claia_bryja Review of Three Penny Opera

Three Penny Opera (1963)

lifeless, disappointing production of an excellent musical play

[6/10 · 10 January 2002]

I've seen several stagings of this musical play-- even acted in it once in college-- and I have enjoyed the liveliness of every staging. The movie, however, is quite dead. The characters are stilted and almost everything is presented in a dry and detached manner-- so detached that the viewer can't really appreciate the important ironies of the plot even while being hit over the head with them. I also felt that the camera work was very uninspired. This film is still worth seeing just because "Die Dreigroschenoper" is an excellent play; but, if you have a choice, I'd recommend that you go see it performed as a play.