The Comedians

When I bought "The Comedians" in DVD, I had never heard before of that movie, although I am a fan of the cinema of the specific era. Moreover, it surprised me I didn't know anything about a film with such an excellent cast: it isn't easy to find Burton, Taylor, Guinness, Ustinov, Gish and Ford in the same movie. And there was something else: it was based on a novel and written for the screen by an author whose work I admire: Graham Greene. Therefore, I was curious to find out why a movie with so many virtues flopped and was so soon forgotten. After watching it, I understood: "The Comedians" is a movie that was made for the general audience, a film that should be fun, fast and easy to digest, a typical Hollywood epic. However, it contains none of the classic ingredients: a) it isn't fun, it is a serious political drama, with a deeply British, cynical and black humour, b) it is not melodramatic enough and the love story between Burton and Taylor evolves quite unorthodoxically, without any clichés, c) it isn't fast at all, it's almost three hours without impressive action scenes and much - quite sophisticated - dialogue, d) it isn't easy to digest, it is a sad and bitter movie with an ambiguous ending. These are the reasons why "The Comedians" flopped, but they are also the reasons that make the film exceptionally interesting. Set in Tahiti during the dictatorship of Francois Duvalier ("Papa Doc"), an ideal location for Graham Greene's stories, it demonstrates the cruelty of the regime, through the story of 6 Westerners and some locals in the background. It is a big, flawless production providing food for thought accompanied by excellent cinematography, professional directing and a slow, but strong and memorable scenario. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the brutal dictatorship is exceptional, the actors give magnificent performances and it is also one of the few films that end without an answer, without a typical happy or tragic ending. I recommend it to viewers that enjoy films that provide more than a pleasant evening.

Based on the novel by Graham Greene, The Comedians is a look at Haiti that nearly 40 years later remains the same - political unrest, poverty, corruption, and brutality.

Set during the time of Papa Doc, the story centers on Richard Burton as the white owner of a hotel left to him by his mother. He is in love with the wife (Elizabeth Taylor) of an ambassador (Peter Ustinov) and has managed to remain apolitical. However, events force him to enter the fray.

The Comedians holds one's interest, although it's on the long side. The cast is remarkable: Burton, Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Taylor, James Earl Jones, Lillian Gish, Georg Stanford Brown, Roscoe Lee Brown, and, in a small role, Cicely Tyson.

Taylor is very beautiful, although her accent is all over the place. She sounds French in the beginning, then English, then like Elizabeth Taylor, and then in the middle of the movie, we find out she's German.

Though Burton went the schlock for cash route in his career, he was a wonderful, handsome actor with a remarkable voice. Towards the end of the film, he has a scene with Guinness that is well worth the wait - two great actors in a subdued and remarkable scene.

The Haitian scenery belies what lies underneath. It's a film that is perhaps more timely today than it was in 1967.

Peter Glenville's "The Comedians" is a very difficult film for the average viewer. Based on a Graham Greene novel, it's about the political atmosphere in Haiti while under French rule. It was a box office flop in 1967 and is pretty much forgotten today.

That's sad, because this is an important film. Since the departure of Duvalier, the film has the added historical value it didn't have in 1967. It is another entry in the canon of Taylor-Burton collaborations. It also may be the only film in which Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton all appear in together. Plus, how can you trash a film that flaunts its' Haiti exteriors so joyfully?

The vast Panavision photography will be lost on TV screens, especially in the horrific pan and scan format. The best way to see this film is on a big screen and even that may be impossible these days. The title will confuse many (most will think it's about comedians in a comedy club), but it does have a hidden subtext: these people are "comedians" in a sense. They kid each other endlessly to avoid reality. In that context, "The Comedians" succeeds. It could benefit from some trimming, but that's a small complaint. I can't think of anyone else who would even attempt to make such a challenging film in such a chaotic climate.

***1/2 out of 4 stars

The Comedians one of the many films that starred that legendary screen team of the 60s, husband and wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor is set in that troubled stepchild of the western hemisphere Haiti. At the time Haiti was mired in the worst poverty on this side of the globe with the overwhelmingly brutal dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier. Duvalier and his family are gone now, but the brutality and poverty remain.

The title from the original Graham Greene novel refers to the various white people here who are very different, but who handle what they see in Haiti by making a lot of bad jokes. Whatever else this is, The Comedians is not a comedy.

Burton and Taylor play the owner of a hotel in Port-Au-Prince and she is the wife of an ambassador from some foreign country unnamed. They're having an affair, she's married to Peter Ustinov. Paul Ford and Lillian Gish are a husband and wife and he once ran for president on the Vegetarian Party ticket. He wants to start a business, a vegetarian resort of sorts. These two are totally clueless, but so are the Haitians they deal with, they actually treat Ford like a big deal.

Alec Guinness plays a part similar to the part David Niven had in Separate Tables, he's an arms dealer who's been dealing with someone now out of favor with the regime. But while at first he's clapped in prison Guinness makes a deal with another faction who think he's a big deal with his heralded background of being a war hero in the Burmese campaign in World War II. If you've seen Separate Tables than you can equate Guinness with Niven.

These name players however take a back seat to some of the black performers in The Comedians. Roscoe Lee Browne, Cicely Tyson, Gloria Foster, Georg Stanford Brown all are different types of Haitians from different levels of society there. But the guy to really watch is Raymond St. Jacques. As a captain in Duvalier's police he is one truly malevolent being. St. Jacques steals all the scenes he's in.

Of course Papa Doc didn't allow The Comedians to be shot in Haiti, but the country of Dahomey one of the new African Republics served well as a place with a poverty level similar to Papa Doc's little satrapy. The Comedians which was not a big hit at the time is maybe more relevant today as we can see things there without the filter of the Cold War between two superpowers.

Liz and Dick did a good one here, one for the ages.

This had all the making of a first rate political drama. There is an acclaimed novelist whose novel this was adapted from, an exciting premise (British expatriates in Haiti, brutally ruled by the brutal and eccentric "Papa Doc" Duvliar's, get caught up in political oppression and rebellion), an star-studded ensemble cast, and exotic locations. So why does it fall so flat? Part of the problem is that it the film is overlong, lasting for around two and a half hours. The result is a story which moves very slowly with a lot of excess chat. Also, there is too much emphasis on the dreary soap opera love triangle of the three main characters (Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and Peter Ustinov). The Burton character, a cynical hotel owner of British decent, is obviously copied on the Humphrey Bogard character in "Cassablanca." The film also fails to take advantage of the official oppression and corruption which is the cause of the country's problems. There is little sense of danger until the last half hour, and even then the action is sporadic. There is also a failure to take advantage of the locations. The film was shot in Benin, an African country which isn't a convincing substitute for Haiti, though there was obviously no way this could have been shot in Haiti itself. But the photography is pretty ordinary. There are a few good scenes, including a voodoo ceremony and a shootout in a cemetery. Also, some supporting characters are actually rather interesting, helped by fine performances by James Earl Jones as a surgeon who supports the rebels and Raymond St. Jacques as a sinister police commander who tortures and murders people as casually as most people would order a take-out lunch. Unfortunately, but most of the film is a case of missed opportunities. It's passable, but overlong and never worthy of the talent that went into it.