The Threepenny Opera (1962)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Threepenny Opera |
| Country of production | Germany / France |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 124 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Wolfgang Staudte |
| script | Wolfgang Staudte, Günther Weisenborn |
| production | Kurt Ulrich for Kurt Ulrich-Film GmbH in cooperation with CEC, Paris |
| music | Kurt Weill edited by Peter Sandloff |
| camera | Roger Fellous |
| cut | Wolfgang Wehrum |
| occupation | |
| |
The Threepenny Opera is a Franco-German feature film by Wolfgang Staudte from 1962. It was freely based on Bertolt Brechts and Kurt Weill 's play of the same name . In France, the film was released under the title L'Opéra de quat'sous .
action
Mackie Messer is a notorious crook in London's Soho district, where "the beggars beg, the thieves steal and the whores whore," as Brecht put it. One day the crook runs into the girl Polly Peachum and her mother. Because he likes the little one, he asks the ladies to accompany him to the Hotel Zum octopus , where a ball is currently taking place. Both accept the offer. At the dance, Mackie Messer courted Polly until she literally melted away under his wooing.
Polly's father, the beggar king Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, is beside himself when he hears what has happened. He fears the windy crook could ruin his business. But all his admonitions are of no use. Polly is determined to marry her lover. Mackie has chosen an old, empty horse stable for the wedding ceremony. Pastor Kimball, who is well-known in crook circles, performs the wedding ceremony. The wedding guests, mostly made up of Mackie's gang members, include London Police Chief Brown. He and Mackie are old war comrades. It is thanks to his protective hand that Mackie can still enjoy freedom.
Mrs Peachum found out that her son-in-law frequented a brothel in Turnbridge. There he was particularly fond of the "Spelunken Jenny". The Peachum promises her a high reward if she blows Mackie Messer on his next visit. So it happens that the police have an easy job of arresting the dreaded criminal. Mackie manages to escape. He wants to hide with Suky Tawdry. But even she cannot resist the reward offered to the fugitive. Therefore, he is denounced a second time and comes under lock and key.
The beggar king absolutely wants to see the prisoner hanging. He is therefore putting Brown under pressure by threatening him that he and his band of beggars will massively disrupt the celebration of the Queen's coronation taking place tomorrow, if Mackie does not dangle from the gallows early in the morning.
The next day at six o'clock, Mackie awaits his execution. He is already standing under the gallows with the noose around his neck when a messenger on horseback appears. It's Brown, the chief of police. On horseback, to the sound of fanfare, he proclaims: “On the occasion of her coronation, the Queen orders that Captain Macheath be released immediately. At the same time he is hereby raised to the hereditary nobility and given the Marmarel Castle and a pension of 10,000 pounds until the end of his life. ”So the“ opera ”ends unexpectedly with a happy ending.
Production notes
The film was shot in the Berlin-Tempelhof studio from October 22, 1962. Hein Heckroth designed the buildings and the costumes. The production management was in the hands of Heinz Willeg . The premiere took place on February 8, 1963 in the Gloria-Palast, Munich.
music
Kurt Weill's music is not heard in the film in the original, but in a free adaptation by Peter Sandloff. It is particularly noticeable that a string section has been added to the orchestra, which Kurt Weill completely lacks. The most famous songs are:
- Mackie Messer’s morality ( and the shark that has teeth )
- Instead of that song (duet married couple Peachum)
- Kanonensong ( soldiers live on the cannons - duet between Mackie and Brown)
- Love song ( Do you see the moon over Soho? - duet between Mackie and Polly)
- Ballad of the Comfortable Life (Mackie)
- Dunk Jenny song ( Gentlemen, today you will see me washing glasses )
- Peachum's Morning Choir ( Wake Up You Rotten Christian )
- Pimp Ballad ( In those days that are long gone - duet between Mackie and Jenny)
- Jealous duo between Polly and Lucy ( Come out you beauty of Soho )
Reviews
“Remake of the socially critical time satire by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Brecht's anti-illusionist theater of showing was dramaturgically missed and, under Staudte's uncertain direction, it turned into lavish, but non-binding musical entertainment. "
The Wiesbaden film evaluation agency awarded the production the title “valuable”.
source
Program for the film: Illustrated Film Stage No. p. 6415
Web links
- The Threepenny Opera in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Threepenny Opera at filmportal.de
- Recordings with the soundtrack
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfgang Staudte - actor, director . In: CineGraph - Lexicon for German-Language Films, Lg. 20, F 19
- ↑ The Threepenny Opera. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 23, 2017 .