A Delicate Balance
by Tony Richardson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Joseph Cotten, Kate Reid, Katharine Hepburn, Lee Remick, Paul ScofieldDirector: Tony Richardson
Brand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-07-22
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Model: 2862
Studio: Kino Video
Product features:
- DELICATE BALANCE, A (DVD MOVIE)
Movie Reviews of A Delicate Balance
Movie Review: Outstanding, Intelligent and Challenging
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this film in 1973 and loved it so much that I ran out and purchased the soundtrack - yes, there was a soundtrack released. It came in a three-record boxed set, and it included every single word of the screenplay. I then bought a copy of the play (which was slightly different from the screenplay) and read it and listened to the record until I had memorized a good deal of the dialogue. You see, I love the English language, and there are few things more joyful to me than encountering a book, play or movie that uses language in clever ways. This is why I am a great fan of Broadway lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Screenwriter James Goldman (who wrote Lion in Winter), Simon Gray (who wrote Butley, and whose use of the language rivals Albee's here) and the plays of Edward Albee. Mr. Albee uses language in ways that few others can. For some reason I don't understand, few people can seem to mention A Delicate Balance without referring to a certain play that Mr. Albee's also wrote, which was far more sensational and extremely successful. And that's a real pity, for this work stands quite well on its own.
Tobias and Agnes are an upper-class couple nearing retirement in their comfortable Connecticut home. Their best friends, Harry and Edna, arrive for a visit one evening, driven from their home by an unnamed terror. Albee's play clearly spells out what the terror is, without attaching a precise name to it - it's the fear of growing older in an uncertain world, rather like the main theme (which many people missed) in James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim's brilliant musical, Follies. Of course, Tobias and Agnes must take their dear friends in, thus threatening the "delicate balance" that holds the routine of their lives together. What follows is a careful dissection of the obligations of friendship, the meaning of loyalty, the responsibility of family and the appearance and practical application of "proper" etiquette. All in all, Mr. Albee takes on quite a bit. The actors are all up to the task, but above all is Kate Reid, who turns in one of the finest screen performances I have ever witnessed.
Kate Reid plays Claire, Agnes' alcoholic sister. Although labeled an alcoholic, especially by her sister, Claire doesn't seem to drink any more or less than the other characters in the piece, who are always mixing each other cocktails. And then there is their daughter, Julia, who is coming home from her fourth failed marriage. Harry and Edna have taken over Julia's room, and she doesn't like it at all.
Yes, the story moves very slowly, but I was glad that it did - it takes time and patience to absorb Albee's delicious wit, and even the very intelligent will find the language difficult to follow in parts. The film generally requires more than one viewing to ingest, but lovers of good drama will find their patience rewarded. I had the good fortune to also see the 1996 Broadway production with Rosemary Harris and Elaine Stritch as Agnes and Claire, respectively. That production did benefit from a slightly increased pace, but, on the whole, I find I still like to savor the drawn out lazy unwinding of this most articulate film.
Summary of A Delicate Balance
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