Pina

Why $ 37.98?
Finally an important show of Great Pina's work. But, why $ 37.98 for a zone 2 dvd - plus shipment charges? You could get it direct from the British Amazon site for 8.99 english sterling pounds - plus about $ 5,00 shipment, which altogether is about half the price what the other sellers for this item are requesting. So far, there is available even a 3D blu-ray - and a regular 2D blu ray - in blu-ray-zone 2. Why not for the USA - blu-ray zone 1? Ah!, the merchants ... When will this nonsense about dvd and blu-ray regions stop. Greed is godd and necessary, but excesive greed is bad and stupid for everybody.

For the love of modern ballet and Pina Bausch
"Pina" (106 min.) is a thrilling documentary about/celebration of choreographer Pina Bausch's work. It is important to note that Bausch herself was involved in the preparations of this movie, but she passed away just before shooting beagan after a short but devastating bout with cancer. Director Wim Wenders halted the production, but the dancers of the Wuppertal Tanztheatre convinced him to carry on and to make the movie as a tribute to Bausch. And that it certainly is.

The movie showcases 4 major pieces by Bausch, starting with The Rite of Spring, in which the dancers perform on a thick layer of dark sand. The other pieces are Cafe Mueller, Kontakthoff, and Vollmond. The latter is truly remarkable: there is a huge rock on the stage, and a continuous waterfall onto the stage, which eventually gets flooded for the most part. The dancers splish and splash their way to, through and onto it and it is an incredible visual experience. A number of scenes are also filmed in and...

Wenders is a talented director: Pina Bausch was a giant.
I've never been entirely convinced by Wim Wenders as a narrative film director-- his talents have always been more situated in the realm of conceptual art than that of the storyteller. Here he gets a chance to apply his conceptual art strengths to one of the few great artists of our time, Pina Bausch. The results are often startling, enthralling, and affirmative.

The opening excerpt from Bausch's RITE OF SPRING ranks as one of the greatest pieces of filmmaking I've ever seen. There is no doubt that Wenders has found the best possible use for 3D. To be frank, I would have preferred to see the entire performance rather than the documentary which enfolds it, but ideally we can have both (hint to distributors: there are at least five DVDs to be gleaned from the various dances here. I'd buy all of them!!)

The central section of the film includes excerpts from Bausch's more cerebral work, and it is here that perhaps the film is less effective. While the work...

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