The Birthday Party

1968
G
2h 3m

ÉVALUATION IMDb

MA NOTE

Robert Shaw, Helen Fraser, and Patrick Magee in The Birthday Party (1968)

Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueThe down-at-heel lodger in a seaside boarding house is menaced by two mysterious strangers, who eventually take him away.The down-at-heel lodger in a seaside boarding house is menaced by two mysterious strangers, who eventually take him away.The down-at-heel lodger in a seaside boarding house is menaced by two mysterious strangers, who eventually take him away.

Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro

ÉVALUATION IMDb

6,4/10

1,2 k

MA NOTE

Voir l’information sur la production à IMDbPro

Prix
- 1 nomination au total

Anecdotes
The movie was a passion project of director William Friedkin who called it "the first film I really wanted to make, understood and felt passionate about". He had first seen the play in San Francisco in 1962, and managed to get the film version funded by Edgar J. Scherick at Palomar Pictures, in part because it could be made relatively cheaply. Pinter wrote the screenplay himself and was heavily involved in casting. "To this day I don't think our cast could have been improved," wrote Friedkin later.

Citations
Nat Goldberg: But a birthday, I always feel, is a great occasion, taken too much for granted these days. What a thing to celebrate, birth! Like getting up in the morning. Marvelous! Some people don't like the idea of getting up in the morning. I've heard them. Getting up in the morning, they say, what is it? Your skin's crabby, you need a shave, your eyes are full of muck, your mouth is like a boghouse, the palms of your hands are full of sweat, your nose is clogged up, your feet stink, what are you but a corpse waiting to be washed? Whenever I hear that point of view I feel cheerful. Because I know what it is to wake up with the sun shining, to the sound of the lawnmower, all the little birds, the smell of grass, church bells, tomato juice...
Stanley Webber: Get out.
Nat Goldberg: You're in a terrible humor today Mr Webber... and on your birthday too.

Connexions
Featured in Pinter's Party as Told by William Friedkin (2017)

Commentaires des utilisateurs19

Commentaire

Commentaire en vedette

9/10

Brilliant

Harold Pinter's brilliant early play-on-film, The Birthday Party, is one of his best efforts, and perhaps, with The Homecoming, the pinnacle of the Theater of the Absurd. The plot itself is simple. Two men come to visit Stanley, a classical pianist who has, for unknown reasons, left his home and is staying with a provincial couple. He is visited by Shamus McCann (Patrick McGee) and Nat Goldberg (Sydney Tafler). They alternately celebrate and menace Stanley, who may or may or may not know them. Nothing is clearly stated. Most of the dialogue consists of insinuations and vague threats. Performances across the board are outstanding, with Robert Shaw outdoing himself as Stanley Weber. Moultrie Keisall as Petey is excellent but understated, and his final words really put the cherry on the birthday cake. (sorry for the pun). Nothing I can say can communicate the unique strangeness and power of this film. Top marks, 5 stars, classic.