Customer Reviews

Playing for Time

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THIS IS A STUNNING MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE. IT COULD NOT BE MORE DIFFERENT THAN SCHINDLER'S LIST, AND I FOUND IT MUCH MORE INVOLVING AND CONFRONTING. VANESSA REDGRAVE IS ABSOLUTELY RIVETING IN THE ROLE OF FANIA FENELONG, WHO BECOMES PART OF A BIZARRE ORCHESTRA AT AUSCHWITZ, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER WOMEN. THIS ORCHESTRA IS OF COURSE AT THE MERCY OF THEIR CAPTORS, AND THEY ARE EXPECTED TO PLAY LIKE VIRTUOSOS (LUCKILY, MOST OF THEM ARE), DESPITING THE FACT THAT THAY ARE OFTEN HUNGRY AND SICK. THE WHOLE CAST IS AMAZING AND THERE ARE SEVERAL MOVING AND VERY HUMAN SCENES INVOLVING A FEW OF THE GERMAN CAPTOR'S, ESPECIALLY ONE WOMAN IN PARTICULAR. AS TIME GOES ON, DIVISIONS OCCUR BETWEEN THE (MOSTLY) JEWISH WOMEN MAKING UP THE ORCHESTRA, AND FANIA BECOMES EVERYONE'S MENTOR. (EVEN THOUGH SHE DOESN'T MEAN TO). THE WHOLE FILM IS DARKLY REALISTIC, COMPLETE WITH MOUTH-SORES, SHAVED HEADS, GRIMY FACES AND SUNKEN-LOOKING EYES. A HAUNTING, RIVETING YET (SOMEHOW) UPLIFTING FILM, IT IS STUNNINGLY SHOT, AND SEEMED SO REAL THAT I COULD ALMOST SMELL IT.

Very haunting.Has always stayed in my mind after seeing it over 10 yrs. ago. The horrible part is that actually happened! Who,s to say similar events could not happen again? God help us! Everyone should see this incredible,stirring and factual film.

THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PIECE THAT SHOULD NEVER BE LOST. PLEASE SOMEONE DIGITALLY REMASTER AND LET'S HAVE A DVD. THE SCRIPT AND THE PERFORMANCES ARE HAUNTING AND OFFER SO MUCH DEPTH TO A WORLD GONE MAD WITH THE PARADOX'S OF PERSECUTORS AND VICTIMS BECOMING CONFUSED AND DEADLY.

When this movie was shown originally on TV, it was also shown in my high school English class. For many students, it was their first significant exposure to the horrors of the Nazi and the realities of a concentration camp. I remember we were all mesmerized and horrified. To this day, that first showing of "Playing for Time" haunts me, and seeing it since a few times, it has not lost any impact. I can still recite some of the lines. It's probably the first great made-for-TV film every made. That this film is not on DVD is shameful; once it is, I'll definitely be one of the buyers.

Why, oh why hasn't this incredible movie been transferred to DVD? I don't want to spend $40 on VHS at a minimum and then it pops up on DVD! One of the most gripping Holocaust Movies ever made! Emotional and powerful from beginning to end. Few movies have the effect this one did on me.

This is a brilliant, award-winning film that has never been released on DVD and is rarely seen on TV anymore. I think it's a terrible shame that such a powerful work with amazing performances from the likes of Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Alexander (and virtually the entire cast) with a script written by the great Arthur Miller, is being allowed to languish in obscurity while lesser works are everywhere you look.

Like some of the other reviewers, I too saw this movie when it first aired in 1980. It has never left my consciousness these 28 years and some of the scenes are forever etched in my mind. Vanessa Redgrave is astonishing and quite simply does some of the best acting I've ever seen in this movie. But the entire cast, knowing the absolute gravity and importance of the story they are telling, all rise to the occasion. There is not a weak link among them. A riveting, haunting movie that needs to be shared with all generations (even the questionable person who got "bored" and started playing video games--doubtless the movie made this individual uncomfortable with its stark and unwavering reality).

Let's all find out who owns the rights to this movie now and PLEAD with them to release it on DVD!!

At the age of 16, I had the interesting experience of being an "extra" in this movie. My mother (now deceased) also was an extra, and it was a neat experience for us to share. I was a Pennsylvania farm girl, so this was exciting for me. I remember that during the filming it was VERY cold. We were in thin clothing for long periods of time and the running noses and uncomfortable looks that were written on the faces of the "prisoners" were not all pretend! Vanessa Redgrave was a class act. As a star, she had a trailer on site to go into to eat and be warm and cozy. Instead, she chose to eat box lunches with us in the unheated empty barracks buildings. I remember how when I met her, her eyes were red, she was truly prisoner camp thin, and her nose was running. But she greeted us, shook our hands and sat down to talk with us to eat the very same food that we did. I was impressed! Also, I discovered how long, intense and repetetive the days of a Hollywood star could be. It changed my opinion of the film industry forever. The prison camp scenes were filmed at Ft. Indiantown Gap in PA.

