On 12/10/16, we had a movie screening “The Birthday Party” a British drama film (1968)-
directed by William Friedkin (The Birthday Party) - based on an unpublished screenplay by 2005
Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, which he adapted from his own play The Birthday
Party (Pinter, The Birthday Party), as a part of our academic activity. Click here to view this activity.
“The Birthday
Party’ is a play by Harold Pinter which falls under the category of Absurd
Theater and Comedy of Menace. The main subject of the play and the film is
trivia. Before proceeding further let us look at some key aspects of the play
as well as the film.
Comedy of Menace -This phrase is part of the title of a British play called
The Lunatic View: a Comedy of Menace, by David Campton. Irving Wardle, a critic
in the 1950s, emphasized the phrase when writing a review of the plays of
Harold Pinter. It makes you laugh but you feel a threat or danger at the same
time.
Pinteresque –is related to British play wright, Harold Pinter, “Pinter’s plays are
typically characterized by implications of threat and strong feeling produced
through colloquial language, apparent triviality, and long pauses”. There are
two types of silences as Pinter puts one when no word is spoken and the other
when perhaps a torrent of language is being employed.
Trivia
– An unnecessary event. It is opposite to a great event. Postmodern writers’
uses trivia as a subject, rather than a great event used by the traditional
writers.
Pre-Viewing Task:-
Harriet Deer and Irving Deer’s writes in their
article on Pinter's "The Birthday Party": The Film and the Play.
“A comparison of the film and play versions of
‘The Birthday Party’ affords us a rare opportunity to gain insight into how a
reconception of a play into film may affect the dramatic experience it communicates.
“
* The sound
plays a vital role in the film. It gives us the surreal effect. The sound
always helps in giving the menacing effect to the audience. Even the sights
captured by Camera plays a vital role. It is interesting to see that Close-up
is used as tool which magnifies trivia.
For example:- Meg pouring corn flakes
in a bowl.
While in the important conversation characters are shown in one
frame and camera doesn’t move. For example:- When Stanley is asking Meg about two
strangers.
* Several times we hear “knocking the
door”. It is creating menacing effect while viewing the movie. The scene where
Stanley is scaring Meg and suddenly there is a knock at the door. After the
interrogation scene, also we hear knock at the door. Every time when there is knocking
at the door we find that some danger enters the house.
* Silence and Pauses are very
important and Pinter successfully does it in movie, during the conversation
between Meg and Stanley, Petey and Meg and many more.
* Symbolic
reading of the objects:-
a.)Mirror – shows what we want to see
about our own self. An illusionary image.
b.)Toy drum –Stanley as an artist but
someone is destroying it at last.
c.)Newspaper- Obstacle in Communication
d.)
Door – It is used very
well to give pinteresque texture. It symbolizes coming danger.
e.)
Window: - It symbolizes
hope of escape but it is meaningless.
Some of the
scenes from the movie are excellent. The interrogation scene from Act 1 is
superb. We feel a kind of disturbance and irritation when we see Stanley
breaking down. It reminds me of several scene from Bollywood movies, where
lawyer does the questioning to catch the culprit. The torrent of language used
makes us feel uneasy.
Birthday
Party scene can be interpreted in a Political way. The Birthday party is merely
used as a tool to divert other smaller nations by the powerful nation. Goldberg
and McCain use Party as a tool so that they can divert the mind of Meg and Lulu
and in meanwhile they can capture Stanley .Normally politician use speeches,
here it is a celebration. Pinter in his article “Art,Truth and Politics”
says,
“ Political Language, as used by politicians, does not
venture into any of this territory since the majority of politicians, on the
evidence available to us, are interested not in truth but in power and in the
maintenance of that power. To maintain that power it is essential that people
remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of truth, even the truth of
their own lives. What surrounds is therefore is a vast tapestry of lies, upon
which we feed.”
Post-Viewing Task:-
1.) Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?
Stanley Webber is the protagonist of
the play around whom the story revolves. Omission of lulu’s scenes doesn’t make
any difference to the film. Also, during the time when play was written and
film was made, the feminist movement was not fully fledged. That is why they
might have thought unnecessary.
2.) Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?
Pinteresque – Menacing is the texture
of the play. Yes, the movie is successful in giving the effect of menacing. For example:- the sound effect – shouting,
knocking of the door, toy drum, tearing the newspaper, laughing, screaming etc.
While reading the text it is felt, but not so much effectively. Though
there are many dialogues in the play which creates a menacing effect. For example: The beginning of the play
MEG. Is that you Petey?
Pause.
Petey,
is that you?
Pause .
Petey?
PETEY. What?
MEG. Is that you?
PETEY. Yes, it's me.
As the film uses various technical aspects, the effect of menacing is far
more.
3.)Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text?
While viewing the film we can feel
the effect of lurking danger.
For example:- the knocking of the door, the close
up of characters, the pauses and silences. While reading again you cannot feel
much due to lack of technical devices.
4.) 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.
The newspaper is a tool of
communication, a medium to get connected with the world. Here we see it as an
obstacle in communication. It is used here in an ironical way. Petey’s reading
newspaper to Meg is a kind of irony on the relation between husband and wife.
Both husband and wife hide many things from each other. For example:-Petey
don’t reveal to Meg that Stanley is taken away by Goldberg .Newspaper is used a
tool of hiding the reality rather than showing the reality. That is why Petey
at last also hides it.
McCain’s tearing of newspaper can be read as revealing the reality of
Stanley.
5.)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?
In Blind Man’s bluff, the camera is
positioned on the head of McCain which can be seen as a predator is catching
his prey. And when Stanley is shown from the top of the room, it can be seen as
the prey is finally caught in the trap.
6.)"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?
"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."
Yes, it happens in movie. Apart from outdoors scenes, most of them are in
the drawing room. We find people give mercy to one another but it is just
pretence. We as audience also don’t feel like genuine.
7.) 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)?
Movie helps us in better
understanding of the play, the pauses and silence, the effect of menacing and
lurking danger cannot be felt well while reading. The film creates that awful
experience and makes us feel uneasy throughout the film.
8.)With which of the following observations you agree:
o “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
I agree with the following
observation:-
““It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this
sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”.
9.)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?
The movie is quite disturbing and
excellent in a way. I don’t think I would like to make such film. I would love
to do casting of actors if anyone is interested in making this film again.
Stanley Webber – Irfan khan
Nat Golberg – Manoj Bajpai
McCain – Nawazuddin Siddiki
Meg – Kiran Kher
Lulu – Kalki Koechlin
Petey – Anupam Kher
Thank You Sir for this amazing task....
Open for interpretations and suggestions.....
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