Great Performances (TV Series) The Seagull (1975) User Reviews

Still the most memorable Nina I've seen

[lqualls-dchin · 9/10 · 10 April 2001]

Though it's been decades since I saw this TV production (on PBS), it stays in my mind because Blythe Danner's performance remains still the most memorable Nina I've seen (and that includes Vanessa Redgrave's performance in the film version directed by Sidney Lumet). Her poignant vivacity and despair were so sharply etched, and her devastation at the end was so piercing, I think it is one of the greatest performances I've seen, though I also remember Lee Grant's imperiousness as Arkadina (very much like her performances in THE LANDLORD and SHAMPOO). I wish that this version could be made available (rebroadcast on TV, perhaps on Bravo, or available on tape) so that I can see if my memory is correct.

(July 2014) A DVD of this production has been available through the Broadway Theatre Archive series for a while now; finally saw it and was surprised at how much i remembered of this production. It's especially fascinating to see many performers who would go onto different roles, such as Marian Mercer as Masha, the girl "in mourning for my life", she would go on to many roles in TV comedies. Or David Clennon, who would gain recognition for playing the snarky boss on THIRTYSOMETHING, here he's the schoolteacher who is hopelessly in love with Masha. But the cast is quite wonderful, and there are so many moments of great emotion, such as the moment when Sonia (played by Olympia Dukakis) grabs the hand of the doctor (played by Louis Zorich) and kisses it as a declaration of her devotion. And yes, Blythe Danner gives a superlative performance as Nina, and it remains one of the great performances in the American theater, and it's a real blessing that it has been preserved.

Sublime Performances

[lavatch · 9/10 · 25 November 2018]

In 1975, Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull," his first true masterpiece of realism in the theater, was brought to the small screen from the Williamstown Theatre Festival production. The adaptation to television was creative in that three of the four acts were filmed outdoors, as opposed to a studio. This choice helped to open up the play and support the detailed naturalism of Chekhov.

The ensemble cast was terrific with Lee Grant (Madame Arkadina), Frank Langella (Konstantin), Olympia Dukakis (Pauline), Kevin McCarthy (Trigorin), Marian Mercer (Masha), and the entire company. But the truly unforgettable performance is that of Blythe Danner in the role of Nina.

In the play, Nina is the aspiring actress who is the metaphorical seagull--an image that is coined by the hack writer Boris Trigorin. Obsessed by Nina, the young writer Konstantin wantonly kills a seagull, and Trigorin begins to associate the bird with Nina. Two years later, Trigorin has completely forgotten that he had scribbled some notes for a short story and asked to have the dead bird stuffed. In that period, Trigorin had a brief affair with Nina. She became pregnant and later lost the baby.

In the play's final scene, Nina is struggling to cope with her despair at the failed relationship, the loss of a child, and her lack of success as an actress. In her troubled state, she momentarily believes that she is a seagull. This is a nearly impossible scene to play, but Danner deftly handles the psychological complexity and delivers a thoroughly convincing performance.

Everything was superb about this production, which remained especially faithful to Chekhov's text and the fine translation by Stark Young. There was a careful balance achieved between Chekhov's ironic moments and the anxiety that consumes the lives of his characters. Chekhov's stage director Konstantin Stanislavsky believed that Chekhov was writing tragedies. Chekhov himself believed that they were comedies. The best productions somehow capture the tragedy and comedy implicit in human experience. This television adaptation was one of those rare productions that discovered a stylistic harmony. And it also discovered the luminous performance of Blythe Danner.

It was difficult to locate this out-of-print film. But if you find it, it is like uncovering a genuine buried treasure.

I have rediscovered the brilliance of Chekhov

[Sylviastel · 10/10 · 14 October 2002]

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.

A play within a play

[Bernie4444 · 10/10 · 9 October 2023]

I thought this was going to be some sort of artsy animal that you had to study and have a background in literature to extrapolate anything from the play. Well, I was wrong. The only extraction is getting used to the characters at first because they are played by famous actors, for example, Frank Langella plays Konstantin Treplev, an idealistic young playwright and Blythe Danner plays Nina a young girl whose head will be turned by the novelist Trigorin played by Kevin McCarthy.

Soon you settle down and realize that this film has something to say about people and life and getting along with each other. It does not need to be interpreted and you find that even though the location is in a different place and time (Russia 1896), the people are the same people that you already know. The play moves a tad fast so you will need to re-watch it for all the nuances.

Effective but Underwhelming

[fritzfassbender · 6/10 · 28 February 2009]

I have never read Chekov's original play, but I was quickly carried away by the depth and provocative language of this story; it's the kind of play that makes you fall in love with words and the power they can have.

The story itself is very simplistic, with most of the really important moments actually happening off camera. Because of that, this can't really be recommended for everyone; uninterested viewers will probably find little to cling to.

This interpretation is weakened by the broad ranges in performances. Blythe Danner was certainly the highlight; her breakdown scene toward the end is emotionally draining just to watch, it must have been torment to experience. Lee Grant is also captivating as a past-her-prime stage actress.

The men, however, are not as effective. Frank Langella is at his best when playing powerful characters, so as the tortured playwright Konstantin he sometimes comes across as hammy and too self-pitying to feel real empathy with. Kevin McCarthy is effective, but at 60, seems too old for the role of Trigorin. His romantic scenes with the much-younger Danner are uncomfortable to watch, but perhaps that was the intention.

This version will pacify fans of the play, but is unlikely to convert any new ones.