Criticism
Many aspects of the plays' interpretations and performances have been critiqued by fans of Samuel Beckett, stating that not enough focus was placed on the words, and that many important aspects of the plays were lost because of it. Others have said that the plays were over-acted or over-directed, and that at times the cinematography was overdone. (The Checking the Gate documentary addresses some of the naysaying, allowing at least one knowledgeable critic to have his say.)
For instance, Waiting for Godot, Beckett's most popular and successful play, is highly dependent on the two main characters, Estragon and Vladimir, and their likeability. However, the humor of the characters' words was not as pronounced as some fans would have liked.
In general, though, reviews were more laudatory. Michael Dwyer, film correspondent of The Irish Times dubbed it "Commendably ambitious and remarkably successful, a truly unique collection".
Read more about this topic: Beckett On Film
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“A friend of mine spoke of books that are dedicated like this: “To my wife, by whose helpful criticism ...” and so on. He said the dedication should really read: “To my wife. If it had not been for her continual criticism and persistent nagging doubt as to my ability, this book would have appeared in Harper’s instead of The Hardware Age.””
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“It is from the womb of art that criticism was born.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)