Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s cinematic adaptation of Jacques Offenbach’s opera, The Tales of Hoffman is one of the most ambitious, extravagant, and visually opulent works by the legendary British directing team. Starring Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Robert Rounseville, Pamela Brown, Ludmilla Tchérina, and Léonide Massine, the film whirls through the opera’s hypnotic tale of a poet whose romantic adventures play out in three distinct episodes. He dreams of three fantasy women – a mechanical doll, a voluptuous seductress, and the ailing daughter of a famous composer – all of whom end up breaking the poet’s heart. The brilliant score, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham with a masterfully sung libretto, is a fitting counterpart to the dazzling images on screen.
