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The Balcony (1963)
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Overview
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Release Date:
14 August 1964 (Finland)
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Plot:
Shelley Winters is the madame of a house where customers play out their erotic fantasies, oblivious to a revolution which is sweeping the country...
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Lesbian Kiss
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Satire
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Brothel
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Lesbian
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Independent Film
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 1 nomination
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Surreal Power Play
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Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Shelley Winters | ... | Madame Irma | |
| Peter Falk | ... | Police Chief | |
| Lee Grant | ... | Carmen | |
| Peter Brocco | ... | Judge | |
| Joyce Jameson | ... | Penitent | |
| Jeff Corey | ... | Bishop | |
| Arnette Jens | ... | Horse | |
| Ruby Dee | ... | Thief | |
| Leonard Nimoy | ... | Roger | |
| Kent Smith | ... | General |
Additional Details
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Runtime:
84 min
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Soundtrack:
The Soldier's Tale
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Directed by Joseph Strick, this 1963 movie is a heady mix of philosophy and psychology. The dialogue comes from the French playwright Jean Genet, and rises well above the literary merits of all but a few American films. Beyond its cerebral wordiness - which could well seem unintelligible, but could just as easily be found rewarding for its challenges - this film offers distinctive and remarkable observations on all manner of things, from identity & authority to violence, sex, & the will to power. The movie is largely shot in dark, eerie interiors, and it looks and feels stagebound: this is not necessarily a flaw. The stark & claustrophobic black & white frames help keep a simmering tension amid even the (darkly) humorous passages. The unconvincing "special effects", such as they are, should not be taken out of context: the occasional shots of the outside world are deliberately dreamlike & unrealistic. Redolent of the postwar avant-garde theater of Beckett and Ionescu, this is a surreal vision, and it's one worth exploring. (Shelley Winters performs a career-high bravura as the Madame, and the score is by Stravinsky.)