The Visit (1964 film)
| The Visit | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original film poster | |
| Directed by | Bernhard Wicki |
| Produced by |
Darryl F. Zanuck Julien Derode Ingrid Bergman Anthony Quinn |
| Written by | Friedrich Dürrenmatt (play) |
| Screenplay by |
Ben Barzman Maurice Valency (adaptation) |
| Based on | The Visit |
| Starring |
Ingrid Bergman Anthony Quinn Irina Demick Paolo Stoppa |
| Music by |
Richard Arnell Hans-Martin Majewski |
| Cinematography | Armando Nannuzzi |
| Edited by |
Samuel E. Beetley Françoise Diot |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
May 6, 1964 (France) October 4, 1964 (United States) |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country |
United States France West Germany Italy |
| Language |
English French |
| Box office | $1.1 million (US/ Canada)[1] |
The Visit is a 1964 film co-production from France, Italy, Germany, and the United States, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Bernhard Wicki and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Julien Derode, with the film's stars, Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn, as co-producers.
The screenplay was by Ben Barzman, adapted by Maurice Valency from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1956 play Der Besuch der alten Dame (literally, The Visit of the Old Lady).
Bergman and Quinn head a cast that includes Irina Demick, Paolo Stoppa, Hans Christian Blech, Romolo Valli, Valentina Cortese, Claude Dauphin, and Eduardo Ciannelli.
Plot
Karla (Claire in the play) Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman), a fabulously wealthy woman, returns to a decaying village she had been forced to leave years earlier in disgrace. She had a child by Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn), who denied paternity. Her purpose in this "visit" is to make a deal with the inhabitants — in exchange for a vast sum of money, she wants Miller killed.
At first reluctant, they eventually accept the arrangement and Miller is condemned to death. At the last moment, Karla stops the execution and tells the citizens that they will have to live with the guilt of what they might have done for the rest of their lives.
Cast
- Ingrid Bergman as Karla Zachannassian
- Anthony Quinn as Serge Miller
- Irina Demick as Anya
- Claude Dauphin as Bardick
- Paolo Stoppa as Doctor
- Romolo Valli as Town Painter
- Valentina Cortese as Mathilda Miller
- Eduardo Ciannelli as Innkeeper
- Jacques Dufilho as Fisch
- Leonard Steckel as Priest
- Ernst Schröder as Mayor
- Fausto Tozzi as Darvis
- Hans Christian Blech as Captain Dobrik
- Lelio Luttazzi as First Idler
- Marco Guglielmi as Chesco
- Renzo Palmer as Conductor
- Dante Maggio as Cadek
- Richard Münch as Teacher
Main themes
Dürrenmatt stresses that The Visit is a tragicomedy. However, it is a study of the darker elements of human nature. The themes of the film, as with the play, are greed, revenge and corruption and the fact that money can buy anything, even justice. Power that comes from money can lead to hate and even murder and to the collapse of ordinary morality.
Notes
- In the stage play, the character of Serge Miller (called Alfred Ill in the original text of the drama) is killed at the end. In the film, the execution is halted.
- Bergman and Quinn co-starred again six years later in the romantic melodrama A Walk in the Spring Rain (1970).
Awards
- Bernhard Wicki was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival[2]
- The film received a nomination for Best Costume design-Black and White (René Hubert) at the Academy Awards.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross.
- ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The Visit". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "The 37th Academy Awards (1965) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
External links
- The Visit at the Internet Movie Database
- The Visit at AllMovie
- The Visit at the TCM Movie Database
- The Visit at the American Film Institute Catalog