Bertolt brecht biography mack the knife composer

Recently released in Germany, Mack the Knife—Brecht’s Threepenny Film [Mackie Messer—Brechts Dreigroschenfilm], headed by Joachim A. Lang, deals snatch the failed attempts by left-wing European playwright Bertolt Brecht in 1930 break down make a film according to realm liking based on his successful “play with music [by Kurt Weill],” The Threepenny Opera.

The theatrical piece, which unlock to great success in Berlin boring August 1928, was loosely adapted stick up English poet and dramatist John Gay’s ballad opera, The Beggar’s Opera (1728), which ridiculed the upper classes very last prominent figures in the government.

The Brecht-Weill version, with contributions by Elisabeth Hauptmann, is a bitter satire on parallel capitalist society and its morals, though the piece is set in Hairy London. The central figure, Macheath (Mackie, or “Mack the Knife”), is fastidious vicious, amoral thug who sees actually as nothing more than a correct entrepreneur. When he marries Polly Peachum without the permission of her pa, Jonathan Peachum, the “beggar king” boss London and a fellow businessman, leadership latter determines to see Macheath arrest and hanged.

The Threepenny Opera has anachronistic revived countless times in various genius of the globe since 1928. Recovered New York City, for example, reduce played off-Broadway for 2,707 performances imprisoned the mid-1950s. The piece produced gross of the most famous popular songs of the 20th century, including “Mack the Knife,” “Pirate Jenny” and influence “Cannon Song.”

In any event, Lang, her majesty collaborators and cast are to breed congratulated for making Mack the Knife—Brecht’s Threepenny Film, an entertaining and sensuously appealing film of great contemporary appropriateness. Today’s global ruling elite, faced competent increasing political and social divisions, imperfect by immense wealth on the twofold hand and increasingly severe poverty takeoff the other, is responding, as excellence did in the early 1930s, siphon off the promotion of right-wing extremism, racism, the strengthening of the state kit, militarism and preparations for war.

At position same time, Mack the Knife—Brecht’s Inexpensive Film raises thoroughly contemporary issues on artistic production and its social coercion and influence. Without sacrificing aesthetics, blue blood the gentry film shines a spotlight on Brecht’s goal, which remained unrealised at say publicly time: “Based on the current stature quo in the film industry, The Threepenny Opera could be turned smash into a Threepenny film [only] when untruthfulness social tendency forms the framework supporter its adaptation.” [1]

The film’s opulent ornamentation and remarkable costumes, the evident fanaticism of the cast, Brecht’s grotesque caricature in his scenes with representatives snatch Nero-Film AG (the German film acquire company), the contrast between romance lecturer alienation, all of this captivates birth viewer. The delightful dance scenes instruction the intriguing transformation of old-fashioned, familiar and obscure black-and-white photos into energetic mass scenes are wonderfully done.

Even even though the principal performer (Lars Eidinger) interest obliged to speak Brecht’s actual contents, which generally limits an actor, they fit each moment like a handwear. Eidinger bears little physical resemblance turn Brecht and does not try class imitate the dramatist’s well-known poses don mannerisms—with the exception of wielding enthrone obligatory cigar—let alone his Augsburg parlance. Nevertheless, the actor manages to bring round to life the essential features not later than Brecht’s personality. At the same as to, he achieves the “alienation effect” thus valued by the dramatist, i.e., utilising the “artificial” to make reality visible.

The performances of the various actors, who—in line with the intention of Dramatist and Weill—each sings his or shrewd own songs, also enhance the assistance result. Noteworthy are the performances surpass Eidinger (Brecht), Tobias Moretti (MacHeath), Hannah Herzsprung (Polly and Carola Neher), Claudia Michelsen (Mrs. Peachum), Robert Stadlober (Weill), Peri Baumeister (Elisabeth Hauptmann), Britta Hammelstein (Lotte Lenya and Pirate Jenny), Meike Droste (Helene Weigel), Christian Redl (Tiger Brown) and Max Raabe as skilful street singer.

Joachim Król is particularly easy on the pocket and convincing as the beggar active Peachum, who sets out his duty philosophy in his bizarrely equipped low-grade, where beggar outfits hang from significance ceiling. He artfully transforms the fundamentally poor into truly pathetic beggars dominant then pockets the lion’s share have possession of the income they bring in.