I have watched dozens of Holocaust-themed dramas over the years and am quite surprised that I've missed this superior quality production starring Vanessa Redgrave. Set during the Holocaust, Redgrave portrays sophisticated French cabaret singer Fania Fenelon who finds herself on a train to notorious Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Her talent for singing and playing the piano attracts the attention of the Nazis and she gets selected to play with the female Jewish orchestra at the camp, headed by Alma Rose (played superbly by Jane Alexander). The story focuses not so much on the horrors at the camp, but on the emotional and psychological toll on the inmates at the camp. Fania tries to maintain her dignity as a human being, despite witnessing the depravity around her. A young woman who latches onto Fania goes through a horrible transformation - from a sweet young woman to a needy leech to a wanton woman who would do anything (sleep with Jews, Poles, and Nazis) in order to stay alive. Fania is horrified by this transformation, but tries her best to advise her young friend, to no avail.

Then there's Alma, the strict conductor who demands excellence from her starving musicians. Fania and Alma frequently clash over their approach to the Nazis - Fania feels they should not work so hard to please the Nazis, but Alma feels that pleasing the Nazis is essential in order to stay alive. I like how this drama explores not just the difficulties experienced by the female Jewish inmates, but also other themes. The animosity between the Poles and Jews is well-explored, and we come to understand that some of this animosity is due more to a lack of understanding of the other's culture. The Nazis, even the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele (played by Max Wright, though rather unconvincingly I felt - somehow his portrayal failed in conveying the cold and calculated demeanor associated with Mengele), the doctor of death is portrayed as having some human feelings - when one of the women dies tragically, Mengele expresses his grief through a funeral unheard of for a Jew during those dark times. Not only does the deceased Jew get a coffin, but also Nazi honors (not that this makes any sense, but it is to show the respect and grief Mengele felt for a Jew). Even the notorious female warden Maria Mandel (Shirley Knight) is shown as harboring some compassion. Nothing is black and white here and the movie strikes a chord with the viewer because of this credible and balanced portrayal. The horror of the camp is not shown through the brutalization and extermination of the innocent, but through the emotional and psychological transformation that each character experiences. This is definitely a classic in the genre of Holocaust movies and is a must-watch for anyone interested in the period. The story is based on Fania Fenelon's true life experiences during the Holocaust which is available as a memoir:
Playing for Time

I read about this film in Vanessa Redgrave's fascinating biography (which I highly recommend). Her performance in this role is stunning, and as always with truly great art, the script, the directing, and the acting never get sentimental. This is a realistic look at the confusion, disorientation, and tough choices that take place when human beings find themselves in horrific situations outside of their control, yet despite these conditions, the film leaves us a glimmer of hope by showing that even in the worst times human beings can still retain their humanity.

It is a shame that this film is not on DVD. It should be watched, re-watched, and studied. The acting is brilliant, the script realistic and masterful, and the acting sublime.

I HAVE BEING LOOKING FOR THIS MOVIE FOR 26 YEARS. THIS MOVIE WAS ON TV AND I SIT AND WATCHED IT, IT GRABBED ME AND I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN IT, AND IT'S A TRUE STORY ABOUT A WOMAN WHO LIVED IN THE WORST PLACE ON EARTH AT THAT TIME. WHO WENT THROUGH THE DARKEST TIME IN HER LIFE JUST TRYING TO STAYING ALIVE WAS EVERYDAY ISSUE, BUT IT SHOWED ME THE WORST THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO EVERYBODY CAN AND WILL HAPPEN, BUT IT ALSO SHOWED ME TO HAVE THE GUTS TO FIGHT TO LIVE, AND IT IS A MOVIE TO LET YOU KNOW HISTORY HOW HATE GREW INTO A NATION OF PURE EVIL. BUT SHE LIVED AND TOLD THE WORLD WHAT HAD HAPPEN TO HER AND TO EVERYONE SHE KNEW BEFORE AND AFTER, I ADMIRE HER, AND HER LOVE OF MUSIC KEPT HER ALIVE TO SHARE IT TO US ALL, I WAS 15 YEARS OLD WHEN I SAW THIS MOVIE, AND IT HAD STAYED WITH ME TO THIS DAY.