#762: DEMME, Jonathan: A Master Builder (2014)

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DEMME, Jonathan (United States)
A Master Builder [2014]
Spine #762
Blu-ray


Twenty years after their brilliant cinema-theater experiment Vanya on 42nd Street, Wallace Shawn and André Gregory reunited to produce another idiosyncratic film version of a classic play, this time Henrik Ibsen's Bygmester Solness (Master Builder Solness). Brought pristinely to the screen by Jonathan Demme, this compellingly abstract reimagining features Shawn (who also wrote the adaptation) as a visionary but tyrannical middle-aged architect haunted by figures from his past, most acutely an attractive, vivacious young woman (the breathtaking newcomer Lisa Joyce) who has appeared on his doorstep. Also featuring standout supporting performances by Julie Hagerty, Larry Pine, and Gregory, A Master Builder, like Vanya, is the result of many years of rehearsals, a living, breathing, constantly shifting work that unites theater, film, and dream.

127 minutes
Color
5.1 Surround
1:78:1/2:35:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2015
Director/Writers


Based on the play Master Builder Solness by Henrik Ibsen.
Translated by Wallace Shawn.
Created for the stage by André Gregory.
Screenplay by Shawn.
Jonathan Demme was 70 when he directed A Master Builder.

Other Demme films in the Collection:

#563: Something Wild (1986)
#13: The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by film critic Michael Sragow.

Commentary

None.

Interview

With director Demme, stage director-actor Gregory, and writer-actor Shawn, conducted by film critic David Edelstein.

Conversation

Between actors Hagerty and Joyce.

Program

Featuring Gregory, Shawn, and their friend the author Fran Lebowitz in conversation.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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