On 18th of September 2019 we had a screening of movie "The Birthday Party"-film adaption of The Play "The Birthday Party" written by Harold Pinter. It is a "Comedy of Menace." A Comedy of menace is a play in which the laughter of the audience in some or all situation is accompanied, or immediately followed, by a feeling of some impending disaster.
In The Birthday Party this mingling of comedy with a perception of danger pervades the whole play and, at times, becomes very conspicuous. And in the play the effect of menace very beautifully shown.....
The Birthday Party is basically showing meaninglessness and nothingness things. It shows nothingness of human existence.
There are many scenes in play which created dangerous sound in the play such as, knocking at the door, and the tearing of paper...Pauses and silence shown Pinteresque effect.There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.
In this play ,female characters like Meg and Lulu are , marginalized . They are regarded as puppets. Lulu abused by the male in party. But by whom that is not shown. Because the play represent Stanley as a criminal not Goldberg. So may be Beckett don't want to clarify us that Stanley was innocent. Or may he don't want to show this type of act on stage. Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?.This feeling of ‘’Menace’’establishes a strong connection between character’s predicament and audience’s personal anxieties. As we know that the play is considered as comedy of menace. where each and every character of the play passing through one unknown fear. But in the text I find that effect in conversation between Goldberg- McCann and Stanley .
Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text?
I watch two timebecayse i didn't get properly in trust time so gor that I made 2 time also I feel that something will happen. when suddenly knocking happen ,feel the effect of lurking danger,but not in the text. it is symbolically to hide the reality.
What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.
In The Birthday Party this mingling of comedy with a perception of danger pervades the whole play and, at times, becomes very conspicuous. And in the play the effect of menace very beautifully shown.....
The Birthday Party is basically showing meaninglessness and nothingness things. It shows nothingness of human existence.
There are many scenes in play which created dangerous sound in the play such as, knocking at the door, and the tearing of paper...Pauses and silence shown Pinteresque effect.There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.
In this play ,female characters like Meg and Lulu are , marginalized . They are regarded as puppets. Lulu abused by the male in party. But by whom that is not shown. Because the play represent Stanley as a criminal not Goldberg. So may be Beckett don't want to clarify us that Stanley was innocent. Or may he don't want to show this type of act on stage. Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?.This feeling of ‘’Menace’’establishes a strong connection between character’s predicament and audience’s personal anxieties. As we know that the play is considered as comedy of menace. where each and every character of the play passing through one unknown fear. But in the text I find that effect in conversation between Goldberg- McCann and Stanley .
Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text?
I watch two timebecayse i didn't get properly in trust time so gor that I made 2 time also I feel that something will happen. when suddenly knocking happen ,feel the effect of lurking danger,but not in the text. it is symbolically to hide the reality.
What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.
Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?
Two scenes of Lulu if omitted from the movie then it normally has no such differences that one can find there.to give the particular shape to the work also writer may prefer to include extra things & reduce something that burdens the content part of the work. another point can be there is as I think of Lulu's personality that has no such significance to carry out the flow further with some special effect.
Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?
Two scenes of Lulu if omitted from the movie then it normally has no such differences that one can find there.to give the particular shape to the work also writer may prefer to include extra things & reduce something that burdens the content part of the work. another point can be there is as I think of Lulu's personality that has no such significance to carry out the flow further with some special effect.
Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?
Yes, of course, this movie is successful in giving the effect of menace. Menace is like that something hidden fear within someone or afraid or threat. We can see the effect of menace in the movie because while reading the play felt that Stanley has a mysterious past. We are able to feel that when Meg told Stanley to two men who are come to hear and stay with us. Then Stanley's face has hidden fear within him. So this situation I feel like that effect of menace.
What do you read in the 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading the newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCann, pieces are hidden by Petey in the last scene.
In the movie, the newspaper is a symbol. Petey's character through we can see that it is symbolized as a person who was hidden behind the newspaper. Here is also in this play it also gives the remembrance to Petey for his impotency by Meg’s insistence to him for continually reading the incident (in the newspaper) regarding the fragility of a woman. Moreover, it is torn into pieces by McCann. And in the last scene he affords has been hidden by Petey. He tries to hide the whole incident.
The camera is positioned over the head of Macann when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of the room as a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of the camera?
When we seeing the movie camera talks everything thus when the camera is positioned over the head of McCann when he is playing blind buff which demonstrates that McCann is over the position. It is situated at the top with the perspective of the room like a trap which symbolizes that Stanley is trapped by a stranger who was touching of him.
"Pinter restored theatre to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretence crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?
Yes, it happens during McCann and Nat Goldberg asking a question which is meaningless and unpredictable. The room of the birthday party and kitchen cover with so many objects. Also Pinter, Art, Truth and Politics: Excerpts from the Nobel lecture. In this movie part of characters, Stanley was an artist in exile. Nat Goldberg & McCann, we're social and political-institutional forces.
How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like Pinteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?
This way of viewing movie is better rather than reading or basic way of understanding. Sometimes we are tired with continual dialogues at that time we have to give the rest to our mind. So silence is necessary to enforce the movie. The Birthday party with its typical characteristics like Pinteresque, comedy of menace, two kinds of silences or pauses. These all characteristics we can see in the movie part and better understanding while we viewing the movie and those typical characteristics are easy for this way of learning.
With which of the following observations you agree:
- “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."
- “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[3]. (Ebert)
- “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."
- “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[3]. (Ebert)
I agree that the movie shows very well: “Pinter restored the theatre to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretence crumbles.”
If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of the movie?
If I was a director I can't make any difference in the movie because everything going in a written way. visualise or scenery also a better way, the play is must depend on absurdity but in this movie many things are not like well, like as kitchen situated in dirty and also dining table. So those things are arranged in compactly.
Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?
I don't like any specifical actors in the play or movie part. The actor who was playing his own role and his artistically way. So all characters are played own role.
Do you see any similarities among Kafka's Joseph K. (in 'The Trial'), Orwell's Winston Smith (in 'Nineteen Eighty-Four') and Pinter's Victor (in 'One for the Road')?
The Trial, we see Kafka's main character and his Kafkaesque characteristic holding on to his beliefs to the end; essentially disproving the weird government and society or system in Kafka the trial and also Orwell also says about freedom and theme in the trial in Nineteen Eighty-Four movie. One quote about in that movie,
" Who controls the past
Controls the present
Who controls the present
Controls the future"
Controls the present
Who controls the present
Controls the future"
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