5/5 GREAT !
  by Ron (camarillo,ca.)
Even if you're not a big ballet fan, and I'm not, the music and the dancing here is beautiful. Worth the price for the "Entrance of the Shades" section alone.

5/5 A common man's point of view.
  by Richard Rawls (Dublin Ga USA)
I now have two copies of this ballet, this copy by the Paris Opera Ballet and the other by the Kirov Ballet......Minkus - La Bayadere / Kirov Theatre....... Which is best? They are both so good that for the common man, there is very little difference. The POB version was filmed in HI-DEF which gives a very good picture quality, although the DVD is not HI-DEF. Color, lighting, sets are superb in both productions. Run time on this copy is 135 minutes, and the Kirov version is 130 minutes. The extra time on the POB version may have been the bonus segment on Nureyev.

There was one little blurb in the Kirov version during the closing of the entrance of the Shades segment, where the ballerina who had just completed 38 beautiful Arabesque movements (she was the first to enter) nearly fell when her knee buckled slightly. A couple of others lost their balance too. That sort of thing does not upset me much, but just shows that they are human. Which one of us never makes a mistake? I loved the Kirov corps even with the minor boo-boo.

There was no such blurb in the POB version, as their Shades appeared to be perfect. Their formations were magnificent, however they did use a marked stage to help with their alignment. One reviewer commented on the smiles on the faces of the three soloists, so if a smile on the face of a Shade is going to rankle you, better not buy this one. It did not bother me at all. In fact after reading his complaint, it made me love them even more. Some folks are way yonder too critical in their reviews, and I try to make it a point to remind you that you should NOT believe everything you read in these reviews.

I do wish there was a better ending for La Bayadere, because it seems to be unfinished. After all, there has been a murder committed, and to end the ballet with the Shades Scene seems to say that it's OK to kill Nikia.
Someone says there is a fourth act showing the destruction of the temple during the wedding of Solor and Gamzatti, by the ghost of Nikia. It would be interesting to hear the music for the fourth act.

5/5 Winner by acclamation
  by Hawkeye (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Others have established that this DVD is a winner. But I didn't see anyone mention the "Dancer's Dream" documentary on the making of this ballet. It's precious-- especially for those like me who have never had ballet training. The interviews and rehearsals significantly increase one's enjoyment of the ballet itself.
A couple of reviewers, in comparing the Paris performance with the Royal Ballet performance, noted that Irek Mukhamedov seemed uninspired as Solor in London. My theory: he requires a manic role like Ivan the Terrible, Spartacus, or Mayerling to be at his best. Solor may be a "warrior," but he is a not-too-constant lover, not a fighter.

5/5 A must own classic to be enjoyed over and over
  by Madhu Avasarala (Bangalore, India)
This is superbly choreographed, superbly danced and superbly produced. It is a classical ballet in the strict sense. The highlights for me:
1. As an Indian to have an Indian theme, gorgeous Indian consumes and a superb set made it very enjoyable.
2. The story is intense. The dancing is correspondingly very passionate and for this the music would have to be very appropriate and it is.
3. The technical quality of the dancing is of very high order for dancers as individuals and as a group.
4. There are so many special beautiful dances in the DVD: All of Nikya's (played by Isabel Guerrin)dances, the dances in the palace (very notable is the dance by the golden idol, just extraordinary, it was like the God Indra of the Indian Rig Veda come down to earth to dance), and of course last but not the least the Hades.
5. The video production: Wow, rarely is it this good. The lighting is perfect, the set and colors are perfect, the quality of the DVD (compression, resolution, etc) are very good. The camera angle is especially good being almost just above floor level and seems to travel with the dancers across the stage. The floor itself is slightly shiny and nicely reflects the dancers giving a salutory effect. A minor complaint is that the recorded volume level is low so the volume level on your amplifier needs to be turned up to get a reasonable output.
This will be a classic in your collection. This is one of POB's best.

5/5 Just Superb
  by Balletomane
It is difficult to understand how other reviewers can have reservations about this performance. The production values are excellent and the dancing is exceptional - sets,costumes and the all-important lighting contribute to a stunning dvd with colour and spectacle and to compare it to the Royal Ballet version is simply pointless.
Asylmuratova looks edgy and unsure in the RB and lacks chemistry with Mukhamedov, who was oddly not his (often) brilliant self, while Dowell hammed the High Brahmin role beyond credibility. Darcy Bussell is a redeeming pleasure but all are saddled with an atmosphere of shabbiness in costumes and sets, while the stage of the ROH looks quite tatty. The contrast is even more marked with the timing of the corps de ballet which is an absolute joy with the Paris Opera company (a result which takes more than a taped stage to achieve) and for anyone considering choosing between the two dvds - there's no contest. This is the one and a wonderful legacy it is from Nureyev.