The Transition Between Film and Theater: War Horse

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In this essay I will explore the different effects film and theatre has on an audience and if the transition from theatre to film, which tends to be thought of as “deadening”, can be truly successful. To do this I will be using the production of War Horse as a vehicle, and I shall be investigating and exploring the different points of view of critiques and journalists and by using my own personal experience as well.

To begin with, to be able to compare whether a story can be successful in both mediums one must know the difference between them. Ultimately, both art forms are carried out to entertain an audience. Film, a fairly recent art form that started in the early 20th century, is an innovative and quiet young medium. However theatre is considered to be a fine art and it involves the live performance of characters. Theatre has existed for years and began during ancient religious ceremonies in Greece many centuries ago. Even though both mediums share some similar aspects, the performance of the actors, the directing, and the producing and setting of both mediums are completely different and I will be discussing those aspects in more detail.

Theatre can sometimes be thought to be out-dated and out-stripped by the technological capabilities of film, others believe that film is too often a sell-out and the use of special effects have become so frequent and easy to create, that film is more of a commercial medium rather than an art form.

Michael Billington, a famous film and theatre critic, claimed that “theatre allowes its audiences to enjoy the pleasures of language, which is an endless verbal pleasure” whereas he described the lanuage of film as “banal”and unoriginal. He also believes that theatre is more responsive to the ti...

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... big due to the extensive budget he had for the making of the movie, but was in innovative? Or was it just your mainstream Hollywood war scene? I surely wasn’t surprised when I watched it. I found it boring and I felt like I dragged on.
Since its first performance at the National Theatre in 2007, “War Horse” has beck me an international phenomenon, seen by over 4 million people worldwide and receiving numerous awards, including two Olivier Awards in London, five Tony Awards in New York and three Dora Awards in Toronto. “War Horse” is currently in its sixth year in London and is on a major tour of North America, which continues through 2014. The show is also on a UK/Ireland tour and a German language production is playing in Berlin. But does anyone still talk about the movie? Meanwhile, the theatre performance is still going on, becoming more successful by the day.

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