SITE RATING: 6/10
SITE
REVIEW: The rating
above is not so much for the quality of the
music, or the performance per se, but for the
video quality, which seems far poorer than the
age of the film would seem to imply; and for
the choice of the director to shoot the
soloists in extreme close-up, occasionally
full face on, which give the viewer the
uncomfortable sensation of being stared at -
and worse, being sung at,
rather than to. If you close you eyes
and listen, there is much to charm; Hogwood's
performance, although filmed a year after his
ground-breaking recording, is very similar to
that previous performance; utilizing the same
soloists and orchestra, although for this
filming the Choir of Westminster Abbey takes
the place of the Choir of Christ Church
Cathedral, Oxford, with no discernible
degrading of performance. The video,
while adequate for video tape, fares far worse
on DVD, with flat colors, noticeable grain,
and a distractingly high amount of blurriness
and softness in the wide shots. The
tendency of the director to shoot the soloists
full face on is often uncomfortable, with bass
David Thomas particularly disturbing; his
intense stare, directly into the camera during
his solos, is more reminiscent of a scene from
Faust
than is appropriate for Messiah.
Conversely, tenor Paul Elliott looks
like a frightened deer caught in the
headlights during his close-ups. But
overall, the attitudes of all involved is very
cool and detached, leaving me to suggest that
despite the excellence of the talents
involved, this Messiah is better heard than
seen.
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