''Mack the Knife'' is a 1989

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

written and directed by

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...

, a

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the 1928

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

/ Weill

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

''. The film stars

Raúl Juliá Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...

Captain Macheath Captain Macheath is a fictional character who appears both in John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), its sequel ''Polly'' (1777), and roughly 150 years later in Bertolt Brecht's ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1928). Origins Macheath made his first ...

(reprising his

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

-nominated role from

Richard Foreman Richard Foreman (born June 10, 1937 in New York City) is an American avant-garde playwright and the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater. Achievements and awards Foreman has written, directed and designed over fifty of his own plays, b ...

1974 revival of ''Opera''),

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...

as Mr. Peachum,

Julia Migenes Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1943) is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of New York (Manhattan) to parents of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. (Her stepfather was of Greek ...

Jenny Diver Jenny Diver, née Mary Young (c.1700 – 18 March 1741) was a notorious Irish pickpocket, one of the most famous of her day. Background and migration to England Born around 1700 in Ireland, Diver was the illegitimate daughter of an unknown fath ...

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...

as Mrs. Peachum, and

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

as the Street Singer. Brecht and Weill's score and ''

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

'' was adapted by Golan,

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Wo ...

, and

Dov Seltzer Dov (Dubi) Seltzer ( he, דב (דובי) זלצר; born 26 January 1932) is a Romanian-born Israeli composer and conductor. Biography Dov (Dubi) Seltzer began studying music at an early age. He studied theory and harmony with professors Alfred ...

Plot

In 19th century London, young Polly Peachum falls for the famous womanizing criminal

Macheath Captain Macheath is a fictional character who appears both in John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), its sequel ''Polly'' (1777), and roughly 150 years later in Bertolt Brecht's ''The Threepenny Opera'' (1928). Origins Macheath made his fir ...

and they decide to get married, but because of her family's disapproval, her father ("the king of thieves") has Macheath arrested.

Cast

as Mr. Peachum *

as Jenny Diver *

as The Street Singer *

as Mrs. Peachum *

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...

as "Tiger" Brown * Rachel Robertson as Polly Peachum *

Clive Revill Clive Revill is a New Zealand actor, best known for his performances in musical theatre and the London stage. A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has also starred in numerous films and television programmes, often in character parts. ...

as Matthew "Money Matthew" * Erin Donovan as Lucy Brown *

Louise Plowright Louise Plowright (1 June 1956 – 1 March 2016) was a British actress who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1 ...

as Dolly *

Elizabeth Seal Elizabeth Anne Seal (born 28 August 1933) is a British actress. In 1961, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in the title role of ''Irma La Douce''. Career Elizabeth Seal made her professional debut ...

as Molly * Chrissie Kendall as Betty *

Mark Northover Mark Northover (27 March 1950 – 6 June 2004) was a British actor with dwarfism, whose best-known screen character was Burglekutt in the 1988 film ''Willow''. Another memorable role was that of Alvy in '' Hardware''. Outside cinema, he made an ...

as Jimmy "Jewels"

Production

Juliá reprises the role of Macheath which won him a

nomination for a 1976 revival on Broadway. The film shows obvious signs of last minute editing, including several musical numbers that appear on the soundtrack album but are not in the final cut.

Home media

The film has never been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and as of April 2022,

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

has yet to announce any plans for a DVD or Blu-Ray release.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mack The Knife (Film) 1989 films 1980s crime comedy films 1989 romantic comedy films Films set in the 19th century Films set in London Films about criminals Dutch romantic comedy films English-language Dutch films Films directed by Menahem Golan Dutch crime comedy films Films based on musicals Films based on works by Bertolt Brecht Films shot in Budapest Dutch independent films 1980s musical comedy films 1989 independent films Films with screenplays by Menahem Golan 1980s English-language films