Great Performances: Season 3, Episode 7The Seagull (5 Jan. 1975)Director:John J. Desmond |
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Great Performances: Season 3, Episode 7The Seagull (5 Jan. 1975)Director:John J. Desmond |
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| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| David Clennon | ... | ||
| Blythe Danner | ... |
Nina
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| Olympia Dukakis | ... |
Pauline
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George Ede | ... | |
| Lee Grant | ... | ||
| Frank Langella | ... | ||
| Kevin McCarthy | ... | ||
| Marian Mercer | ... | ||
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William Swetland | ... |
Sorin
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| Louis Zorich | ... | ||
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Sheila Hickey |
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Tom Kaufman |
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Steve R. Lawson |
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Daniel Morris |
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Eileen Opatut |
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After having studied Chekhov in college classes, I never considered his work to be in the same league as Tennessee Williams or Eugene O'Neill. yes, he was a brilliant Russian playwright who wrote The Seagull. In this filmed play version, the material is fresh with great actors like Blythe Danner who could have been the next Meryl Street in the seventies. It is rather remarkable to see the similar features and compare Blythe Danner and her daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow. As Nina, she is truly the star of this drama. But it has a great cast including the husband-wife team of Louis Zorich and Olympia Dukakis and Frank Langella as a young man. It is wonderful to watch a character actors Kevin McCarthy and Lee Grant too as actors in an ensemble. This filmed version is on par and equal to our British counterparts. There have been many versions but I like this so far. And now, I'll have to reread my Chekhov and discover it's true masterpiece. I also think Marian Spencer gives a great supporting performance as Masha.