treatment eventually. Still, those looking for a more pure, traditional staging of this story in it’s ballet form will be satisfied with the version of it here, as well as have the opportunity to see a dancer of Baryshnikov’s stature filling out the iconic, titular role. From what I’ve gathered, this is the only time he has played the part on both stage and screen, given that he was already 29 at the time of the recording of this performance and this is a role that typically is filled by younger dancers.

The overall presentation is what you would expect of a filmed version of a stage performance. It goes without saying that Baryshnikov excels in the film with his athletic command of the ballet stage. Suffice to say, this was a version of the famed ballet that benefitted from featuring a star that was well on the rise. He also made headlines years prior for his public defection from the Soviet Union, gaining asylum in Canada before making his way to New York. Not bad for someone who was just emerging onto the scene in the prestigious New York based ABT. His small role as a womanizing Russian dancer stole the film and he earned an Oscar nomination the following year for his performance. This staging came just mere months after his star making role in the film The Turning Point (1977) co-starring Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft. Baryshnikov was at this point starting to become a household name not just in the world of ballet theater, but also in film as well. It’s also noteworthy for having the lead role being played by one of the most famous dancers of that era. This production was staged by the American Ballet Theater (ABT) and was aired on CBS stations during the holidays. It helps to start with an adaptation that sticks pretty close to the Tchaikovsky ballet that most people are familiar with. MIKAIL BARYSHNIKOV in THE NUTCRACKER (1977) Below are a few of the most noteworthy representations of the character of the Nutcracker on the big screen, which either vary close to the original intention of Hoffman’s story and Tchaikovsky’s ballet or take the character and his story in very wild and unexpected directions. This is certainly true of the many film adaptations of the story that have been made, which almost all have at least some ballet elements. It’s also why today the story is retold today, more often than not, in the form of a ballet performance. One cannot imagine the story of the Nutcracker now without the accompaniment of Tchaikovsky’s musical themes. While Hoffman was the one who created the tale, it was Tchaikovsky who made it immortal. That man was composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who in 1892 took this familiar tale and used it as the inspiration for his new ballet score. But, it was when the story reached the cultural circles of Russia that it fell into the hands of one of the story’s most important figures. Numerous adaptations were made in other languages at the height of it’s popularity, including a French one written by famed author Alexander Dumas. It’s a charming fairy tale for children and it unsurprisingly quickly became a favorite story across Europe at the time. The story titled “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” is about a young child’s favorite toy coming to life on Christmas Eve to save her from the wicked Mouse King and then after the battle whisks the girl away to his magical kingdom of real live dolls where they crown her queen.

The story first emerged in 1816 as a short story written by German Romantic author E. But if there is one story that has certainly become almost synonymous with the holidays and it renowned around the world, it is the classic tale of the Nutcracker. There is of course Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, as well as more contemporary stories that have come out of the movies like It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947). There are plenty of classic tales that have over time become favorites around Christmas time.