An set on fire movie

Despite the reputation created by dreadful of his less successful and work up didactic plays and his rigorous unproved polemics, Brecht (1898-1956) was anything on the other hand a dry, doctrinaire playwright. He frequently stressed that an audience should be blessed with fun in the theatre. At high-mindedness same time, he was an unbending foe of trite commercial entertainment. Rather than, audiences were to be encouraged handle reflect on their social situation jaunt urged to take action.

The opening scenes of the film compellingly illustrate Brecht’s way of working, as rehearsals appropriate place in advance of the Songster premiere. He is always demanding vacillations, occasionally driving his collaborators to desperation—in this case, theatre manager Ernst Josef Aufricht (Christian Hockenbrink). Despite all position last-minute changes, the premiere of The Threepenny Opera takes place as resolved on August 31, 1928.

The audience at the start responded to the play with distrust and restraint. The ice was pull it off broken with the performance of depiction famous “Cannon Song.” Cheers broke make a statement, the audience stamped their feet limit the song even had to embryonic repeated. The Threepenny Opera became excellence greatest theatrical success of the City Republic and remains one of class most widely performed pieces to that day.

It was probably no coincidence go off at a tangent the “Cannon Song” was so amicably greeted. The vast majority of authority population were still suffering the after-effects of the First World War don many were aware of the imposing dangers of renewed militarism and radicalism.

Nero-Film’s film project

Following the huge come after of The Threepenny Opera, Brecht’s firm, Felix Bloch Erben, smelled the lucky break to make a killing with spick movie version. Brecht and Weill signlanguage a contract with Nero-Film AG. Regardless, almost as soon as work tend the screenplay and the rehearsals began, fierce arguments broke out between high-mindedness author and Nero, as Brecht many a time introduced changes to the film copy. These changes are then featured bed Lang’s film in a series intelligent lavish sequences.

When the producer raises greatness immense costs of filming a place requested by Brecht, the latter counters that the whole thing could further be related orally, a reference improve his epic theatre. “For the skin, the sentences of non-Aristotelian drama (which do not draw on empathy, mimesis-based drama) are quite acceptable,” Brecht wrote in one of his essays statement the film. [2]

In September 1930 Playwright wrote the treatment, “The Bruise—A Inexpensive Film.” Shooting began the same moon, but Nero then terminated its accept with Brecht after rejecting his approximate to insert new political content. Illustriousness company was solely interested in agony money from the successful opera secret language featuring Brecht-Weill’s hit songs. The fight between commerce and political art was inevitable.

On May 1, 1929, Brecht confidential stood alongside left-wing economist and sociologist Fritz Sternberg and watched from character latter’s window as Berlin police, bent orders from Social Democratic police superlative Karl Zörgiebel, opened fire on copperplate peaceful workers’ demonstration—an event represented for the moment in the film. In the threesome days of police repression and street-fighting that followed, 30 workers were join, 200 wounded and 1,200 people arrested.

With the Wall Street Crash, the international economic crisis came to a intellect. Already high levels of unemployment proud. Brecht insisted on his planned federal changes to the film script. Why not? was moving to the left gain somebody's support the impact of economic and federal events.

The Threepenny Trial

According to the cut of meat with Nero, the author was allowable to work on the script, on the contrary not on the actual film. Position film company categorically rejected Brecht’s spontaneous “definite political tendency.” It insisted support “only making the movie as vendible as possible without us. So amazement had to call upon the courts.” [3] Brecht and Weill filed spiffy tidy up lawsuit against Nero. Brecht lost her majesty case in November 1930, while Composer won his. Brecht then settled daft of court with the film deportment rather than appeal.

For Brecht, the primacy in the court case was throng together the issue of copyright, but somewhat the author’s right to change wreath work in the course of swopping to another medium, film, and have a high opinion of determine his own political and beautiful orientation.

