The Bacchae (film)
Encyclopedia
The Bacchae is an independent film
adaptation of Euripides
' classic play
, produced by Lorenda Starfelt
and John Morrissey
, and directed by Brad Mays
.
. Originally conceived on a larger scale than what eventually went into production, the film suffered tremendously from budget cuts and artistic differences, most particularly between the director and co-producer John Morrissey (American History X
).
- the god of wine - returns to Thebes, land of his birth as well as his mortal mother Semele's horrible and shameful death. Angered over his homeland's refusal to acknowledge his divine nature, the son of Zeus
intends to establish the worship which he insists is now his due. Having put a spell on all the local women, a great celebration of dance and wine takes place in the nearby Glens of Cithaeron, attended even by the former king Cadmus
and blind prophet Teiresias. When word of this outlandishness reaches Pentheus, the young and rational King of Thebes, he orders the immediate arrest of the blonde stranger responsible for the mayhem. Unaware that his strange prisoner is a god, Pentheus refuses to even consider the possibility that Bacchic worship has a place in the modern world. Unable to endure such an affront, the god Dionysus casts a spell over the young king and leads him into the mountains, where he is ultimately torn limb from limb by the ecstatic worshippers, whose number now includes Pentheus' own mother, Agave.
had been a surprise hit in Los Angeles, drawing large audiences and earning excellent reviews. It was ultimately nominated for three LA Weekly Theatre Awards, for Production Design, Original Musical Score, and Direction. Considered particularly noteworthy was the production's use of ample though non-exploitive full-frontal nudity, most particularly in scenes portraying ritualized pagan worship and, ultimately, the violent ritual killing of the character Pentheus, king of Thebes. A major contributing factor in the production's effectiveness was the movement scoring by choreographer Kim Weild
, a practitioner of the Suzuki method
of dance/movement. In the months which followed the production's closing, its creators began to ponder the feasibility of an independently-produced film version. Several of the stage production's cast were invited to re-create their roles for the film which, according to Eric Grode in an article written for the entertainment industry publication Playbill, was also to include British actors Brian Blessed
and Alan Bates
. Citing audience "fist fights" over theatre tickets for the stage production, Grode anticipated an exciting, hard-hitting contemporary film version, "as edgy as any Tarantino knock-off," promising "nudity, gore and rock music galore." Unfortunately, the notion of a contemporary film adaptation of a 2,500 year old play was eventually seen as impossibly risky, and much of the committed funding was ultimately withdrawn. A stripped-down version of the script was shot and edited, with decidedly uneven results. Director Mays and producer Starfelt decided to let the film go and, despite intense interest and numerous rumors to the contrary, have yet to seek distribution.
In 2009, director Brad Mays, along with Nobel Prize
winner Wole Soyinka
, stage director Richard Schechner
, and actor Alan Cumming
was invited to discuss Euripides' The Bacchae as part of a web series Invitation to World Literature, which officially launched on Annenberg Media
's educational website in September, 2010. The series, produced by Annie Wong for WGBH Boston, also began airing nationally on PBS in October, 2010. Clips from Mays' film were heavily used in the program.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
adaptation of Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' classic play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, produced by Lorenda Starfelt
Lorenda Starfelt
Lorenda Starfelt was an award-winning independent film producer, as well as a committed political activist and blogger who famously dug up president Barack Obama's in an August 1961 edition of The Honolulu Advertiser while researching her documentary on the 2008 presidential election...
and John Morrissey
John Morrissey
John Morrissey , also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish bare-knuckle boxer and a gang member in New York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman from New York, backed by Tammany Hall...
, and directed by Brad Mays
Brad Mays
Brad Mays is an independent filmmaker and stage director, living and working in Los Angeles, California.-Background and education:...
.
Production
The Bacchae was shot in the autumn of 2000, three years after director Brad Mays' highly successful, award-nominated theatrical production of Euripides' play at the Complex in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Originally conceived on a larger scale than what eventually went into production, the film suffered tremendously from budget cuts and artistic differences, most particularly between the director and co-producer John Morrissey (American History X
American History X
American History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. It was distributed by New Line Cinema....
).
