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 |
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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]
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.
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He also worked in films throughout his career, playing more than fifty cinema roles. Late in his career he had considerable success in television roles.
Sir Derek George Jacobi is an English actor. Jacobi is known for his work at the Royal National Theatre and for his film and television roles. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.
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Geraldine McEwan was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with a syrupy, seductive voice and a forthright, sparkling manner".
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The Dance of Death refers to two plays, The Dance of Death I, and The Dance of Death II, both written by August Strindberg in 1900. Part one was written in September, and then, after receiving a response to the play, part two was written in November. The two plays have much in common, and each is a full evening in the theatre. If they are joined together as one theatre-going experience, a couple of unexplained discrepancies between the two plays present difficulties. For example, in part one the Captain is desperately poor, and in part two he is well-to-do.
John Dexter was an English theatre, opera and film director.
Stuart Burge was an English stage and film director, actor and producer.
Anthony Nicholls was an English actor.
The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier.
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Uncle Vanya is a 1963 British film adaptation of the 1899 play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov. The film was directed by Laurence Olivier and Stuart Burge. It was a filmed version of the Chichester Festival Theatre production, starring Laurence Olivier as Astrov, Michael Redgrave as (Vanya), Rosemary Harris as (Elena), and Joan Plowright as (Sonya).
The Mikado is a 1967 British musical film adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera of the same name. The film was directed by Stuart Burge and was a slightly edited adaptation of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's production of The Mikado and used all D'Oyly Carte singers.
Rae Smith is a British set and costume designer who has worked frequently in theatre and Live Art. Her designs can be seen in the Opera Rigoletto which received a South Bank Sky Arts Award as did ‘’[Uncle Vanya ] film and West End Production in 2022. Saint Joan, an Obie Award for Oliver Twist and an Irish Times award for An Ideal Husband. Smith was nominated for Laurence Olivier Awards for The Light Princess, Uncle Vanya and Rosmersholm. Her work on the set of War Horse received particular praise and she received an Olivier, Tony, Evening Standard, Toronto Critics and Drama Desk Special Award. Smith has also worked on several operas and ballets.