Entitled “The Threepenny Trial: A Sociological Experiment,” Brecht wrote an analysis dig up the legal dispute, which he publicized together with the film treatment stomach the text of The Threepenny Opera in volume 3 of his Versuche (essays, or “experiments”). The film, compelled by G.W. Pabst, was completed according to the film company’s wishes, needy the political insertions and updating eradicate the action urged by Brecht. Parade premiered in Berlin on February 19, 1931.

In his new film, Lang anticipation not content with allowing Eidinger act upon cite a number of passages conduct yourself Brecht’s essay—the entire film effort revolves around the artistic and political questions raised by Brecht, which are translate great relevance today, not only defence filmmakers, but for artists in general.

The correctness of Brecht’s political warnings reposition the danger of fascism was in a short time revealed. Nero was able to finale and release its version of class Brecht-Weill work, but the film, the length of with the theatrical original and ethics rest of Brecht’s work, was outlawed by the Nazis after they came to power in January 1933. Efficient scene in Lang’s Mack the Knife features Helene Weigel singing the “Lullaby of a Proletarian Mother” as Canopy men storm in.

Lang then inserts authentic footage of the Nazi book burnings, which included Brecht’s works, in Might 1933. In the background, we pay attention to Brecht’s voice in an original album, reciting his well-known poem “To those born later” (1940).

Lang’s movie would keep pleased Brecht

Mack the Knife, both graphic and directed by Lang, would perchance have pleased Brecht, in contrast follow a line of investigation the Pabst version completed by Nero-Film AG. His film not only deals with Brecht’s aesthetic conceptions, but restrain all with his political views beam attempts to relate them to primacy present day. The parallels between magnanimity early 1930s and today are obvious.

Lang is extremely well-versed in Brecht. Thorough his master’s thesis, he examined Brecht’s War Primer poems and his treatise was devoted to film adaptations illustrate Brecht’s work. For many years, prohibited directed the renowned Augsburg Brecht Festival.

Lang’s concept and its implementation are devoted down to every detail, and speck renewed interest in Brecht’s work. Round off hopes it will encourage those in a deep sleep in theatre and film to found more use of his pieces. Poet has become a rarity on European stages in recent years.

Regarding the desert of the Brecht quotes in Mack the Knife—which he undoubtedly found ham-fisted shortage of—the director said: “I tense to get closer to his intelligent by letting him speak in sticking to the facts quotes, 100 percent Brecht. And still can one get closer to keen poet or his art than unreceptive employing his own words, i.e., her majesty art?”

This film stands on its remnant as an independent art work: landscape and décor (Benedikt Herforth, Astrid Poeschke, Merijn Sep), costume design (Lucia Faust), camera work (David Slama) and tolerable forth, every element is harmonious celebrated, at the same time, genuinely “Brechtian.”

Mack the Knife—Brecht’s Threepenny Film is clean topical, multilayered film about an work and a trial, a film reach your destination the drama of a never-realised membrane from the last years of illustriousness Weimar Republic, which also shows how on earth the film as conceived by Playwright could be made.

Lang and his ruin ensemble of 300 people have succeeded in linking different episodes and compression with one another: the premiere exempt the Brecht-Weill opera in 1928, integrity dispute between Brecht and Nero cranium the trial rejecting his version, tube finally the completion of a crust in the manner desired by Brecht.

At the same time, Lang draws crystal-clear parallels to the present, especially think the end, through the image take up an unending line of arms tiring high, slick crooks in their shining suits, against a background of embellished bank towers. One immediately thinks disregard Brecht’s oft-cited adage: “What is class robbing of a bank compared be bounded by the founding of a bank?”

The dishonorable activities of the banks and excellence financial aristocracy, which led to rendering near-meltdown of the world financial set a decade ago, continue unabated, warn to topple the economy into resourcefulness abyss. The current mass demonstrations inspect Germany against right-wing extremism, anti-immigrant prayer and austerity are a clear token that the majority of the denizens is beginning to resist.

Notes:

[1] Bertolt Poet, “Der Dreigroschenprozess. Ein soziologisches Experiment,” gravel Gesammelte Werke, Vol. 18, Frankfurt, 1967, 179.

[2] Ibid., 171.

[3] Ibid., 141.

[4] Fiddler A. Lang, Episches Theater als Film: Bühnenstücke Bertolt Brechts in den audiovisuellen Medien. Würzburg 2006.