Story
Having established his divinity in eastern lands, DionysusDionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
- the god of wine - returns to Thebes, land of his birth as well as his mortal mother Semele's horrible and shameful death. Angered over his homeland's refusal to acknowledge his divine nature, the son of Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
intends to establish the worship which he insists is now his due. Having put a spell on all the local women, a great celebration of dance and wine takes place in the nearby Glens of Cithaeron, attended even by the former king Cadmus
Cadmus
Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...
and blind prophet Teiresias. When word of this outlandishness reaches Pentheus, the young and rational King of Thebes, he orders the immediate arrest of the blonde stranger responsible for the mayhem. Unaware that his strange prisoner is a god, Pentheus refuses to even consider the possibility that Bacchic worship has a place in the modern world. Unable to endure such an affront, the god Dionysus casts a spell over the young king and leads him into the mountains, where he is ultimately torn limb from limb by the ecstatic worshippers, whose number now includes Pentheus' own mother, Agave.
Background
Director Brad Mays' 1997 stage production of The BacchaeThe Bacchae
The Bacchae is an ancient Greek tragedy by the Athenian playwright Euripides, during his final years in Macedon, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC as part of a tetralogy that also included Iphigeneia at Aulis, and which...
had been a surprise hit in Los Angeles, drawing large audiences and earning excellent reviews. It was ultimately nominated for three LA Weekly Theatre Awards, for Production Design, Original Musical Score, and Direction. Considered particularly noteworthy was the production's use of ample though non-exploitive full-frontal nudity, most particularly in scenes portraying ritualized pagan worship and, ultimately, the violent ritual killing of the character Pentheus, king of Thebes. A major contributing factor in the production's effectiveness was the movement scoring by choreographer Kim Weild
Kim Weild
Kim Weild is a Drama Desk Award nominated theatre director, choreographer, actor, writer and educator, living and working in New York.-Background:As an actor and dancer, Kim Weild has performed extensively in both Europe and the United States...
, a practitioner of the Suzuki method
Suzuki method
The Suzuki method is a method of teaching music that emerged in the mid-20th century.-Background:The Suzuki Method was conceived in the mid-20th century by Shin'ichi Suzuki, a Japanese violinist who desired to bring beauty to the lives of children in his country after the devastation of World War II...
of dance/movement. In the months which followed the production's closing, its creators began to ponder the feasibility of an independently-produced film version. Several of the stage production's cast were invited to re-create their roles for the film which, according to Eric Grode in an article written for the entertainment industry publication Playbill, was also to include British actors Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed is an English actor, known for his sonorous voice and "hearty, king-sized portrayals".-Early life:The son of William Blessed, a socialist miner, and Hilda Wall, Blessed was born in the town of Goldthorpe, West Riding of Yorkshire, England...
and Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
. Citing audience "fist fights" over theatre tickets for the stage production, Grode anticipated an exciting, hard-hitting contemporary film version, "as edgy as any Tarantino knock-off," promising "nudity, gore and rock music galore." Unfortunately, the notion of a contemporary film adaptation of a 2,500 year old play was eventually seen as impossibly risky, and much of the committed funding was ultimately withdrawn. A stripped-down version of the script was shot and edited, with decidedly uneven results. Director Mays and producer Starfelt decided to let the film go and, despite intense interest and numerous rumors to the contrary, have yet to seek distribution.
In 2009, director Brad Mays, along with Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...
, stage director Richard Schechner
Richard Schechner
Richard Schechner is Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University , editor of TDR: The Drama Review, and artistic director of East Coast Artists. His BA is from Cornell University , MA from the University of Iowa , and PhD from Tulane University...
, and actor Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
was invited to discuss Euripides' The Bacchae as part of a web series Invitation to World Literature, which officially launched on Annenberg Media
Annenberg Foundation
The Annenberg Foundation is a private foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations in the United States and around the world...
's educational website in September, 2010. The series, produced by Annie Wong for WGBH Boston, also began airing nationally on PBS in October, 2010. Clips from Mays' film were heavily used in the program.
Related articles and reviews
- Critic Neal Weaver discusses onstage nudity
- "Primal Time - Euripides Revisited" - Article by Steven Leigh Morris, LA Weekly, July 11–17, 1987
- "Daring Bacchae Delves Into Modern Psyche" - Phillip Brandes, Los Angeles Times, July 4, 1997
External links
- The Baccahe IMDB page
- Brad Mays IMDB page
- Brad Mays Official Website
- Video Clips from Brad Mays' independent film version of The Bacchae
- Still Photos & Full Video Stream from Brad Mays' 1997 stage production of The Bacchae
- Stratford Shakespeare Festival Background Book 2008 includes links for Brad Mays' production of Trojan Women