Pinter at the BBC (5-DVD Set)

Someone at the BBC and the BFI needs a medal for having put together this extremely valuable compilation of some of the best work of our greatest post-war playwright. Locating the material must have taken a great deal of careful sourcing and careful restoration, especially Tea Party, A Slight Ache and The Basement.The jewel in the collection has to be Tea Party, the original broadcast from 1965. I had long thought that this had been wiped, as was unfortunately customary; indeed, the transfer from the original teleplay does have a slightly washed-out quality, with some minor splutters at the start, but this pales into insignificance when considering the magisterial quality of the acting and the extraordinarily inventive camerawork. Although the essential tone is comic (comedy of menace rarely gets blacker), this is very cleverly underpinned by a mounting sense of paranoia, aided in great part by Leo McKern in the central role of the successful business mogul seemingly about to be toppled from his (toilet) pedestal. He is matched line for line, and leg for leg, by the irreplaceable Vivien Merchant - perhaps PInter's most expert interpreter - and "much the most inflammatory secretary ever to bend over a filing cabinet" (as described in a contemporaneous review). The play is a fascinating window into the seismic change in social and sexual politics of the '60s; the fact that this production was seen by 18% of the British public at the time is extraordinary - it couldn't happen now.The other wonderful presentation here is Landscape, with the two actors, Dorothy Tutin and Colin Blakely, (both premeried Old Times at the RSC with Merchant) in consummate form.Other fine examples are the alternative versions of plays already available - if rare. I felt the 1967 version of A Night Out in this collection to be very fine, and quite different from the original 1961 ITV/ABC production; the actors bring subtly nuanced characterisations rather than the more dramatically direct earlier version. In particular, Tony Selby, in the central role, brings pathos and desolation, evoking sympathy, in contrast to the earlier Tom Bell, playing the part very much as the Angry Young Man. Similarly, the version of The Birthday Party presented here demonstrates the latitude of approach possible in presenting Pinter - it is very different from the marvellous Friedkin 1968 film version; although equally brutal, this version is also funnier, with Joan Plowright and Julie Walters sweeping the board in this regard.By contrast, I felt the version here of Old Times to be quite disappointing. I think the actors are first-rate, if not of the exalted level of those in the original 1971 production ( what a great pity that isn't preserved on film - although I believe there is an audio recording in existence), but the production is, in my view, unimaginative, although I must add that I have never seen/heard a successful TV or radio version of this play - it HAS to be on stage.Two wonderful examples: early Pinter, in The Hothouse, and late, in Mountain Language. Some generous and fascinating special features too.

Superb productions of about half of these works. The Birthday Party (starring Pinter) is definitive. Mountain Language (directed by Pinter) is as well. The Basement, A Night Out, and The Hothouse (also directed by Pinter) are only slightly less wonderful. But the essays commissioned to accompany the set are pretty close to undergraduate-level thinking, full of cliches about "masculinity" and "menace" and other ways of avoiding thinking seriously about what Pinter did to change the nature of drama and reveal new things about ourselves. Also there is an inexplicable failure to identify which piece of bonus material (mainly interviews) is on which disk. Neither the disks nor the booklet give a hint, so if you want to consult a particular interview, you must load up to five different disks and search to see if what you are looking for is hidden in the subcategory on that disk. What else is a booklet for, than at a minimum to tell you what's where in a multi-disk set? But Pinter is a certifiable genius, several of these productions are the best ever filmed, and all of them are otherwise unavailable on video. (No overlap with the Losey or Friedkin films, which are actually less interesting productions than many of these ones, particularly the Hollywoodized and awful Friedkin Birthday Party.) The interview material is also very strong, but in one case poorly presented with the video of one of the plays accompanying the audio of one of the interviews. It's also inexplicable why it is not a region-free release able to be played on U.S. equipment. (I'm a Yank myself, but don't let that fact stop me.) However, there is no question about it that despite the poor booklet, labeling, and presentation, this is the set to own and cherish if you have the least interest in the greatest English-language dramatist of the second half of the twentieth century.

Such good quality TV early on in the 60's unlike todays offerings. And nice to see myself again from 1965 in the Tea Party, good times recording that at Wood Lane studios. So many rising stars in this DVD set. :)

It's Harold Pinter. What else do I have to say? And Pinter at the BBC? Well, this is a must buy.I love it and plan to give a set to a friend for Christmas.

A great presentation of some outstanding vintage television. Accompanying booklet was also very informative with some superb viewing notes.

A!

no problems with this item