Dance of Death (1969 film)
| The Dance of Death | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | David Giles |
| Screenplay by | C. D. Locock (translation) |
| Based on | The Dance of Death by August Strindberg |
| Produced by | John Brabourne |
| Starring | Laurence Olivier Geraldine McEwan Robert Lang |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth |
| Edited by | Reginald Mills |
| Music by | Anthony Bowles |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 149 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Dance of Death is a 1969 film version of the 1900 play The Dance of Death by August Strindberg as presented by the National Theatre Company.[1] It stars Laurence Olivier and Geraldine McEwan.[2] The play was directed by Glen Byam Shaw, and the film version was directed by David Giles.[3][4] Olivier reprised the role of Edgar, Geraldine reprised her role of Alice, but Robert Stephens, who played Kurt, was replaced by Robert Lang.[5]
Previous filmed National Theatre productions include Uncle Vanya (1963) and Othello (1965).[6][7] Both of these are available on DVD; however, as of 2017, The Dance of Death has never been released on DVD or video.[8][9]
Plot
[edit]An egocentric artillery Captain and his venomous wife engage in savage unremitting battles in their isolated island fortress off the coast of Sweden at the turn of the century. Alice, a former actress who sacrificed her career for secluded military life with Edgar, reveals on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, the veritable hell their marriage has been. Edgar, an aging schizophrenic who refuses to acknowledge his severe illness, struggles to sustain his ferocity and arrogance with an animal disregard for other people. Sensing that Alice, together with her cousin and would-be lover, Kurt, may ally against him, retaliates with vicious force. Alice lures Kurt into the illusion of sharing a passionate assignation and recruits him in a plot to destroy Edgar.
Cast
[edit]- Laurence Olivier as Edgar
- Geraldine McEwan as Alice
- Robert Lang as Kurt
- Janina Faye as Judith
- Malcolm Reynolds as Allan
- Jeanne Watts as Old Woman
- Peter Penry-Jones asa Lieutenant
- Maggie Riley as Karen
- Carolyn Jones as Jenny
- Frederick Pyne as Sentry
- Barry James as Sentry
- David Ryall as Sentry
References
[edit]- ^ "The Dance of Death (1969) - David Giles | Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (13 July 1979). "Film: 'Dance of Death'" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Production of The Dance of Death | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- ^ "The Dance of Death (1968)". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016.
- ^ "21 February 1967: Olivier and McEwan do Dance Of Death". Official London Theatre.
- ^ "Uncle Vanya (1963) - Stuart Burge, Laurence Olivier | Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
- ^ "Othello (1965) - Stuart Burge | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
- ^ "Uncle Vanya (1963) · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
- ^ Shakespeare, William; Rasmussen, Eric (26 August 2009). Othello. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 9780230576223 – via Google Books.
External links
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- 1969 films
- 1979 films
- 1969 drama films
- Films based on works by August Strindberg
- British drama films
- British films based on plays
- Films set in the 1900s
- Films set on islands
- Films set in the Baltic Sea
- Films set in Sweden
- 1970s English-language films
- 1960s English-language films
- 1960s British films
- 1970s British films
- Films produced by John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne
- 1960s British film stubs