Beckett on Film DVD Set (2003)

The hugely ambitious Beckett on Film project gathered together 19 different directors to turn the 19 stage works written by Samuel Beckett into films. The range is vast--from the 45-second Breath to the two hours of his most famous play, Waiting for Godot--but all the works reflect Beckett's penetrating obsessions with memory, regret, and the simple, excruciating experience of being. Not every film succeeds--like all great theater, Beckett's plays demand interaction with a live audience to express their full intent--and though scholars tout Beckett's every word as genius, several works are slight (Catastrophe, Ohio Impromptu, or What Where will leave many viewers unimpressed). But all the plays feature Beckett's uniquely distilled language; the greatest of them--including Waiting for Godot (in which two tramps pass the time while they wait for someone who may never come), Endgame (in which a blind man and his lame servant bicker and joke as the world declines), and Play (in which a love triangle is bitterly recalled by two women and a man in urns)--are astonishing in both their potent humor and piercing grief.

Though Beckett's stature drew in an impressive array of directors (including Anthony Minghella, Patricia Rozema, and Neil Jordan) and actors (including Jeremy Irons, Julianne Moore, Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Michael Gambon, and John Gielgud), some of the finest work comes from relative unknowns. But the gem of the collection is Krapp's Last Tape, about an old man revisiting his life through recordings he has made throughout his years. It's the perfect marriage of text, actor (the incomparable John Hurt), and director (Atom Egoyan, The Sweet Hereafter); in their hands, the play spins from deeply funny to deeply sad, all with only the slightest dim of the light in Hurt's eyes. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

A Formidable Achievement

The fact that this DVD set exists at all is cause for ecstatic and superlative praise: at last we have nearly all the plays of one of the 20th century's most technically innovative--but also emotionally affecting and eloquent--dramatists, available together in professional productions created with sympathy, respect for the author's intentions, and often inspired insight into these works' theatrical potential.

Because this box set presents the work of 19 different directors, each working with a different play, it is inevitable that this collection would be uneven: the most disappointing performances, in my opinion, are drawn from the most familar works: Endgame, in particular, suffers from an awkward rhythm and rushed delivery which violates both the general sense of the work as well as several of its most memorable and touching sequences.

There are nonetheless many very pleasant surprises among these performances, none more welcome than Julianne Moore's extraordinary rendition of "Not I." John Hurt's version of "Krapp's Last Tape" will similarly, I think, come to be regarded as definitive, as will the idiosyncratic collaboration among David Mamet, Harold Pinter, and the late Sir John Gielguld in "Catastrophe." Most revelatory of all is the rendition of "Rough for Theatre II," which turns what reads in print as an ostensibly inconsequential fragment into a nuanced and perhaps uniquely detailed contribution to the Beckett canon.

Perhaps the greatest mystery in a package promising to be "the comprehensive cinematic interpretation of Beckett's plays" are the omissions here, most surprisingly his several works--"Eh Joe,' "Nacht und Traume," "...but the clouds," among others--for television. One also wonders, given the extraordinarily generous resources at the producers' disposal, if it was only the Beckett estate that prevented a mounting of the author's great deskdrawer drama Eleutheria, or the early fragment "Human Wishes."

The fact that this set is easily available, and that it contains so many highlights, ultimately overrides any disappointments. The price of this collection probably puts it out of reach of all but the most devoted fans of Samuel Beckett--which is also a shame, because many of these performances would refute the unreflective complaints that Beckett's work is boring, emotionally arid, or depressing. Were the set less expensive, it would help win for Beckett a popular audience commensurate with his contribution to contemporary literature and theatre. But for those of us lucky enough to own a copy, there is much to enjoy, contemplate, and re-play for years to come. July 2, 2006

What a let-down!

I have seen this twice through now & have concluded that the best places to experience Samuel Beckett's quintessential words are on the printed page or on obscure stages (like San Quentin prison).

Most of the productions in this package seek only to bring attention to themselves (the single exception being John Hurt & Atom Egoyan's perfect Krapp's Last Tape) - they are for the most part overdirected & overacted to the hilt. April 26, 2006

An Abomination

With great anticipation and relish i awaited this accumulation of the works of probably one of the greatest playwrites of the 20th century. Having seen a short promotional film of the project, my eagerness was picqued.But, alas, flash, star-worship and diminished expectations rule once again in this travesty. Having actually not even been able to sit through the Endgame of this set, and having also seen the foolish, punk-flash version of Breath, and the unsympathetic and misunderstood, braindead interpretation of Not I, i am so appalled i nearly whipped this weighty and overly expensive set, frisbee-like,out the window.
It never ceases to amaze how so much star power can do so much damage. Remember the Broadway travesty of Godot a few years ago with Robin Williams?
So, Engame is a beautiful performance. all the Gaelic colloquial nuance of Beckett's language,perfectly understood and delivered in a heightened naturalism that is a joy to behold. The only problem is, one can NOT behold it because of the hack direction. Done in obsessively Television Direction School multi-camera work, anytime a charecter speaks or moves he is held in extreme talking-head close-up. next actor speaks, close up for him, then back to the other actor and so on and so on until the stomach of the viewer churns from this sea-sick demntia of camera close-ups,reaction shots, two shots and flashing long shots. So you don't have a play, or a film, you end up with a Television show of utter convention and utter unwatchability. i suggest people stay away from this possibly well-intentioned but decadent and unwatchable and expensive lump of Beckett Meets Hollywood by way of London. April 15, 2006

A real score for Beckett aficionados

Not to gush, but many of the versions in this set far surpass my expectations of film adaptations of theatre. For instance, "Endgame" is brilliantly realized, with finely nuanced acting. Top talent on both sides of the camera, often visually arresting works. Really great stuff for any Beckett or experimental theatre enthusiast. Pricey, but worth it. July 7, 2005

For the starved

Those of us living in the heartland - Iowa, in my case - have little access to live productions of Beckett's work. This DVD set provides my only window into the performance of several of these plays. Until I purchased this set I had never SEEN Endgame, though I had read the work dozens of times. The same is true of several other plays. This set provides ACCESS, and I am eternally grateful to the producers, directors, actors, and crew for granting me a glimpse into a world otherwise beyond me immediate apprehension. Nit-pick if you must, but we living in the desert cannot but rejoice at this cool drink. "We're getting on"! November 14, 2004

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