Vanya on 42nd Street
Drama
-
1994
Available on
Country
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Director:
Cast:
Similar
Details
Runtime:
120 min
Release date:
19 Oct 1994
Country:
US, GB
Languages:
English
Budget:
$0
Revenue:
$1,746,050
Awards:
3 wins & 13 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
It's amazing it has taken Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory, and director Louis Malle more than 10 years to collaborate again. It was worth the wait, though.
– Owen Gleiberman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Jul 2010
rotten:
The performances are precise, the language is alive and well spoken and the setting is striking, but Vanya on 42nd Street still suffers rather heavily from the limitations of filmed theater.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
12 Aug 2008
fresh:
Malle adeptly eases us into the play so we can't tell at what precise moment Chekhov takes over, an ambiguity that becomes the film's triumph as well as its key limitation.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
12 Aug 2008
fresh:
The elegant understatement of this production turns it into a livelier experiment, a fluent, gripping version of one of Chekhov's more elusive plays.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
This live-wire Vanya, freshly observed for the '90s, is fiercely funny, touching and vital.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
12 May 2001