Right from the Greeks, theatre as the social prism continues to reflect life worldwide, and cinema as an extension of it has always been in awe of this particular ancestor. On World Theatre Day, let’s take a look at some of the most spirited films on theatre.
1. Children of Paradise (1945)
Marcel Carné’s Children of Paradise puts Garance (played by Arletty) at the centrestage, and four different men: a mime artist, an actor, a criminal and an aristocrat circle her, lured by her enigmatic charm. Though the film is about the world of Parisian theatre, it is more concerned about delivering swift heartbreaks, for it is about love, requited, unrequited and every other kind there is. Shot during the Nazi occupation of France, this film is widely considered as the greatest French film ever made, and if you let this poetic masterpiece work on you, you will know what timeless cinema tastes like.
2. The Producers (1968)
Mel Brooks’ savage satire has a Broadway producer and an accountant who are desperate to produce a super flop show so that they can pocket the excess investor’s money. A musical named Springtime for Hitler, and a host of gags that are so outlandish that they will make you wonder what did Brooks actually smoke to conceive something like this, and how was he actually able to pull it off. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder create the right dose of anarchy making it a hyperactive masterpiece of philistine comedy.
3. Mephisto (1981)
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Istvan Szabo’s adaptation of Klaus Mann’s novel exploring the space between intellectual freedom and totalitarian control is simply spectacular. A retelling of the Faustian legend, this is the tale of a desperate actor during the Nazi reign, the devil here as you would have guessed, is played by the Nazis. Unlike the novel, the film has a subtle brushstroke of humanism, and Klaus Maria Brandauer as Hendrik Höefgen delivers a performance that continues to withstand time.
4. All About Eve (1950)
Getting into the very spirit of the art of cinema, All About Eve celebrates the flamboyance of the theatre world but is more interested in the quick-witted contempt that goes behind the scenes. Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is a fan of Margo Channing (Bette Davis), the ageing Broadway star. It tells us how the ambitious Eve wins the star’s trust to move into her inner circle with deceiving earnestness, and to finally become her rival, clawing everyone’s back. Despite the titular role, Eve, the fan is an ingénue, and the film is more invested in Margo at the twilight of her career, caressing her with a stroke of infinite empathy. Davis is both splashy and vulnerable as Margo, painting her role with incredible autobiographical flourish. An almost peerless work on the world of theatre.
5. Floating Weeds (1959)
Yasujiro Ozu’s remake of his 1934 silent classic, A Story of Floating Weeds, tells the tale of an ageing actor returning to a small coastal town where he meets his former mistress and his now young illegitimate son. Trouble brews when the current mistress discovers this and hatches a sly storm. In the hands of the Japanese master, this material, more or less soap opera, becomes an intimate epic of everyday joys and sorrows. No dramatic galloping, no flashy movements by the camera, just a journey of contemplative beauty.
6. Komal Gandhar (1961)
A victim of the Partition, Ritiwik Ghatak’s films are always haunted by the pining for his homeland lost to the newfound independence of India. In Komal Gandhar, two rival theatre groups echo his allegiance to IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association), his former fraternity and Anusuya (played by Supriya Devi), the principal character is torn between conflicting passions. This is a challenging watch if you consider the radical use of sound, political commentary on exile and his trademark melodramatic bravado. But do give it a shot, because it is one of those rare works that can inspire envy, reason and debate.
7. Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Igrnorance (2014)
In Alejandro González Iñárritu’s genre-defying film, a faded star famous for playing a superhero on screen, struggles to mount a play in a bid to resurrect his personal and professional self. The manic energy of the film is brought together by a crackling ensemble led by Michael Keaton and an inexplicable camera that refuses to blink, this is a bold, brash and ambitious letter to fame, on and off stage.
(The writer is a journalist and a
screenwriter who believes in the insanity of words, in print or otherwise.
Follow him on Twitter: @RanjibMazumder)
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