The Threepenny Opera: Doubles and Duplicities
by Sep 17, 2007Ladies and gentlemen, you will now hear the strange and comical history of how an eighteenth-century English play went through diverse transformations and finally...
Synopsis
The sly melodies of composer Kurt Weill and the daring of dramatist Bertolt Brecht come together on-screen under the direction of German auteur G. W. Pabst (Pandora’s Box) in this classic adaptation of the Weimar-era theatrical sensation. Set in the impoverished back alleys of Victorian London, The Threepenny Opera follows underworld antihero Mackie Messer (a.k.a. Mack the Knife) as he tries to woo Polly Peachum and elude the authorities. With its palpable evocation of corruption and dread, set to Weill’s irresistible score, The Threepenny Opera remains a benchmark of early sound cinema. It is presented here in both its celebrated German and rare French versions.
Cast
| Mackie Messer | Rudolf Forster |
| Polly Peachum | Carola Neher |
| Tiger Brown | Reinhold Schunzel |
| Jonathan Jeremias Peachum | Fritz Rasp |
| Mrs. Peachum | Valeska Gert |
| Jenny | Lotte Lenya |
| The vicar | Hermann Thimig |
| The street singer | Ernst Busch |
Credits
| Director | Georg Wilhelm Pabst |
| Screenplay | Bela Balazs, Leo Lania and Ladislaus Vajda |
| From the play by | Bertolt Brecht |
| Songs | Kurt Weill |
| Cinematography | Fritz Arno Wagner |
| Editing | Hans Oser |
| Art direction | Andrej Andrejew |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, made from a new film restoration element from the Bundesarchiv in Germany
- Audio commentary by scholars David Bathrick and Eric Rentschler
- L’opera de quat’sous, Pabst’s French-language version of the film, starring Albert Prejean and Florelle
- A multimedia presentation by film scholar Charles O’Brien on the differences between the English and French versions
- Archival introduction by Threepenny stars Fritz Rasp and Ernst Busch
- New exclusive documentary on Threepenny’s controversial journey from stage to screen
- Archival interview with Fritz Rasp
- Galleries of production photos by Hans Casparius and production sketches by art director Andre Andrejew
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A new essay by film critic Tony Rayns
From the Current
The Threepenny Opera
by Jun 13, 1988The merits of The Threepenny Opera as a film have, in the past, been much overshadowed by the political and legal controversy surrounding the project. Even before the film's release, playwright Bertolt Brecht, who participated in the adaptation of his hugely successful theater production...
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