The Threepenny Opera



The sly melodies of composer Kurt Weill and the daring of dramatist Bertolt Brecht come together onscreen under the direction of German hauteur G. W. Pabst (Pandora's Box) in this classic adaptation of the Weimar-era theatrical sensation. Set in the impoverished back alleys of Victorian London, The Threepenny Opera follows underworld antihero Mackie Messer (a.k.a. Mack the Knife) as he tries to woo Polly Peachum and elude the authorities. With its palpable evocation of corruption and dread, set to Weill's irresistible score, The Threepenny Opera remains a benchmark of early sound cinema. It is presented here in both its celebrated German and rare French versions.

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, made from a new film restoration element from the Bundesarchiv in Germany
• Audio commentary by scholars David Bathrick and Eric Rentschler
• L'opera de quat'sous, Pabst's French-language version of the film, starring Albert Prejean and Florelle
• A multimedia presentation by film scholar Charles O'Brien on the differences between the English and French versions
• Archival introduction by Threepenny stars Fritz Rasp and Ernst Busch
• New exclusive documentary on Threepenny's controversial journey from stage to screen
• Archival interview with Fritz Rasp
• Galleries of production photos by Hans Casparius and production sketches by art director Andre Andrejew
• New and improved English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A new essay by film critic Tony Rayns

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

HOLY GOD!!!

This literally made my year. As a lover of Pabst and Brecht, this is like a dream come true. I've been waiting for them to release it for years, and everytime I found the laserdisc, the price was ridiculous.

I think I'm going to cry.

Pabst's version of the Threepenny Opera is really poor. It cuts out most of the music and strips out almost all Brechtian elements of presentation. Consequently the film lacks the sick humor and social commentary which Brecht intended, and it plays out as a rather dull and straightforward crime story.

sick humor? Can you elaborate on what you mean by sick humor? I haven't read/heard/seen threepenny opera but I've read a couple of his plays and am not sure if I've encountered anything I'd classify as sick humor. Would like to know what you mean by this. Brecht certainly strikes people in different ways I think.

I've read Three-penny several times, and it never came off as sick, but a bit more over the top. Nothing very offense or crazy. For me sick humor is something like a drag queen eating a turd. That's sick humor.

I'm sure Pabst's version is very diffrent, but that doesn't deterioate my inteserest at all. If anything, it make me want to see it even more. I even remember reading in a book about the composer Kurt Veil that both him and Brecht hated the movie, but that grabs my attention that much more.

Perhaps "sick" isn't the right word, but I meant it as very dark humor. The play features a man whose job is to outfit and manage the homeless population in order to maximize profits from begging. That's pretty twisted.

Brecht did hate Pabst's version. I believe he filed a lawsuit over it.

Confirmed as spine #405 in the Criterion blog.

Well it'll be nice to finally be able to replace the old laserdisc. I just wonder what took so long. Maybe decent elements were hard to come by? Eh, I'm just glad it's happening at all. A great film, indeed. And very deserving of a special edition.

I wonder if they'll include the second-audio track of the subtitles read out loud that was on the LD. It would be useless to most of us, but it did feature the voice of the mythical Jon Mulvaney in the intro, and I'm sure lots of folks 'round here would love to hear that.

Does he sound as dreamy as I imagine him to be?

Sort of a booming, deity-like voice. Bill Brasky-esque is really the best word for it.

I happen to enjoy Pabst's version of Threepenny Opera, but as I recall it I think it would be helpful to be somewhat familiar with the play beforehand, otherwise someone coming to this cold might be entirely confused regarding what's going on. Having said that, I don't think it's essential...it's just that there is little backstory in Pabst's version.

Tribe

having said that, does anyone know of a good recording of the Weill/Brecht?

Got a record player? There is an original cast LP from 1972 "Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill", Paramount Records (PAS 4000). It includes songs from all his collaborators, not just Brecht, and has seven selections from Threepenny Opera. Contains two records and is filled with wonderful music. Lotte Lenya did the liner notes and expresses complete approval.

That may be available on CD also. Also, check iTunes out...there are several recordings in English and in German. I think that the English versions (at least the earlier ones) tended to change a few things. For example, the Polly character is sometimes elimiated and the Jenny character takes over her lines. I'm not certain whether or not this occurs in some of the German versions as well.

I'm looking forward very much to this release. This is another one of those films that I've only seen in old muddy Janus VHS tapes.
And it all has me thinking whether or not this set should include some audio of a stage production. It wouldn't be unprecedented for Criterion to do something like this. They did include an Anonymous 4 program in The Passion of Joan of Arc.

