Thinking Activity on the Movie Screening 'The Birthday Party'

Post Viewing Task of 'The Birthday Party'

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Here is my answers to the given post – viewing Tasks of The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

1 )Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

Ans – After watching this movie we see that the character of Lulu appear in the movie only two times. Because Pinter highlighted the women character, he try to make that kind of scenes. Here we see that Lulu's character abused by the men and she was also a victim. By this kind of short information we can't say about the intention of Pinter because he can not describe Lulu's character clearly.

2 ) Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?

Ans – I am not reading full text or play so i can't say based on the any reading, but i see whole movie so that i say that the movie is successful in giving us the felling of menace. In the movie door knocking,drop of water,silence,pause,breathing, camera's movement, tearing the paper, sound of drum all things create the atmosphere of menace. Also the dialogue with the pause and silence is very significance for that. 

3) Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text

Ans – While watching the movie in the scene where Goldberg and McCan doing crucially  dialogue with Stanley at that time i feel lurking danger in the movie. Other side we also see in the movie that the effect of sound and the movement of camera also show us that the lurking danger.

4) What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.

Ans - With the good example of 'Newspaper' Pinter tell us about the main two characters, Petey and McCan. In the beginning of the movie we see that the Petey set on the dining table with newspaper, he looking newspaper with two purpose. First is that he hide himself with the newspaper and second is that he read newspaper interestingly because he aware about the situation which is going in and around. second character is McCan he was tearing paper because of create the atmosphere of detective and to frightened Stanley he doing that kind of sound, with that there were the effect of menace also. We can say that it is also a trivia kind of thing in the movie.   

5) Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera? 

Ans – Positioning of camera was very effective in whole movie. When all the characters playing the game blind man's buff at that time camera focus on the head of McCan through this situation we see that entire room with the top angle.Top angle of the room also represent the 'cage', and also doing satire on the society and the humanity. 

6) "Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

Ans - yes, it is shown very well in the movie that each character have mercy on other character but they are not deep interest into others life. They all are only interest into their own life, and live in only their own world. 

7)  How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?

Ans – Movie is more helping us to understand this play. Because in the original text there is not as much as effect of sound and silence or pause. In the movie there were also a good effect of camera movement with this we also read more than we read in original text. The only textual play is very boring to read but with the such kind of sound like drop of water, knocking the door all this is more effective in the movie than the text. 

8) With which of the following observations you agree:

o   “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

o    “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[3]. (Ebert)

Ans – I watched the movie ' Final Destination'. The movie is a full of scary scenes so that there is the camera movement and the silence, with these the thrill comes on the mind of audience. So, here also that kind of camera movement and silence. It is a good effect on the audience mind.

9) If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie?

Ans -  As per my interpretation there is not any change into the movie, because it is very faithful to the original text. So, i can not change anything from it.

10) Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?

Ans – McCan- Akshay Kumar

         Stanley – Nawaszuddin Siddki

         Goldberg- Anupam Kher

         Petey – Paresh Rawal

         Lulu- Kangna  Ranaut

         Meg- Susmita Mukherjee

thank you....