Mack the Knife: The Movie

[darquegk]

I just saw this oft-forgoten film of Threepenny Opera, starring the late Raul Julia and Richard Harris. I am immensely conflicted over how I feel about this film- on one hand, several moments and much of the orchestrations were lovely. On the other hand, the film seemed to lack a coherent style through the vast majority of the film.

What did you think of the movie? What would you want to see or not see in the long-rumored Threepenny Opera film allegedly planned for this decade?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I mostly like it. I think the cast, for the most part, is pretty decent, especially Raul Julia and Julia Migenes. It's corny and ridiculous at points - during Mack the Knife where the screen is full of people and they all just shuffle a little bit to the left and shuffle back to the right is cringe-worthy.

[jimmycurry01]

I enjoyed it. It wasn't amazing, but it was fun and entertaining. If a proper and legal DVD were released, I'd buy it before it hits the $5 bin.

[PattiLover]

I've never heard any rumors about an upcoming Threepenny Opera film. I've also never seen Mack the Knife but have heard the Soundtrack.

[EricMontreal22]

I like the cast, but remember the film being a mess--half of it seeming to want to be Oliver!, the other half gritty and stylized, but it's been a good decade since I've seen it.

Still, not as gloriously bizarre as the director's previous musical, the camp-tastic The Apple (which makes me wonder how he got hired to do a movie of 3PO on the first place).

[GavestonPS]

Eric, I have a friend who was in THE APPLE. I watched the entire DVD with my jaw on the floor.

In case anyone is interested, there is also a B&W German film of THREEPENNY. Since I don't understand a word, I can't speak for its quality, but the first 20 minutes or so I used to show in class were appropriately Expressionistic.

[darquegk]

That's one of the things I thought the film lacked- any sort of stylistic edge to it. It wanted so badly to be a period piece or a "lighthearted black comedy" in the Dickensian mode, that it lost one of the things that made it work onstage.

I'm not implying that the show needs an explicitly political or Epic/Brechtian style in order to work- many of the best productions I've ever seen have been lighter on that. But it needs style and edge. The Expressionistic/gothic (and in popular culture, with the rise of Tim Burton and burlesque revival, those two thing sare not so far apart anymore) aspects of the play, its juxtaposition of jazz and cabaret music, and the twisted sense of humor showed by many of the characters do not gel if presented within a "realistic" Dickensian England.

[EricMontreal22]

The Apple is truly jaw dropping--even when listed among infamous camp flops.

I took a Brecht course ten or so years back, and we watched a big chunk of Pabst's film (as well as Losey's Galileo). Apparently Brecht was not happy with it, but it was great to see a young Lotte Lenya.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Yeah, that German version moves soooo slow. And the ending is changed. If you have the Criterion edition, though, you can watch the French version of the movie that was filmed concurrently with the German.

[NoName3]

The 1931 film is a classic but although the screenplay was written by Brecht, his political views had continued to evolve and he made heavy changes to the story which are often criticized. There are only a handful of the original songs in the film. I think this film was the first time Pirate Jenny was given to Lenya's character Jenny, but I'm open to correction on that. Originally it was sung by Polly before her wedding in Act One.

There is also a 1962 European film version starring Curt Jergens and Hildegard Knef, which is not supposed to be very good. For the American release additional scenes were shot with Sammy Davis Jr. as the Streetsinger performing Mack the Knife. Jergens' singing voice was dubbed by George S. Irving.

[EricMontreal22]

I believe Lenya sang Pirate Jenny on the 1930 "original cast" album, but it's been a while since I have heard it...

I'd love to see that West German film just as it sounds...bizarre, with Sammy Davis added, etc.