Betrayal (1983 film)
| Betrayal | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | David Jones |
| Produced by | Sam Spiegel |
| Written by | Harold Pinter |
| Starring |
Jeremy Irons Ben Kingsley Patricia Hodge |
| Cinematography | Mike Fash |
| Edited by | John Bloom |
| Distributed by |
20th Century Fox (United States) Virgin Group (United Kingdom) |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Betrayal is a 1983 film adaptation of Harold Pinter's 1978 play of the same name. With a semi-autobiographical screenplay by Pinter, the film was produced by Sam Spiegel and directed by David Jones. It was critically well received, praised notably by New York Times film critic Vincent Canby and by Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert. Distributed by 20th Century Fox International Classics (USA), it was first screened in movie theaters in New York in February 1983.
Betrayal follows significant moments in the seven-year extramarital affair of art gallery owner Emma (Patricia Hodge) with literary agent Jerry (Jeremy Irons), the best friend of her husband Robert (Ben Kingsley), a London publisher. With titles such as "Two years earlier" and "One year earlier," nine sequences are shown in reverse chronological order with Emma and Jerry meeting for the first time at the conclusion of the film.
Pinter based the drama on his seven-year (1962-69) clandestine affair with television presenter Joan Bakewell, who was married to producer-director Michael Bakewell. At the time, Pinter was married to actress Vivien Merchant.
The Seinfeld episode The Betrayal, telecast November 20, 1997 was inspired by this movie. Borrowing the film's structure, events in the episode occur backwards—with the end at the beginning and vice versa.
Pinter's screenplay was nominated for a 1983 Academy Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Gale 256, 415).
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