The Pied Piper (1972)

Director:

Jacques Demy

Writers:

Jacques Demy (screenplay) and
Andrew Birkin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1972 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Come children of the universe, let Donovan take you away, far far away.

Plot Keywords:

Musician | Middle Ages | Rat | Pied Piper | Based On Fairy Tale

Cast

Donovan	...	The Piper
Donald Pleasence	...	The Baron
Diana Dors	...	Frau Poppendick
John Hurt	...	Franz
Jack Wild	...	Gavin
Michael Hordern	...	Melius, Alchemist
Cathryn Harrison	...	Lisa
Roger Hammond	...	Karl
Roy Kinnear	...	Burgermeister
Keith Buckley	...	Mattio, Gypsy Leader
Peter Vaughan	...	Bishop
Peter Eyre	...	Priest
Hamilton Dyce	...	Priest
Andre Van Gyseghem	...	Chancellor
John Falconer	...	Burger

Also Known As:

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Iceland:12 | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Lee International Studios, Wembley, London, England, UK

Company:

Sagittarius Productions Inc.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jacquot de Nantes (1991)

overlooked and interesting

Watching this recently, I remembered certain scenes from when I watched it as a child of about 7 or 8, some twenty-five years ago. That is testament to how effective some of The Pied Piper is. Indeed, in some ways it hardly qualifies as a "childrens' film" at all, as it starts with a picture of a heretic being burned at the stake and ends with the death of one of the main characters by the same means. Clearly Demy had Bergman's The Seventh Seal in mind for the general feel of the film, which stresses the irrationality and brutality of the times. However, the screenwriters and Demy add another ingredient - the political chicanery of the Church, the aristocracy and the merchant class, sometimes colluding together, at other times each promoting their own special interests. It's not difficult to read the film as a quasi-Marxist parable about feudal society, and the film-makers clearly intended something of the sort. If that makes it all sound very heavy, actually the film is fairly fast-moving and fun, especially because of the wonderfully comic grotesque playing of Donald Pleasance and Roy Kinnear. Fans of these actors should definitely seek this film out - Pleasance is as good as he was in "Death Line" (AKA "Raw Meat") made about the same time, and Kinnear is nearly as good as he was in "Juggernaut", another overlooked but very interesting British film of the early 70s. There is also a very good performance from Michael Hordern as the rationalist alchemist, one of his better and most substantial but unfortunately least known performances. Nostalgia fans can also take pleasure in remembering a time when Jack Wild, made famous by "Oliver", was considered a star. The Pied Piper deserves its mixed critical reputation. Demy does not here have the firm control over his material he had in earlier films. The main flaw is the total lack of characterisation of the Piper, and the terrible non-acting of the folk singer Donovan in that role. His musical interludes are just embarrassing and the worst thing about the film (for a similar ruining of a otherwise thoughtful historical film by a miscast singing star, see 1969's "Where's Jack?" with Tommy Steele). This is a pity as the socio-political stuff at the edges of the film, plus the costumes and scenery, are very good indeed. Overall, this is certainly worth a watch if it turns up on TV or you might, as I did, seek it out on a secondhand VHS cassette. It is not a major film but it's an endearing oddity, and certainly a must-see for Demy students or fans of Brtish film in the early 70s.