The Visit (1964 film)
| The Visit | |
|---|---|
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Bernhard Wicki |
| Produced by |
Darryl F. Zanuck Julien Derode Ingrid Bergman Anthony Quinn |
| Screenplay by |
Ben Barzman Maurice Valency (adaptation) |
| Based on |
The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt |
| Starring |
Ingrid Bergman Anthony Quinn Irina Demick Paolo Stoppa |
| Music by |
Richard Arnell Hans-Martin Majewski |
| Cinematography | Armando Nannuzzi |
| Edited by |
Samuel E. Beetley Françoise Diot |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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May 6, 1964 (France) October 4, 1964 (United States) |
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States France West Germany Italy |
| Language | English French |
| Box office | $1.1 million (US/ Canada) |
The Visit is a 1964 film co-production from France, Italy, Germany, and the United States, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Bernhard Wicki and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Julien Derode, with the film's stars, Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn, as co-producers.
The screenplay was by Ben Barzman, adapted by Maurice Valency from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1956 play Der Besuch der alten Dame (literally, The Visit of the Old Lady).
Bergman and Quinn head a cast that includes Irina Demick, Paolo Stoppa, Hans Christian Blech, Romolo Valli, Valentina Cortese, Claude Dauphin, and Eduardo Ciannelli.
Karla (Claire in the play) Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman), a fabulously wealthy woman, returns to a decaying village she had been forced to leave years earlier in disgrace. She had a child by Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn), who denied paternity. Her purpose in this "visit" is to make a deal with the inhabitants — in exchange for a vast sum of money, she wants Miller killed.
At first reluctant, they eventually accept the arrangement and Miller is condemned to death. At the last moment, Karla stops the execution and tells the citizens that they will have to live with the guilt of what they might have done for the rest of their lives.
Dürrenmatt stresses that The Visit is a tragicomedy. However, it is a study of the darker elements of human nature. The themes of the film, as with the play, are greed, revenge and corruption and the fact that money can buy anything, even justice. Power that comes from money can lead to hate and even murder and to the collapse of ordinary morality.
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