Buy The Threepenny Opera on DVD

The Threepenny Opera

DVD
Criterion 2-disc

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5-10 days

$35.99 (10% off)
List Price: ~~$39.99~~

When new special editions or price reductions are announced.

Synopsis

The sly melodies of composer Kurt Weill and the daring of dramatist Bertolt Brecht come together onscreen under the direction of German auteur G. W. Pabst (Pandora's Box) in this classic adaptation of the Weimar-era theatrical sensation. Set in the impoverished back alleys of Victorian London, The Threepenny Opera follows underworld antihero Mackie Messer (a.k.a. Mack the Knife) as he tries to woo Polly Peachum and elude the authorities. With its palpable evocation of corruption and dread, set to Weill's irresistible score, The Threepenny Opera remains a benchmark of early sound cinema. It is presented here in both its celebrated German and rare French versions.

(German & French with English subtitles.)

3 Reasons To buy this film

Contains two versions of the film, shot in different languages
Check out the insane amount of special features, spread across two DVDs
Released by Criterion, so you know everything is of the highest possible quality

Review

Pabst's wild and eerie adaptation of the Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill "beggar's opera" captures the play's marvelous milieu of 19th-century underworld and features the magical performances of Lenya as Jenny and Forster as the infamous Mack the Knife. (German with English subtitles)

Product Format Information

DVD : $35.99 (Criterion Collection 2-Disc Set)

Availability: Usually ships in
5-10 days
Close Caption: No
Region Code: 1
UPC: 715515025720
Catalog #: DV1191512

Studio : Criterion

Languages: French Dolby Digital 1.0 , German Dolby Digital 1.0 , English Subtitles
Aspect Ratio: 1.19
Features:
Digitally remastered: New, restored high-definition digital transfer (taken from a new film restoration element from the Bundesarchiv in Germany)
Audio commentary: scholars David Bathrick, author of The Dialectic and the Early Brecht, and Eric Rentschler, author of The Films of G. W. Pabst
Featurette: L'opera de quat'sous, Pabst's French-language version of The Threepenny Opera
Interview(s): video interview with film scholar Charles O'Brien on the differences between the English and French versions
Documentaries: New exclusive documentary on Threepenny's controversial journey from stage to screen to lawsuits
Photo gallery: Production sketches by art director Andre Andrejew
Photo gallery: Gallery of production photos by Hans Casparius