A Doll's House

This is a good Claire Bloom/Anthony Hopkins version from the classic play written by playwright Henrik Ibsen about an independient woman's quest for freedom in 19th-century Norway . Nora Helmernn (Claire Bloom) , years earlier , committed a forgery in order to save the life of her bossy husband, Torvald (Anthony Hopkins) . Now she is being blackmailed by Krogstad (Denholm Elliott) and lives in fear of her hubby finding out and the shame such a revelation would bring to his job . But when the truth comes out, Nora is shocked to learn where she really stands in her husband's esteem . As the subjugated 19th-century housewife breaks free to establish herself as an individual.

This is a typical filmed play , and rather stagy , it fills in scenes only referred to in Henrik Ibsen's text . Claire Bloom's performance is interesting in that her Nora displays a self-awareness of the role when she is confronting to her husband, which makes her final scene quite believable . However , Bloom's overall manner is too contemporary for a 19th Century wife. If Greta Garbo hadn't retired, her hoped-for version would have proved unassailable . Worth a look for Claire Bloom's acting , giving an awesome performance of a 19th century liberated woman , along with Anthony Hopkins as her authoritarian husband and similarly other actors also shine . All of them give thoughtful interpretations . Still , the words are there and the play is a strong statement about women's and all people's rights to be human beings. As the rest of the cast is very decent : Anthony Hopkins as Torvald Helmer , Sir Ralph Richardon as dying Dr. Rank, Denholm Elliott as the blackmailer , Anna Massey as Kristine Linde and veteran Edith Evans. Well based on the play by prestigious Scandinavian playwright Henrik Ibsen . In 1878 Ibsen moved from Norway to Rome where he lived for seven years. There he started writing the circle of his 11 last plays that made him classic; A Doll's House (1879), Ghosts (1881), An Enemy of the people (1882), The Wild Duck (1884), Rosmersholm (1886), The Lady from the Sea (1888), Hedda Gabler (1890), The Master Builder (1892), Little Ejolf (1894) John Gabriel Borkman (1896) and his last one When We Dead Awaken (1898).

Another version, and with Jane Fonda in the "Nora" role, was released a year later , a moderately successful cinematic adaptation, including gorgeous settings deep in the Scandanavian snow. A Doll's House (1974) by Joseph Losey with Jane Fonda as Nora , Edward Fox as Krogstad , Trevor Howard as dying Dr. Rank , Delphine Seyrig Kristine and David Warner. Filmmakers were correct in assuming moviegoers might not be interested in seeing this material twice. Although Fonda was a relatively good box office draw and magnificent actress; howevever, emerging some controversy regarding her interpretation , as this version misses the target, and was sent directly to US television.

A Doll's House (1973) , rating : 7/10 . Well-worth watching, and, This 'Doll's House' is just as interesting as any filmed play, and sits well thanks to Claire Bloom/Anthony Hopkins , alongside the Jane Fonda/Losey rendition.

I found a wonderful picture of me in the film as an extra, i played a little girl singing by the fire in the howling snow (which actually was a snow machine). I remember the day well at Elstree Film Studios, on the back lot, it was so cold I did wonder why we didn't naturally have snow....but hey I was a kid. My brother played a small boy singing as well, and under his hat were a few of his toy cars to keep him occupied between shots (as set ups can be boring). My father worked on the film hence how I became an extra, but remember everyone in the cast was sooo lovely. My father was in the industry for over 50 years, until he died in 2014.

Little did I know at the age of 12 that my future would be in Film & TV, behind the camera working with many different Production teams on many films around the world.

I wish I could post the picture of the set with my brother and I in it.

My personal memories, Dawn Heath (nee King)

"A Doll's House" is a very serious drama and is not a play to see when one wants to get the "warm and fuzzies." The plot is a fairly straight forward. Nora and Torvald are a seemingly happy couple who love each other dearly. Nora proves her love when she goes out on a limb to save Torvald's life without him knowing and she winds up in financial trouble. The past comes back to haunt her as the man who lent her money demands she save his job or her reputation will be ruined. Such a favor Nora tries to accomplish as she is desperate to keep her secret from Torvald. Nora has the law against her and she runs a high risk or ruining not only her reputation but also that of Torvald.

The set takes place for the most part within Nora and Torvald's house. This allows the viewer to get an intimate look at the intricacies of the house and what it might be like to live there. Not many props are used. The objects generally used consist of such things as food, letters, and clothing. The women were only ever seen wearing dresses with high collars and the men wore old fashioned jackets with vests.

The lighting was very dim, but this dimness allows for a special type of dramatic effect because characters could hide back in the shadows and be revealed in the dramatic spotlights when it was an important scene.The camera work was very good because it only took the most intimate of shots. The camera was always right in the middle of the action and sometimes it almost seemed as if the viewer was involved in the conflict themselves. Special effects did not really occur except with the dramatic use of lighting and some sound effects.

Music was not a large part of the play but given the setting was during Christmas there were a few Christmas sounding jingles.

Clair Bloom's work as Nora was heart-wrenching and drew sympathy from the viewer. Anthony Hopkins' work as Torvald was equally as riveting while his portrayal of the controlling husband makes the viewer feel he has wronged Nora. Denholm Elliott as Krogstad was as slippery and unlikeable a character as he was supposed to be and matched perfectly with Anna Massey as Mrs. Linde. The director, Patrick Garland, made a classic masterpiece.

Just as two competing films about Oscar Wilde came out in 1960, so in the spirit of the early seventies a rival version of Ibsen's play with Jane Fonda came out almost immediately after this.

Less cinematic and packing far less star power this is probably the more satisfactory of the two for preserving for posterity a performance of feline intensity by Claire Bloom at it's centre. The cast ironically includes Ralph Richardson who was also in the lesser of the two Wilde films.

A Doll's House In the play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen took place in the late 19th century a woman named Nora Helmer starts off the story buying Christmas presents for her family. But a year before this Nora committed a forgery on a loan in order to save the life of her husband. She was then blackmailed the man she took the loan from. He wanted her to convince her husband to allow him to keep his job. When Nora wasn't able to convince her husband, the man sent him a letter in the mail explaining how Nora owed him money that she borrowed from him a year before. Nora went a whole say trying to stop her husband from opening the letter, but when the truth comes out, Nora is shocked to learn where she really stands in her husband's esteem.

This play depicts how a woman in the 19th century was a controlled by her husband. Nora was treated just like every other woman during this time. Woman had little to no say with anything other than house work. They were forced to do whatever their husbands told them to do and they weren't allowed to handle money unless it was given to them by their husbands. This shows that the world back then was against woman being their own person and they were controlled and used as property more instead of treated like an equal human being.