Taking Sides (play)
Encyclopedia
Taking Sides is a 1995 play by British
playwright
Ronald Harwood
, about the post-War U.S. denazification
investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler
on charges of having served the Nazi
regime. Harwood drew inter alia
on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his interrogation sessions. Although the investigation that is the focus of the play resulted in formal charges being brought against Furtwängler, he was eventually cleared by the tribunal. The original production starred Daniel Massey
and Michael Pennington
. Massey
won the Laurence Olivier Award for his role as Furtwangler. When the play transferred to Broadway
the following year Ed Harris
took over the role of the American Colonel, and Massey
repeated his award winning role.
In 2001 the play was adapted for a film of the same title
directed by Hungarian director István Szabó
,
starring Harvey Keitel
and Stellan Skarsgård
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Ronald Harwood
Ronald Harwood
Sir Ronald Harwood CBE is an author, playwright and screenwriter. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser and The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
, about the post-War U.S. denazification
Denazification
Denazification was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of the National Socialist ideology. It was carried out specifically by removing those involved from positions of influence and by disbanding or rendering...
investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
on charges of having served the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime. Harwood drew inter alia
Inter Alia
-Track listing:# Inter Alia# Outfox'd # Righteous Badass # The Altogether feat. Bix, Apt, UNIVERSE ARM and Cal# The Day-to-Daily# Trouble Brewing # The Prestidigitator# The Force...
on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his interrogation sessions. Although the investigation that is the focus of the play resulted in formal charges being brought against Furtwängler, he was eventually cleared by the tribunal. The original production starred Daniel Massey
Daniel Massey
Daniel Massey may refer to:*Daniel Massey , farm implement manufacturer*Daniel Massey the British Canadian actor...
and Michael Pennington
Michael Pennington
Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington is a British director and actor who, together with director Michael Bogdanov, founded the English Shakespeare Company...
. Massey
Massey
Massey may refer to:In places:* Massey, New Zealand, a suburb Auckland* Massey, Ontario, Canada* Massey Island, Nunavut, Canada* Massey, Maryland, United StatesPeople with the surname:* Massey In education:...
won the Laurence Olivier Award for his role as Furtwangler. When the play transferred to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
the following year Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
took over the role of the American Colonel, and Massey
Massey
Massey may refer to:In places:* Massey, New Zealand, a suburb Auckland* Massey, Ontario, Canada* Massey Island, Nunavut, Canada* Massey, Maryland, United StatesPeople with the surname:* Massey In education:...
repeated his award winning role.
In 2001 the play was adapted for a film of the same title
Taking Sides (film)
Taking Sides is a 2001 German-French-Austrian-British co-production starring Harvey Keitel and Stellan Skarsgård set during the period of denazification investigations conducted in post-war Germany after the Second World War...
directed by Hungarian director István Szabó
István Szabó
István Szabó is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.Szabó is the most internationally famous Hungarian filmmaker since the late 1960s. Working in the tradition of European, auteurist art cinema, he has made films that represent many of the psychological and political...
,
starring Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
and Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
.