The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter

The Birthday Party is an Existentialist play by one of the radical writers Harold Pinter. The play is also categorized under the genre of 'Comedy of Menace.' The play also consists of elements of pinteresque such as Ambiguous Identity, confusions of time and place and also use of deep political symbolism.

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Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

In a movie adaption of the same novel by Harold Pinter, Two scenes of Lulu which happen outside of home seem to be omitted? We can give several interpretations to it that Why these scenes are omitted by the Director. There are many possible reasons…

• Two scenes of sexual attack on Lulu are completely omitted by the director.
• Movie Directors are free to take artistic liberty in their movie adaption.
• To create aesthetic effects in movies, the Director can also take some artistic liberty to delete any scene or add any new scene.
• In a movie version lily is shown as who willingly flirts with Goldberg.
• If we study two ommited scenes of sexual attack on Lulu in movie version,  from Feminist Lenses then we can assume that Director didn't want to show Lulu as victim.
• These two scenes happen at outside hope, Shooting outside home is not possible in this movie because everything almost happens inside home. This also can be assumed to be the reason behind ommiting scenes.
• For the Director these scenes are not as important, that's why the Director also eliminates these scenes.

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

Yes watching a movie and reading text both are able to give us an effect of menace.  

A comedy of Menace is a term used to describe plays of David Campton and Harold Pinter by a drama critic Irving Wardle. Comedy of Menace stands for play which has Comic elements as well give some threatening effects in between laughter. So, It is kind of a tragedy with several comic effects. While watching a movie we are able to notice the effects of Menace in the way every character spoke, the way they behave and the way they take a pause and give expression to each other. When Goldberg and McCann ask a series of unwanted and meaningless questions to Stanley and the way Stanley answers the questions about the things which he didn't even know at all create comic as well as tragic effects in a play. During Visualization of these scenes, it is able to give more effects because Camera Movements and expression also play a very important role in it. 

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

Yes, While watching the movie we are able to smell some lurking danger in scenes.

Every scene in a way is hiding something. We aren't able to get complete characterization of any person, it all seems we are dwelling into imagination. To get a clear cut understanding of the play is nearly impossible. So, There are many scenes from beginning to end which show signs of danger, that something is missing here which is going to be turned into danger or difficulty.

When Stanley starts beating drums very harshly we feel like it is almost going to break because of heavy strokes. So, This scene emerges in Audience's mind: Why is he beating so harshly? What is his past which is bothering him now? When Stanley hides in a kitchen it also gives a terror feeling. At the Birthday Party a game played which is Blind Man's Buff also gives us a kind of danger sign which is followed by Lulu's scream creating more mysteries further. So, These are some of the scenes which give us a lurking effect of danger while watching a movie.

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

Newspaper is used as a very significant symbol throughout the play. Here are some of the points through which we can read the Symbols of Newspapers…

• People with newspapers or reading newspapers are in a privileged position. Petey reading a newspaper and Meg asked about some good news from Newspaper seems that Petey was at a higher position who is aware about what is happening in surroundings. They are discussing a Newborn baby in town and that time she also got a chance to taunt her husband that you aren't able to give her a child.
• Newspapers are also used to hide faces. It is the symbol behind which characters used to hide their faces.
• McCann tore the newspaper into pieces while a question-answer session with Stanley. This gives very terrific effects that everything about Stanley is now in control of these two strangers and they can shatter Stanley's life within a few seconds. 
• There are also some sheltered pieces hidden by Pity in the last scene. Through this act we can say that Pity doesn't want that his weakness may come out in front of others or rather he wants to keep him in a happy world of illusion.

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 the room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of cameras?

Movie uses a different technique of Camera focus, Close ups and different angles from scenes are taken. In a movie version all materialistic things are more focused instead of Human Being but that doesn't mean there is importance to it.

During Birthday Party characters are playing Blind Man's Buff game in which the camera is moving over the head of McCann. This scene can be interpreted in many ways like…

• Camera focus on McCann's head can be seen as his Eagle Eye over Stanley, Both Goldberg and McCann two strangers came here to catch Stanley on the basis of his past deeds.
• Another interpretation can be given to this camera focus as McCann is playing Blind Man's Buff game with Stanley. They are hiding something from Stanley.
• 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 the room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. This also can be seen as now Stanley is  completely trapped by two strangers. Now Stanley cannot escape from the situation anymore.

"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?

Yes, Pinter has restored theatre to its basic elements. Setting is in enclosed space, dialogues are unpredictable and people are at mercy on one another.

Most of the scenes of the movie take place in the same setting in the drawing room. Dialogues are also unpredictable. Topic of conversation shifting one subject to another but there is no straight link in that. Because of that Throughout the play we aren't able to understand many things at first. So, we constantly are in uncertainties about what is happening there, why it is happening, what is past behind all these happening.  External behaviour and Internal thought process is completely different and because of that the audience also remains in ambiguity.

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

Viewing audio-visual forms always helps to get a better understanding of written art. If we see particularly in The Birthday Party then unlike 'Waiting For Godot' movie version of The Birthday Party give more artistic effects and things to ponder upon which are not possible while reading.

So, Viewing The Birthday Party movie seems to deliver more artistically the following characteristics of play like Pinteresque, Pause, Silence, Menace and lurking danger. So, It can be said that watching movies helps to get a deeper understanding of play.

With which of the following observations you agree:

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

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

I agree with the below statement….

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

The Birthday Party is an absurdist play and it is not easy to make a film out of Absurdist Play because it is all about existential angst of Human existence and within that very limited character with limited, dull, boring settings are used. And these characteristics of Absurdist Play may not be able to give aesthetic satisfaction. 

Every technique of pinteresque is very cleverly used in play like lurking danger, pause, silence and menace with cinematography, with different angles of camera and  close ups give a very effective view to play.

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

If I am Director or Screenplay Writer I would like to make some sort of differences. First thing which I would like to add is more comic effects to give effects of Comedy Menace. Another thing which we can do is to add two omitted scenes of Lulu which are not added by William Friedkin as Director.