76
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThis is a hothouse flower of pure orchidaceous strangeness, enclosed in the studio’s artificial universe, fusing cinema, opera and ballet.
- 100The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeThe Observer (UK)Mark KermodeThis sublimely orchestrated marvel takes fantasy film-making to a new level, looking back to the dramatic choreography of silent cinema and forward to the colourful ecstasies of Ken Russell.
- 100The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldThe Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldWatching “The Tales of Hoffmann... feels like walking through a Technicolor field of poppies; you’re happily immersed in it and often a bit lost within, eventually emerging a bit dazed and dazzled by the experience.
- 100Slant MagazineJake ColeSlant MagazineJake ColeThough lacking the thematic depth that characterized the Archers’ earlier work, The Tales of Hoffmann ranks among their finest triumphs for its purely aesthetic self-justification.
- 100Time OutTom HuddlestonTime OutTom HuddlestonIt’s a more self-consciously artful film than its predecessor, an admirable spectacle rather than an entrancing human story. But as a work of pure, imaginative cinema, it comes close to genius.
- This is art everyone can live for. And The Tales of Hoffmann makes it possible to live completely, gloriously within it.
- 75Slant MagazineJeremiah KippSlant MagazineJeremiah KippIf The Tales of Hoffmann fails as an emotional journey, it is sensational as a music video.
- 60The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherOddly enough, despite its opulence, coupled with a brilliant rendering of the score by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham's bristling baton and some masterly singing of the libretto (in English) by a host of vocal cords, this film version of the opera is, in toto, a vastly wearying show.
- 50Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrPowell had made The Red Shoes five years earlier; here he was clearly hoping to expand the style of the final ballet segment into feature length. But without dramatic grounding Powell’s voluptuous visuals seem empty, and his manic inventiveness operates in a void.
- While the dizzying array of design elements and magnificent vocal performances is impressive, 138 minutes is just too long to keep the interest of any but the pure opera devotee.