Film review of The Birthday party Blog Task

                                        "The Birthday Party" 

                                                  

This blog is a part of my academic activity, Task given by Dr. Dilip Barad.30

Link of given Task

2) Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?

'Menace' means violence or feeling of insecurity or uncertainty. which establishes strong connection between audience and character's predicament. movie is quite successful in giving us the effect of menace. It can be visible in Pinter's ability to drop suddenly from high comic level to one of deep seriousness. we feel the atmosphere of violence when two strangers encroached the space of stanley and beat him very cruelly, when stanley attacks on Lulu. all these scenes arouse the feeling of menace.

3)   Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the Text

Throughout the film we feel the effect of lurking danger. When Stanley was frighted of some unseen danger and that comes in the form of Goldberg and Mccann. the famous interrogation scene creates more danger for stanley as well for the audience. 

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.

Several interpretations that spectators can read in 'newspaper'. very first scene of movie  begins with newspaper in which petey was reading the newspaper and meg asking about the news. It shows that only powerful and intellectual person can read newspaper. absurdity flourished in the this scene that they were talking about the birthday or birthday party. Meg asks petey who is newly born baby girl and not the boy. suddenly power goes into the hand of meg that they do not have baby. Petey hide himself through newspaper. McCain torn it into pieces it shows the ill motive of him that he wants to destroy Stanley as newspaper. 

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? 

This scene has the deep symbolism. It gives the feeling that we constantly observed by camera or someone weather they are strange people, Government or anybody . We don't have right of privacy. So we feel like a prison and we can not do anything that we want. 

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?

It's very true that Pinter restored theater to its basic elements. Almost all the characters,except Goldberg and McCain cares for each other. Such as Meg take cares of stanley as son, Lulu and Meg plan stanley's birthday party etc. 

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)?

Visual images and picture affects more to the human psychology. Movie can effect more to the mind of spectator than only reading text. Movement of camera succeeds in creating the image and atmosphere of painteresque, pause, silence, menace and lurking danger. 

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”[3]. (Ebert) 

William friedkin's movie is successful in creating the effect  of horror and terror. but this is the art so another artist can make better film than this.

9) If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie?

If i were director of film i would like to make several changes in female characters of play Meg and Lulu. Pinter portrayed both these characters in stereotypical way. they don't have their identity or strong will power. i would like to create beauty of these characters by giving them new identity. 

10) Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?

Petey: Alok Nat
Stanley: Ranveer kapoor
Lulu: Rakhi Sawant
Goldberg: Amrish puri
MacCain: Om puri  

i