I really like this movie, it has a fine cast and the stories are woven together very nicely. I was busy raising a family when this was in theaters in the late 1970s, but now was able to watch it on Netflix streaming movies.
It is a story about dancers and families in ballet. It seems its whole inspiration came from the family of one of the cast members, Leslie Browne, whose family are all dancers and Ross, the director, is in real life her godfather. Nonetheless she is perfect for the role, young, beautiful, and a fine ballerina.
The leads are veterans Anne Bancroft as 40-something Emma who is still a featured ballerina, even though she is probably past the years where she should be performing, and her old friend Shirley MacLaine as Deedee, who was a competitor of Emma's those 20-odd years ago, and who chose to leave ballet and be a wife and mother.
In fact her daughter is teen dancer Leslie Browne as Emilia, showing so much promise that part of the family moves to NYC and stays in a small apartment inside Carnegie Hall for the summer so that Emilia can study. There she is noticed and appears destined for the career that her mother was never able to realize.
Another dancer is 20-something Mikhail Baryshnikov as Yuri, one of the dancers in the company. He and Emilia dance together and also romance each other. Reliable Tom Skerritt is Deedee's husband, Emilia's dad, also a former dancer.
The dancing is great because real ballet dancers are used. This is an old-fashioned drama, and it was nominated for several awards. The old friends have old issues to settle, the young dancers have to decide what their career choices will be.
Good movie!
It is a story about dancers and families in ballet. It seems its whole inspiration came from the family of one of the cast members, Leslie Browne, whose family are all dancers and Ross, the director, is in real life her godfather. Nonetheless she is perfect for the role, young, beautiful, and a fine ballerina.
The leads are veterans Anne Bancroft as 40-something Emma who is still a featured ballerina, even though she is probably past the years where she should be performing, and her old friend Shirley MacLaine as Deedee, who was a competitor of Emma's those 20-odd years ago, and who chose to leave ballet and be a wife and mother.
In fact her daughter is teen dancer Leslie Browne as Emilia, showing so much promise that part of the family moves to NYC and stays in a small apartment inside Carnegie Hall for the summer so that Emilia can study. There she is noticed and appears destined for the career that her mother was never able to realize.
Another dancer is 20-something Mikhail Baryshnikov as Yuri, one of the dancers in the company. He and Emilia dance together and also romance each other. Reliable Tom Skerritt is Deedee's husband, Emilia's dad, also a former dancer.
The dancing is great because real ballet dancers are used. This is an old-fashioned drama, and it was nominated for several awards. The old friends have old issues to settle, the young dancers have to decide what their career choices will be.
Good movie!