“TWO ALAN BATES GEMS”

BY RAYMOND BENSON

Back in 1973, producer Ely Landau and his wife Edie launched a daring and unprecedented cinema series that played in the U.S. for two “seasons,” with a total of fourteen titles (but only thirteen were shown), all renowned works—classic and modern—originally produced on the stage. It was called the American Film Theatre. (A review of a DVD box set of the entire series appeared on Cinema Retro. Click here to read.)

The concept tried something different. The directive was to take a great stage play, not change a word, and in most cases, use the actual play script as the screenplay. The next step was to hire an accomplished film director to interpret the text for the film medium but stay faithful to the play. Sometimes the director was the same person who helmed the original stage production. A further step was to persuade the original casts from the Broadway or London productions of those plays to star in the film; or, when that wasn’t possible, to cast big-name Hollywood or British actors. Thus, the result was indeed a filmed play—but you as an audience member wouldn’t be watching it from the middle of the orchestra or from the side or from the first balcony; instead you were up close and personal in a realistically-presented world (on studio sets and/or real interior or exterior locations)—just like in “regular” movies. You had the best seat in the house, so to speak, but there’s no proscenium arch. It’s a movie. But it’s a play.

Kino Lorber has slowly been re-releasing the titles from the American Film Theatre in individual packages, upgraded to high definition Blu-ray. Two recent titles to receive the treatment are a couple of the best ones in the series, both featuring the brilliant actor, Sir Alan Bates—Butley, which originally appeared in the first season of the AFT, and In Celebration, which debuted in the second season.

Simon Gray’s Butley is a tour-de-force for Bates, and it’s the role he was born to play. The film also stars Jessica Tandy, Richard O’Callaghan, Michael Byrne, and Susan Engel. Ben Butley is an alcoholic, razor-witted schoolteacher who is left by his wife and his male lover on the same day. If there was ever any doubt that Bates was one of the greatest actors of the 20^th Century, then Butley is the film to see. The actor dominates the production in every frame. Even though he plays a despicable cad, his charisma and exuberance are infectious. If the film had been allowed to compete at that year’s Oscars, Bates surely would have been a contender. Harold Pinter made his directorial debut with the picture and it exhibits confidence and style. Simply put, Butley was one of the best films of 1974, in or outside of the AFT.

David Storey’s In Celebration, released in 1975, also stars Alan Bates, along with Brian Cox, James Bolam, Bill Owen, and Constance Chapman. It’s the story of a dysfunctional British family as three grown sons return home to Yorkshire to celebrate their parents’ 40^th wedding anniversary. Of course, there are long-squelched secrets that need to bubble to the surface, so what starts out as an uneasy reunion turns ugly. Bates is again superb as the eldest (and trouble making) son, but it is Cox who is strikingly charismatic as the silent, youngest son on the verge of a breakdown. And then there’s the unseen, ever-present specter of the son who died at age seven. The film imported the cast directly from the original Royal Court Theatre production, and it is compelling and poignant. Director Lindsay Anderson handles the material with sensitivity and truth.

Both titles are presented in 1920x1080p restored transfers and look decidedly better than the previous DVD versions. There are optional English SDH subtitles. The supplements are duplicated on both disks: a long, engaging interview with Alan Bates from circa 2002 in which he talks about all of his work with the AFT; an interview with Edie Landau, who with her husband Ely produced the films in the series; a short promotional piece featuring Ely that was shown in theaters during the initial run; and several trailers for other AFT titles. An extra supplement, an interview with writer David Storey, appears on the In Celebration disk.

The titles are sold separately and are a must for theatre-lovers and connoisseurs of superb acting. We at Cinema Retro look forward to the appearance of more AFT titles on Blu-ray.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER "BUTLEY" FROM AMAZON

CLICK HERE TO ORDER "IN CELEBRATION" FROM AMAZON