The year is 1904. The location, Nagasaki. American Lieutenant Pinkerton is drawn to 15 year old Cio-Cio San, and she to him. The two marry. Pinkerton looks at her as nothing more than an exotic diversion, never intending a serious life long relationship. Cio-Cio San on the other hand is smitten and sacrifices her family which effectively disowns her because she marries this foreigner. Pinkerton leaves the pregnant Cio-Cio San, promising to return, leaving her alone to raise their son. Three years pass before his return and Cio-Cio San is shattered to see that Pinkerton arrives with another bride and his only intention is to take his son away.

The grand tragedy formula is pretty simple and predictable. In this case, take an absolute duplicitous scumbag, Pinkerton, add an innocent Cio-Cio San for him to ruin, and you have all the essential ingredients. Throw in a child and an unaccepting family, and its only more spice to the tragedy strew. I'm no opera fanatic (more on that later), and the story is so basic it needs the flash and pomp of the music to carry it for two and a half hours, otherwise why bother sitting through it when the outcome is so painstakingly obvious?

This 1995 production is a cross cultural affair- An Italian opera, French/British/German produced, with a French director, Western and Asian actors, and the Sony Classics home video production under the banner "Martin Scorsese Presents". Director Frédéric Mitterand casts the film with virtual unknowns, Richard Troxell as Pinkerton and newcomer Ying Huang as Cio-Cio San. This presents what I felt was the films first problem. An actor on stage has to project and be over the top in order to convey emotion, on a film an actor has to be more restrained. While capable singers, neither of the two leads seemed very emotive or electrifying onscreen. Either they are incapable of the range of emotions needed or too consumed with holding back.

The setting is fairly underwhelming as well, confined mainly to Cio-Cio San's home with various exterior shots or of the surrounding areas. One would think with film it could free up the claustrophobic stage environment, but the director chose to confine the tale to its traditional setting. Her home is a good set, but over the course of two and a half hours its a pretty flat envoirment that can only be filmed so many ways. There are some sweeping crane and tracking shots, but the setting doesn't offer much in terms of a sumptuous visual feast, for instance, a craning shot of Pinkerton singing outside looks down on him with nothing but the 80% dirt, 20% grass lawn as the background- not exactly eye candy.

But I guess it is the music that counts, and it seemed pretty good. Admittedly, I suffer from musical narcoplepsy- that is, when narrative is told through music, for some reason, I get heavy eyelids and usually konk out no matter if its Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, Nightmare Before Christmas, or James and the Giant Peach. But, I was assigned Madam Butterfly, and rather than accept defeat, with the aid of a few pauses to splash hot coffee on my face, I was able to give it my full attention. Besides, it is wall to wall music, so it is a slightly different animal, easier for me to take. And, I found the music pleasant enough, though I expected a bit more bombast and energy. Actually, I was surprised at how low key the score was which lent to a more intimate mood.

The DVD: Columbia/Tristar Home Video. Picture- Anamorphic, Widescreen 1.85:1. Colors, grain, contrast, and sharpness are good. I noticed some edge enhancement and slight shimmer here and there, and it probably would have gone unnoticed if the films visual palette was better. Overall it is a pretty decent transfer, just with a few minor quibbles. Sound- Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Italian, with optional white English, Spanish, or Portuguese subtitles. Crisp and clear with no distortions, mix is pretty simple, vocals mainly in the front, music filling out the back and side channels. Extras- 16 chapters--- "Making Of" Featurette (10+ mins). Plenty of backstage, recording, and rehearsal footage. The Featurette mainly focuses on Ying Huang discussing her surprise and newcomer freshness.

Conclusion- So, if you are an opera lover who just cant get out to the actual opera... this production should be a good curiosity. With my limited knowledge, I assume it may be an underwhleming affair in terms of music and the staging an opera fan would expect. But the DVD is decent enough, if you are a fan, give it a try. I will give it a mixed suggestion of- rent it/recommended.