Catalogue Persistent Identifier
APA Citation
Genet, Jean. & Frechtman, Bernard. (1958). The balcony. London : Faber and Faber
MLA Citation
The setting of Jean Genet's celebrated play is a brothel that caters to refined sensibilities and peculiar tastes. Here men from all walks of life don the garb of their fantasies and act them out: a man from the gas company wears the robe and mitre of a bishop; another customer becomes a flagellant judge, and still another a victorious general, while a bank clerk defiles the Virgin mary. The Balcony Jean Genet. Enjoy this free preview Unlock all 17 pages of this Study Guide by subscribing today. Scene Summaries & Analyses. Character Analysis. Symbols & Motifs. Important Quotes. One of the main reasons for the ban was the idea of a Bishop entering a brothel. Philip Thody, in his paper The Balcony: A Comment on the Modern State, notes, in contrast to then general understanding behind this ban, that 'Genet was not showing a Bishop going into a brothel, but a gas man going into the brothel in order to play at being a Bishop'. Unlike the later film, Genet was actually involved in the film version of The Balcony, collaborating with Strick on the original treatment but leaving the final screenplay to poet and novelist Ben Maddow. Strick acquired the rights to The Balcony from Genet only after failing to mount another literary adaptation, of James Joyce's Ulysses.
Genet, Jean. and Frechtman, Bernard. The balcony / by Jean Genet ; translated by Bernard Frechtman Faber and Faber London 1958
Australian/Harvard Citation
Genet, Jean. & Frechtman, Bernard. 1958, The balcony / by Jean Genet ; translated by Bernard Frechtman Faber and Faber London
Wikipedia Citation
The balcony / by Jean Genet ; translated by Bernard Frechtman
| Bib ID | 2518938 | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Book, Online - Google Books | |
| Author |
| |
| Uniform Title | Balcon. English | |
| Description | London : Faber and Faber, 1958 112 p. ; 21 cm. | |
| Notes | Translation of: Le balcon. | |
| Other authors/contributors | Frechtman, Bernard. trans |
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| The Balcony | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joseph Strick |
| Produced by | Ben Maddow Joseph Strick |
| Written by | Jean Genet Ben Maddow |
| Starring | Shelley Winters Peter Falk Leonard Nimoy Ruby Dee Lee Grant |
| Cinematography | George J. Folsey |
| Edited by | Chester W. Schaeffer |
| Distributed by | Continental Distributing |
Release date | |
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,200,000 (US/Canada)[1] |
The Balcony is a 1963 film adaptation of Jean Genet's 1957 play The Balcony, directed by Joseph Strick. It stars Shelley Winters, Peter Falk, Lee Grant and Leonard Nimoy. George J. Folsey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Ben Maddow was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award. The film also credits the photographer Helen Levitt as an assistant director and Verna Fields as the sound editor.[2]
Plot[edit]
Shelley Winters plays the madam of a brothel where customers play out their erotic fantasies, oblivious to a revolution that is sweeping the country. When her old friend, the chief of police (Peter Falk), asks her to impersonate the missing queen in order to reassure the people and halt the revolution, she offers instead that three of her customers play the general, bishop and chief justice, all of whom have died in the revolution.[3]
Reception[edit]
Shortly after its release, the film was negatively reviewed by The New York Times' critic Bosley Crowther,[4] but favorably reviewed in Variety: 'With Jean Genet's apparent approval, Joe Strick and Ben Maddow have eliminated the play's obscene language (though it's still plenty rough) and clarified some of its obscurations. The result is a tough, vivid and dispassionate fantasy.'[5]
Following the release of the DVD in 2000, Karl Wareham also reviewed the film favorably: 'The Balcony is recommended for those who like an enigma of a film, one that tugs at your subconscious long after the titles fade. It’s a film that reaches to the very heart of why our society works in the way it does, and presents unrelenting questions and dilemmas.'[6]
Preservation[edit]
The Academy Film Archive preserved The Balcony in 2010.[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Top Rental Features of 1963', Variety, January 8, 1964, p 71. Please note figures are rentals as opposed to total gross.
- ^The Balcony at IMDb
- ^'The Balcony (1963) - Overview - TCM.com'. Turner Classic Movies.
- ^Crowther, Bosley (March 22, 1963). ''The Balcony' Emerges as Labored Mockery'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-21.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Variety Staff (1963). 'The Balcony'. Variety. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2009.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Wareham, Karl (2004-03-17). 'DVD Times - The Balcony'. DVD Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2005.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Preserved Projects'. Academy Film Archive.
External links[edit]
The Balcony Genet Summary
- The Balcony at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Balcony at IMDb