Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #93195 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 129 minutes

Customer Reviews

An Exercise in Wit
Although his sexuality is not the main focus of the story, the character of Butley is unabashedly homosexual, and since this is primarily a humorous piece, I classify this movie as a gay comedy. But unlike 95% of other so-called gay comedies, this picture has class, bite, first-rate acting and a brilliant script. I was fortunate enough to see the late Alan Bates do the play on Broadway in 1973. The story is transferred to film exactly as it was done on stage, and benefits from the directorial debut of legendary playwright Harold Pinter. The script may be slightly dated to some, especially considering that it was made over 30 years ago, but a good film is timeless and this is no exception. The film's main attribute is the extremely intelligent, fast-paced and witty script by Simon Gray. There are reasons why the original production won Tony awards for Best Play and Best Actor in 1973. This is one of those rare comedies whose wit makes you think and work as you view it, but the result of your efforts will be enormously satisfying. Alan Bates is Ben Butley, a 30-something professor of literature at a prestigious but small London University, and Mr. Butley is not having a good day. He has not only learned that his ex-wife is about to marry "the most boring man in London", his male live-in lover (with whom he also shares his office) is about to leave him for another fellow. Butley is rude. He is vicious. He is a drunk, a liar and an egomaniac, and he spends most of his day dodging tutorial appointments with his long-suffering students, who usually wind up fleeing his office in tears. He has made a shambles of his personal life and everyone associated with it, and his venom is at full strength on this particular day when he learns that a seemingly untalented colleague has been published ahead of him. Jessica Tandy appears in a brilliant but brief supporting role. To quote from the DVD case: "Bates and an excellent supporting cast...joust with a sly, self-referencing wit and an unselfconscious exuberance that is breathtaking. With every verbal parry and valedictory flourish of wordplay, Butley's life becomes more of an inescapable bear-trap of thwarted ambition, clandestine affection and squandered brilliance". This movie is for people who like their comedy barbed and intellectually stimulating. Simply put, if you liked the Lion In Winter, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, or the Killing of Sister George, this film is for you.

Butley
Want to see what really great acting looks like? Here's your film. Gray's biting play is elevated by Bates's astonishing, virtually one-man show. Secondary characters are strong, but serve mainly as figures for Butley to lacerate. Butley's disillusionment isn't all that unusual; it's his unparalleled ability to channel it that amazes: as he sinks further into isolation, he singes as many people as possible. The paradox is, it's fun watching him self-immolate, since he is so damned clever.

Better on the stage...
I would have preferred to see this on stage. The performances are outstanding (especially by Alan Bates), and the dialogue is wonderful. But the film doesn't transcend its theater roots, and it makes for a very boring film. It isn't cinematic at all, and it's confined to one room for the entirety of the play. And it takes place in real time as well. Unfortunately, this happens quite often with plays are turned into films. But the play itself is still very good, and on that basis, I love it. Butley is having such a bad day, and a lot of it is his own fault, but you can't help but feel for this little pissant who's a drunk, a thief, a user of women and men, lazy, indifferent, callous, and everything. But Bates makes him deeply human, and the dialogue and performances are superb. Some have said the British accents are a bit thick, but I understood them pretty well. If you're looking for a good play, this is something you should rent. If you want a deeply cinematic experience, look elsewhere.