Tribe

Well, I happen to have TWO very excellent bootlegs. One is the original cast recording from 1928 I belive. It even has Betolt Brecht singing and playing the organl. The other one is the Three-Penny Opera suite, uncompleted, but it's the best version out.

I'll try to upload those later tonight!

I don't know if this helps but Judy Collins does an excellent version of Pirate Jenny (on her "In My Life" album). Nina Simone also performed the song as well but I like Judy's version the most.

I like this one.

Die Dreigroschenoper, 1990, on Decca 289 430 075-2. Ute Lemper, Milva, Dernesch, René Kollo, Boysen, Adorf. RIAS Berlin Sinfonietta, John Mauceri

There are those who want Weill performed in a Brechtian manner. Lotte Lenya's recordings are in this tradition. I like the Decca recordings of Kurt Weill because they are more focused on Weill's beautiful music than the raw and ugly older recordings. My memory eludes me, but i seem to recall that the conductor John Mauceri, in the liner notes, states that Kurt Weill , who was a classical composer, wanted his music more "streamlined" and not so "primal" as the followers of Brecht wanted. I do not know if this is true, but i see no reason to trade my copy of this record in for another one.

Decca released in the early nineties serveral Kurt Weill records that i like.

As to recordings, I agree the Mauceri recording is very good, though I also really liked an old Vanguard LP of a 1955 performance, with Liane, Felbermayer, Fassler, Roswaenge, Jerger, and Preger, conducted by Adler (Vienna State Opera Orch).

Wasn't there also a relatively recent recording with Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Pj Harvey....if I'm not imagining it, I wonder how that turned out.

Tribe

it was a tribute to Kurt Weill which also featured older tracks (such as one performed by Brecht)
I haven't listened to most of it, but the artist list is impressive:
William S. Burroughs, Bertolt Brecht, Lou Reed, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Teresa Stratas, Betty Carter, The Persuasions, Charlie Hayden/Kurt Weill/Fred Hersh, Lotte Lenya, Elvis Costello, David Johansen/Ellen Shipley/Bob Dorough/Ralph Schuckett, PJ Harvey and Nick Cave with Spanish Fly and Kenny Wolleson.

Right now I'm uploading to Rapidshare an old bootleg of the original cast recording. It's my personal favorite and features Lotte Lenya, and even Brecht, who's voice reminds me of a goat when he sings. I'd say give me about half an hour before it's up.

Edit: Original cast recording. Would make a nice extra on the Criterion set. Or maybe just track 17, it has Bertolt Brecht singing Mack the Knife.

Oh, and make sure you have WinRAR to open this. Enjoy!

Also worth seeking out is "Lost in the Stars, The Music of Kurt Weill", from A&M Records. Sixteen tracks featuring Sting, Van Dyke Parks, Marianne Faithful, Tom Waits and a dozen others. My capsule review would be that about half the tracks are outstanding and the other half are ... um, rather unique interpretations. I'm looking at an old audio tape so I don't have the catalogue number.

Thanks, Dandy Fop. Outstanding recording...do you have a listing of track titles.

Tribe

Yeah, I do, but they are all in German. I'll try to get around posting them tonight.

I know a choirmember of the WEILL/LENYA Foundation, and was recently at a live performance of theirs at Columbia of Brecht/Weills BERLINER REQUIEM which was absolutely sublime, and a good edditional example of the seething black humor running beneath their work (which could easily be construed as "sick" by someone not tuned into it). The wonderful thing about Brecht is how he is forever avant, his talent, his invention, his politics, and his view of the world is so darkly acid, his humor so perfectly attuned to the reflexivity (yet perfectly representational of the work outside the hall doors) of his scripts.

I've been waiting to upgrade my old Janus VHS for fucking ever, and am curious about the extras on this presentation, and whether or not it will include both the French & German versions. Those interested in the controversy surrounding the differences between Pabts's film and the stage original should refer to Kracauers essay which closes his CALIGARI TO HITLER, concering the lawsuit against the film by it's creaters-- the two are that different.

The best thing is to approach the film as a completely sperate entity first, then study the changes afterwards. It's certainly not a straight adaptation by any means.

Still wlecome news. Perhaps one day they'll update the rest of the Janus early sound catalog. Pabst's early sound works as well as Leontine Sagan's MAIDENS IN UNIFORM. A bold, brave, excellent work.