The Tales of Hoffmann is a 1951 British Technicolor comic opera film written, produced and directed by the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger working under the umbrella of their production company The Archers.

In addition to Rounseville and Ayars, singers included Dorothy Bond, Margherita Grandi, Monica Sinclair and Bruce Dargavel.

Though the original French libretto is presented in an English translation, the film is relatively faithful to the traditional adaptations of Offenbach's last opera and incorporates his unfinished score with the thread of the plot.

The Tales of Hoffmann is an achievement of this ideal, as the entire opera was prerecorded to create the soundtrack[4] and the film was edited to the rhythms of the music.

Following the film's world premiere in New York City, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote: [D]espite its opulence, coupled with a brilliant rendering of the score by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham's bristling baton and some masterly singing of the libretto (in English) by a host of vocal cords, this film version of the opera is, in toto, a vastly wearying show.

Although the two films are basically different, a comparison is fair to this extent: The Red Shoes had warmth and vitality, Tales of Hoffmann is splendid and cold.

[5]Reportedly, Cecil B. DeMille sent a letter to Powell and Pressburger saying: "For the first time in my life, I was treated to Grand Opera where the beauty, power and scope of the music was equally matched by the visual presentation.

On 20 March 1951, he failed to obtain a high court injunction to prevent the release but received assurances that the album would be clearly labelled as having been taken from the soundtrack.