Product Description

Studio: Kino International Release Date: 07/22/2003 Run time: 132 minutes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37776 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-22
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 133 minutes

Customer Reviews

Edward Albee's play on the terrifying angst of modern life
There was a period in her career when Katharine Hepburn seemed to be making a point of making movies of plays by some of the world's greatest dramatists. While she only performed Shakespeare on the stage, she filmed plays by Tennessee Williams ("Suddenly Last Summer"), Euripides ("Trojan Women"), and most notably Eugene O'Neill ("Long Day's Journey Into Night"), in which she gave her greatest dramatic performance. Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance" would be thrown into this mix as well, but all things considered this is a smaller play and a smaller film.

Albee won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1966 play "A Delicate Balance," and he does the screenplay here as well. There are those who see this particular play as a second-rate "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" which truthfully surprises me because I see little in common between the two plays. Albee's earliest and obviously greatest work was at its heart a dramatic rejoinder to Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," and a statement about the importance of fantasy when confronted with a harsh world. "A Delicate Balance" is about the angst of contemporary living, and while this might be a counterpoint of sorts to "Virginia Woolf" it is most definitely not rehashing the original argument.

Hepburn's name appears first in the credits and her character of Agnes opens and ends the play, but ultimately she is not one of the pivotal characters in the drama. The play begins with Agnes and Tobias (Paul Scofield), enjoying what passes for a quiet evening at home, which includes an encounter with her heavy-drinking sister Claire (Kate Reid). Whereas Agnes speaks to the long-suffering Tobias, Claire actually engages the man in conversation. The only thing the two sisters have in common is apparently the ability to bring out the worst in each other.

The play gets to the root of the matter when Harry (Joseph Cotten) and Edna (Betsy Blair), the best friends of Tobias and Agnes, arrive unexpectedly. Clearly upset, they finally explain that they were at home when suddenly they both became terrified. Fleeing their home they have come to stay with Agnes and Tobias (although it takes a while for everyone to understand Harry and Edna are moving in). The couple take up residence in the room of Julia (Lee Remick), who returns home after the failure of her fourth marriage to discover somebody else in her room, which forces Julia into her father's room and Tobias to move back with Agnes. However, Julia is very upset that "her" room has been given away and finally says what the audience has been thinking: How can her parents just let this couple move in?

There are explanations, haltingly provided by Harry and Edna. We might want everything to be explained by Claire with her forthright way of speaking or Agnes who belabors a point to death, but Albee is here to show and not merely to tell. There are very few moments, brief at best, that ever show the entire cast assembled. Director Tony Richardson knows he is limited to a few sets and these actors, and frames them accordingly, trying to provide visual reinforcement of the interpersonal dynamics.

The biting wit and memorable one-liners from "Virginia Woolf" are not here, but the characters are clearly in as much pain. The pivotal moment comes down to Scofield and Cotten, when Tobias finally speaks to the matter at hand, only to be told it is too late. The question then becomes whether or not the audience has gotten Albee's subtle point.

Hepburn's recent death may spark a small revival of interest in this film, although Albee's play remains overshadowed by both "Virginia Woolf" and his more recent success "Three Tall Women." However, it will be the performances of Scofield and particularly Reid that will demand the viewer's respect. Tobias is the lynch pin of these drama and Claire is the one that prods him into the final realization of what has to be said and what must be done.

Great Acting Indeed
The acting is phemonmenal in this play, and the play itself is one of Albee's best. It does suffer, however, from being a bit stagy as a film. A deeper (and perhaps insoluble) problem is that film (a very realistic medium) is not really suited for this work, which while being wonderfully written and deeply insightful is hardly realistic. I don't fault the director necessarily; it's more that this particular work is simply not nor never will be cinematic.

The extras are quite good; however, there's a bug on the Kino menus. When you try to access the Tom Stoppard interview or the other extras from the menu, the disc stops playing. In order to see them, you have to change title number via your remote.

The fear of getting old
What can I say? Katharine Hepburn on a bad day was better than most actresses on a good day. Other reviewers have indicated that this is not her best, but it is a solid performance.

This film is a special American Film Theater performance of Edward Albee's award winning play. The original stage play won a Pulitzer Prize. It has a cast of six, all of whom give good performances. Katharine Hepburn plays Agnes and Paul Scofield plays Tobias, an upper class New England couple planning a quiet Friday evening at home, or at least as quiet as it can be with the presence of Agnes's sister Claire (played by Kate Reid), a woman who drinks too much and speaks her mind.
It is a psychological drama about people getting old and dealing with their fears.

The evening is interrupted by the arrival of their best friends, Harry (played by Joseph Cotton)and his wife Edna (played by Betsy Blair). They were suddenly afraid to stay at home. They thought of their club, but came to visit Tobias and Agnes instead. They end up staying the night and are given the room of Julia, the daughter of Tobias and Agnes, who is living with her latest husband.

The next day Julia (played by Lee Remick) arrives home, leaving her latest husband behind and seeking the security of her own room. She is disturbed to find that Harry and Edna are occupying her room. She is given Tobias' room, and he has to sleep in Agnes' room, something he apparently has not done in quite a while. When it appears that Harry and Edna might be leaving, it turns out that they are only going home briefly to get their luggage. This leads to Julia having hysterics and threatening Harry and Edna, wanting them to leave so she can have the security of her own room.

The play's final act is on Sunday morning, with final discussions among the cast, but mainly between Tobias and Harry. It is a question of friendship and obligations to friends, and realizing when you are imposing. It is hard to say who gives the best performance (it is an all-star cast), but I would personally opt for Paul Scofield, who can sometimes say a lot just by the look on his face.

Early in the play, Tobias talks about a cat that he once had. One day it no longer wanted to sit on his lap and it bit him. He hit the cat, and they no longer got along. He ended up taking it to the vet and having it put down. Perhaps that sets the stage for discussions about changes in peoples' lives. There are some discussions about fears of being put in institutions.