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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Laurence Olivier makes his singing debut in this lively adaptation of John Gay's 18th century theatrical piece The Beggar's Opera. Olivier stars as Captain MacHeath, the leader of all bandits and cutthroats in England. MacHeath is in love with Polly Peachum (Dorothy Tutin), the daughter of beggar king Peachum (George Devine). He has also dallied with Lucy (Daphne Anderson), the offspring of corrupt constable (Stanley Holloway) Lockit. Since it is in the best interest for both Peachum and Lockit to rid the world of MacHeath, the two conspire to imprison and hang the scoundrel, but an unexpected turn of events rescues MacHeath from the executioner's noose. Adapted for the screen by Dennis Canaan and Christopher Fry, The Beggar's Opera manages to retain the raffish charm of the stage original while still being wholly cinematic in approach and execution. The same basic story was later retooled by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill as The Threepenny Opera. ...The Beggar's Opera
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This production is great as a reminder of the performances of past stars such as Laurence Olivier (actually singing, and doing so very well!), Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway,and for the first ever performance on film of Kenneth Williams. Musically, this is not the familiar arrangement of the score by Pepusch and Austin, nor yet an authentic performance on period instruments, but rather an arrangement by Sir Arthur Bliss conducted by Muir Matheson. What lets it down however is the presentation, where no attempt at remastering has apparently been made, so we get all the scratches and tramlines on the picture, and a sound track that sounds as if it has been recorded down a telephone line in a hail storm. But if you can watch through all of that, it is well worth giving it a go for all the old stars. I have given it one star only for reasons of nostalgia.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a curiosity - because of the cast, because of its age, and because of its director - and would be quite easy to dismiss as a creaking piece of cinematography; however, dig deeper, and you see the young Peter Brook directing a film, with a wonderful foretaste of his groupings, his landscapes, and his intelligence, all to be come apparent in his later stage and, to a certain extent, film work; his landmark stage production of The Marat Sade comes to mind in the groupings of the beggars in the inns, and the sparcity of the landscapes, viz. the hanging, conjures up his minimalist Dream at the RSC in the 70s. Perhaps to watch Olivier as Macheath will be the main reason for people buying this DVD, and they will not be disappointed - what a handsome man Sir Larry was at the start of the '50s - and his singing voice is passable too, although some of the other cast members are dubbed when singing; the beautiful Dorothy Tutin shines as she always did whether on screen or stage, and Stanley Holloway and Athene Seyler make OTT cameo appearances; don't blink and you will see a very young Kenneth Williams as a pot boy in the inn! All Gay's music is there too - well more or less - and for the ridiculously cheap price this is certainly a collector's item, and well worth buying and watching - probably for Brook's blossoming directorial talents starting to establish themselves.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
When this movie opened it scarcely caused a ripple in Britain and even less so in the U.S. I don't know why. It's a telling of John Gay's great work written in 1728, and the play was a blockbuster 280 years ago. It's supposed to be the first English "opera" that told a story through song and which was aimed to entertain the people. Gay took melodies wherever he found them, wrote lyrics to them to advance the storyline, and had a hit. And in another version, it still is. The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht (with Blitzstein's redone lyrics) is a fixture in theaters, and Mack the Knife is still a popular song.
Lawrence Olivier plays Macheath, a rollicking highwayman with "wives" all over London. He has two in particular, Polly Peachum, the daughter of his fence, and Lucy Lockit, the daughter of his jailer. The story of Macheath's adventures, captures and escapes are all told in song. There are horse riding songs, love songs, gambling songs, longing songs, lustful songs. The story starts in a London prison where Macheath awaits hanging. A beggar just tossed into the prison has written an opera about Macheath. He starts to tell it to the inmates and the movie takes off.
The songs are great fun and the style of the movie is very much the look of 18th century London. You can feel the fleas in the wigs, the lice in the clothes, the sheen of greasy lips, the stink of unwashed bodies.
And there are some sharp lines.
"A miser might as well be satisfied with one guinea as I with one wife."
"Love is a misfortune that can happen even to an indiscreet girl."
"I can tell by your kiss that your gin is excellent."
And when pointing out that consummation needn't wait for marriage, "Friends should not insist on ceremony."
Olivier does a masterful job, handling his own stunts, horse work and, most bravely, his own singing. He's good. On the day of Macheath's hanging, he's carted out to the gallows, sitting jauntily on his casket. While a grim-faced preacher is screaming at him to repent, he's sweeping up wenches to kiss, downing tankards of ale held up to him, and making a little girl laugh while bouncing her on his knee. Olivier plays it with great verve.
And while there's not exactly a reprieve, there is a joyous escape.
If you like quirky films that will probably be forgotten if it weren't for DVD, this one is worth getting.
Lawrence Olivier plays Macheath, a rollicking highwayman with "wives" all over London. He has two in particular, Polly Peachum, the daughter of his fence, and Lucy Lockit, the daughter of his jailer. The story of Macheath's adventures, captures and escapes are all told in song. There are horse riding songs, love songs, gambling songs, longing songs, lustful songs. The story starts in a London prison where Macheath awaits hanging. A beggar just tossed into the prison has written an opera about Macheath. He starts to tell it to the inmates and the movie takes off.
The songs are great fun and the style of the movie is very much the look of 18th century London. You can feel the fleas in the wigs, the lice in the clothes, the sheen of greasy lips, the stink of unwashed bodies.
And there are some sharp lines.
"A miser might as well be satisfied with one guinea as I with one wife."
"Love is a misfortune that can happen even to an indiscreet girl."
"I can tell by your kiss that your gin is excellent."
And when pointing out that consummation needn't wait for marriage, "Friends should not insist on ceremony."
Olivier does a masterful job, handling his own stunts, horse work and, most bravely, his own singing. He's good. On the day of Macheath's hanging, he's carted out to the gallows, sitting jauntily on his casket. While a grim-faced preacher is screaming at him to repent, he's sweeping up wenches to kiss, downing tankards of ale held up to him, and making a little girl laugh while bouncing her on his knee. Olivier plays it with great verve.
And while there's not exactly a reprieve, there is a joyous escape.
If you like quirky films that will probably be forgotten if it weren't for DVD, this one is worth getting.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointing
I'm sorry to say, but I am very disappointed in this film. Granted, it has a number of fine actors. However, the fact that most of the scenes are set in a studio, with a film... Read more
Published on 6 April 2010 by Filmbuff
What a pity
From all the starry names involved, this should have been interesting. It's a mess. Instead of trusting the ramshackle but robust original version, the director has filled this one... Read more
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First and Original
To anyone with a sense of history this is a work, and a production, which grows better and more fascinating with each re-visit. Read more
Published on 25 May 2006 by blockhed
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