AFI|Catalog (original) (raw)

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According to a 24 Nov 1986 HR movie review and a 28 Nov 1986 NYT article, writer-illustrator-production designer Maurice Sendak originally refused to work on the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s stage production of Nutcracker because he believed the ballet was dull. However, when he and collaborator Kent Stowell returned to author E. T. A. Hoffmann for source material, they were able to inject more somber notes into the story that ignited Sendak’s interest. A 5 Oct 1986 LAT article stated that Sendak spent a year revising the story. He and Stowell retained all that was weird, fascinating, and essentially Germanic from Hoffmann’s 19th century short story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The 28 Nov 1986 NYT reported that director Carroll Ballard significantly changed the relationship between “Clara” and “Mr. Drosselmeier.” Instead of portraying him as mischievous, dirty old man, Drosselmeier became a loner, obsessed with making toys. Although a sympathetic figure, Drosselmeier’s only relationship was with the girl. As she matures, Clara becomes uncomfortable with the attention he heaps on her, wanting to find her own true love. Production notes in AMPAS library files state that after the story was set, Ballard worked with director of photography Stephen H. Burum and two assistants, Michael Sarley and Henry Selick, to storyboard every frame.
A 1 May 1986 DV article stated that principal photography would get underway 26 Jun 1986 at the University of Washington’s Meany Auditorium in Seattle, WA, for a ten-day shoot. A 7 May 1986 Var article reported that the film version was an adaptation of the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s stage production that had run annually for three weeks during the Christmas holiday season since 1983.
According to the 5 Oct 1986 LAT, Ballard used a number of camera techniques to keep the picture from being static. As often as possible, he filmed the whole dancer as was done in the 1930s and ’40s, when elements could be shot in a “classic square frame.” He photographed the “Waltz of the Flowers” sequence from above in the style of director Busby Berkeley, and in many instances, Ballard created a fourth wall to give the stage the of an interior set on a soundstage.
Audiences were also treated to an “oversized toy cabinet” spilling over with soldiers, a three-dimensional Christmas tree, and a Mouse King wearing an assortment of seven heads.
Opening credits state: “Original production staged and choreographed by Kent Stowell.” End credits state: “This production of Nutcracker was first presented on the stage of the Seattle Opera House, Seattle, Washington, on December 13, 1983, by Pacific Northwest Ballet under Kent Stowell & Francis Rosseil”; “Children appearing in Nutcracker are students of Pacific Northwest Ballet School”; and “Pacific Northwest Ballet Association: President & Chief Executive Officer: Arthur Jacobus; Principal Conductor: Stewart Kershaw; General Manager: Jayne Haynes Andrew; Development Manager: Lynn G. Schrader; Marketing Manager: Elizabeth Rummage; Comptroller: Patricia MacKinnon; Public Relations Manager: Lisa L. Wood; Company Manager: Christopher F. Miller.”
The following acknowledgments appear in end credits: “Special thanks to: Alaska Airlines, Holiday Inn, Stouffer Madison Hotel, Thomas Special Effects, Lillian Michelson Research Library, California College of Podiatric Medicine, East Bay Regional Park District, Nordhammer Art Foundry, Laboratory Glass Apparatus, The 1944 Shop, Baker Art Foundry, Golden Bear Gymnastics, J. J. Makano, Tod Laird.” (The previous list is incomplete because several onscreen credits are illegible.)

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Daily Variety

1 May 1986

p. 1, 18

Hollywood Reporter

24 Nov 1986

p. 3, 19

Los Angeles Times

5 Oct 1986

Calendar, p. 4

Los Angeles Times

26 Nov 1986

p. 12

New York Times

26 Nov 1986

p. 14

New York Times

28 Nov 1986

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Variety

26 Nov 1986

p. 16

Thomas Coleman & Michael Rosenblatt present

A Hyperion Pictures/Kushner-Locke Production

Unit prod mgr/1st asst dir

2d unit prod mgr/1st asst dir

Backdrops & scenery painted by

Addl backdrops & scenery painted by

Spec props & settings executed by

The nutcracker, the nutcracker mask, toys and orna

Addl cost executed by, Pacific Northwest Ballet Co

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Mus

Principal accompanist and mus librarian

Prod coord, California & Seattle

Based on the short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A. Hoffman (publication date undetermined).

Alternate Title:

Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker

Release Date:

26 November 1986

Premiere Information:

Los Angeles and New York openings: 26 Nov 1986

Production Date:

began 26 Jun 1986

Claimant

Date

Atlantic Entertainment Group

19 February 1987

PA317668

Physical Properties:

Sound

Dolby Stereo ® in Selected Theatres

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Herr Drosselmeier, an eccentric toymaker, lives to present his delightful creations to thirteen-year-old Clara, his goddaughter. Every year, Clara looks forward to the Christmas Eve party her parents throw for her and Fritz, her brother. Herr Drosselmeier is one of their oddest guests, but is known for being a genius. Clara loves him even though he often acts like a silly boy and frightens her. Clara and her friends enjoy themselves, but the party is lackluster until Herr Drosselmeier arrives with his sack of special toys. Clara is disappointed when he gives presents to all the children except her. Then, he reveals a large box containing a miniature castle with turrets, and uses a key to wind the mechanism. Clara peers inside and watches a ballerina and a swordsman dance. Soon, Clara is enchanted when a charming nutcracker falls from the towering Christmas tree. She becomes more interested in her new toy, and shows it to friends. Fritz jealously snatches the nutcracker out of his sister’s hands, and breaks it. Herr Drosselmeier uses a handkerchief to hold the broken pieces together. Clara gives the toymaker a kiss on the cheek in gratitude, and joins him in a dance. When the dance is over, Herr Drosselmeier gives her a caress on the cheek. His gesture might have been acceptable when she was smaller, but now it makes her uncomfortable and she backs away. When Herr Drosselmeier and the other guests leave, Clara and her family retire for the night. Later, in a dream, Clara returns to the ballroom and stores the broken nutcracker in a cabinet. At midnight, the ballroom comes alive with menacing mice soldiers. Toy soldiers and the nutcracker spring to life, and protect Clara from the mice. The ballroom becomes a battleground with soldiers on horseback, and others setting off canons. When Clara throws her glass slipper at a giant three-headed mouse, it turns to dust, and all that remains is its giant cape. Clara walks into the folds of the cape, which turn into the entrance of a cave. Once inside, Clara transforms into a young woman. Off in the distance, she sees the nutcracker. As he draws closer, she observes that the nutcracker is now a flesh-and-blood prince, who invites her to dance. Soon, Clara and the Nutcracker Prince disappear, and girls representing snowflakes dance. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince travel in a ship. Back on land, the Nutcracker Prince and Herr Drosselmeier, dressed as a sheik, vie for Clara’s attention at the palace of delight. The Nutcracker Prince in enchanted with Clara, and she enjoys the attention. He lets Herr Drosselmeier know that his company is not wanted. However, Drosselmeier orders his subjects to entertain Clara. A gilded cage is rolled out, and a dancing bird performs, followed by Chinese girls, dervishes, harlequin-dressed clowns, toy theatre dancers, and waltzing flower dancers. After the dancers are done, Clara returns to the arms of her handsome prince. Herr Drosselmeier’s dancers wave to the lovers as they fly into the clouds, but the toymaker casts a spell that transforms the prince back into a nutcracker. He loses his grip on Clara and they fall to Earth. Young Clara wakes up from her dream. In his workshop, Herr Drosselmeier is asleep next to the miniature castle.

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Sub-genre:

Educational/cultural