Film Review

Film Review

Film title: The Party

Country/ Year: U.S.A. 1968

Genre: Comedy

Director: Blake Edwards Writing credits: Blake Edwards

Cast: Peter Sellers, Claude Longet, Marge Champion, Steve Franken, Fay Mc Kenzie, J. Edward Mc Kinley.

Plot/Synopsis

The English army walks along a canion where the enemy waits for them, when an Hindi soldier climbs up a hill and calls for charge, then he is shot to death but he does not fall at the first shoot, neither at the second, the third and so on and continues playing the horn and twisting in pain but not dying.

From this point you start laughing till the film ends.

A figurant actor who has been fired from a film shooting is invited by mistake to the party of a very important Hollywood film director. This party starts a quiet and boring reception where film stars are very trivial and talk about their empty lives and thanks to this strange element (Mr. Bakshi), the party turns out to be a hilarious series of gags emulating the best soundless cinema which ends up in a foam party.

Here, dialogues are secondary as movements and facial expressions take over the film. It is much said with gestures than with words. However, dialogues are a veery useful resource to lead to very funny situations and misunderstandings.

Costumes help to the development of the film, from the formality at the beginning of the party to the almost “pyjama” party at the end. The main character, Mr Bakshi, (Peter Sellers) acting as a Hindi actor is the guideline and cause of the many incidents and accidents occurring in the film.

In my views, this film is hilarious, a real demonstration that special effects are not needed to make a great film and imagination in late sixties was in good health, showing that we can laugh at Hollywood society which is not as good and glamorous as we may think.

This film has a wonderful soundtrack deviced by Henry Mancini which accompanies the funniest scenes of The Party (there is a band playing jazz all the party long).

This film can be liked by both men and women, however, each gender may like different aspects of the film, (the gags, the romantic scenes).

Summing up, this film is a valuable jewel of comedy worth watching several times and enjoying and discovering new details each time.

The language used is American English and Hindi English with a very strong accent, which causes several funny situation when both types are used.

Pilar Martínez Balaguer