Film Screening - Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party
Post-Viewing Tasks:
- Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?
- · Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?
- · Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text
- 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.
- Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera?
- "Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?
- · How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?
- · With which of the following observations you agree:
“It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of
"The Birthday Party."
o “It's impossible to imagine a better film of
Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[1][3]. (Ebert)
·
If
you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make
it the making of movie?
·
Who
would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?
Here I am sharing my interpretation about the play.
1) Two scenes of lulu omitted from the movie because two woman characters ( Lulu & Meg ) as contrast to man characters in the play. And character of Lulu is very slight in the play. Harold Pinter also shows that man characters are aggressive towards female in the play. And in this play we show that all powers are in the hand of man. In the movie we show that the character of Lulu and Meg is important in the life of Stanley besides its represents the society.
2) Yes, I can feel the effect of comedy of menace by watching movie. In this play most of the characters are suffering from distress with different noisy atmosphere. In this play Pinter creates an atmosphere of menace through a variety of dramatic and laughing element and by techniques like ringing of bail, knowing door, of newspaper Stanley play the toy drum. So i think the effect of comedy of menace is presented in very symbolical and artistic way in the play.
3) Yes, I can feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing play. The effect of lurking danger clearly shown during the scene when 'Birthday party' going on. Suddenly lights off. And there are also lots of twists and turns at the back of party. And we can also feel another angle to look at the lurking dangers when they playing the game Blind man's buff.
4) The symbol of Newspaper is very highlighted in this play. In this play Petey is reading news and Meg is asking about news and it was routine for them. We found that Petey read newspaper to Meg and McCann tearing newspaper and at the last seen those pieces are hidden by Petey. Petey hide himself behind it. But actually he faces the reality of society doing by that.
5) During the game of Blind man's buff it symbolized as absence of light. Camera is focusing on to head of McCann and vision if room is like a trap When Stanley is playing game that time he caged by two unknown strangers. So, the Blind man's buff as a game builds the dramatic suspense at that moment, leading to the rather unsolved breakdown of Stanley.
6) Yes, this all things happen in the movie as well as in play. Torrent of dialogues and little space used by Harold Pinter Because we can find the doubtful dialogues and enclosed space of the room at the beginning to the end of the play. Here we can see politics by the characters of Goldberg and McCann very well. Both are breaks the vision of Stanley. Toy drum is become symbol of Art and eventually truth shown by the character of Petey because he was absence in the birthday party.
7) Yes, screening of the movie is very helpful to understanding the play in better way. Screening gives proper hints and imagination to understand the play in correct way. And visualization of the play much better then reading. And after watching this movie i can easily understand the characteristics of the play like menace, lurking danger etc..
8) I agree with the second observation.
"It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”.
9) I think the movie is greatly faithful to the original play. And that's why there are no need to change in this direction or screening play.
10) I would like to select those cast in my movie if responsibilities to direct movie has been given to me.
Stanley: Sidharth malhotra
Meg: Ratna Pathak
Petey: Pankaj Kapoor
Lulu: Alia Bhatt
Goldberg: Ronit Roy
McCane: Arjun Rampal
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