Uncle Vanya (1963 film)

Last updated

Uncle Vanya
UncleVanya1963.jpg
Directed by Laurence Olivier
Stuart Burge
Written by Anton Chekhov
Constance Garnett
Starring Michael Redgrave
Laurence Olivier
Joan Plowright
Sybil Thorndike
Rosemary Harris
Music by Alexis Chesnakov
Production
company
Distributed by Arthur Cantor Films
Release date
  • 20 November 1963 (1963-11-20)(UK)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

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).

Contents

Cast

Reception

Harold Hobson of the Sunday Times described the production as "the admitted master achievement in British twentieth-century theatre", while The New Yorker called it "probably the best 'Vanya' in English we shall ever see". [1]

Notes

  1. Quotes taken from the VHS recording issued by Arthur Cantor Films, New York.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Olivier</span> English actor and director (1907–1989)

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Redgrave</span> English actor (1908–1985)

Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal National Theatre</span> Theatre in London, England

The National Theatre, officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England. The NT was founded by the actor Laurence Olivier in 1963, and many well-known actors have performed with it since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Plowright</span> British actress (born 1929)

Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career spanned over six decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy and two BAFTA Awards. She was the second of only four actresses to have won two Golden Globes in the same year. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1978 for Filumena.

<i>Uncle Vanya</i> 1899 Play by Anton Chekhov

Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstantin Stanislavski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sybil Thorndike</span> English actress (1882–1976)

Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969.

<i>Vanya on 42nd Street</i> 1994 film

Vanya on 42nd Street is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Louis Malle, written by Andre Gregory, and starring Wallace Shawn and Julianne Moore. The film is an intimate, interpretive performance of the 1899 play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov as adapted by David Mamet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances de la Tour</span> English actress (born 1944)

Frances J. de Lautour, better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom Rising Damp from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and three-time Olivier Award winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Harris</span> British actress (born 1927)

Rosemary Ann Harris is an English actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Laurence Olivier Awards. Harris was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1986, and she won the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chichester Festival Theatre</span> Theatre in Chichester, West Sussex, England

Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. The smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989.

<i>Three Sisters</i> (1970 film) 1970 British film

Three Sisters is a 1970 British drama film starring Alan Bates, Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright, based on the 1901 play by Anton Chekhov. Olivier also directed, with co-director John Sichel; it was the final feature film directed by Olivier. The film was based on a 1967 theatre production that Olivier had directed at the Royal National Theatre. Both the theatrical production and the film used the translation from the original Russian by Moura Budberg. The film was released in the U.S. in 1974 as part of the American Film Theatre. This was a series of thirteen film adaptations of stage plays shown to subscribers at about 500 movie theaters across the country.

<i>Dance of Death</i> (1969 film) 1969 British film by Glen Byam Shaw

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. It stars Laurence Olivier and Geraldine McEwan. The play was directed by Glen Byam Shaw, and the film version was directed by David Giles. Olivier reprised the role of Edgar, Geraldine reprised her role of Alice, but Robert Stephens, who played Kurt, was replaced by Robert Lang.

John Peter Sichel was a British director of film, stage and television, and, later in life, a film, television, and theatre trainer.

John Dexter was an English theatre, opera and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Blakemore</span> Australian actor (1928–2023)

Michael Howell Blakemore AO OBE was an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who also made a handful of films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to win Tony Awards for Best Director of a Play and Musical in the same year for Copenhagen and Kiss Me, Kate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress</span> Annual award for Londons West End theatre

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress 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.

<i>Uncle Vanya</i> (1970 film) 1970 Soviet Union film

Uncle Vanya is a 1970 film adaptation of the 1899 Anton Chekhov play of the same title and directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy.

Sean Kenny was an Irish theatre and film scenic designer, costume designer, lighting designer and director.

<i>Rhinoceros</i> (Orson Welles production)

Rhinoceros was a 1960 production of Eugène Ionesco's surrealist play of the same name, which had been written the year before. It was the first English-language production of the play, starred future husband-and-wife team Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright, and was directed by Orson Welles. Olivier also co-produced the play, which was Welles's last work as a theatre director.

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.