X
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Alive Mind Media
  • 1 h 35 m
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Alive Mind Media
  • 1 h 35 m
Theater of War

Summary In the summer of 2006, Meryl Streep took a time out from making movies, and she took on the role of a lifetime: the lead in Bertolt Brecht's classic anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children. And for the first time she allowed a camera crew to document her rehearsal process. Theater of War not only takes us back-stage with one of the...

Directed By: John W. Walter

  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Alive Mind Media
  • 1 h 35 m
  • 2008
  • Not Rated
  • Alive Mind Media
  • 1 h 35 m

Theater of War

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 10 Critic Reviews
68
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary In the summer of 2006, Meryl Streep took a time out from making movies, and she took on the role of a lifetime: the lead in Bertolt Brecht's classic anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children. And for the first time she allowed a camera crew to document her rehearsal process. Theater of War not only takes us back-stage with one of the...

Directed By: John W. Walter

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 10 Critic Reviews
68
80% Positive
8 Reviews
20% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 10 Critic Reviews
68
80% Positive
8 Reviews
20% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
Because this is also a document of an actress actually at work, much of the movie's pleasure comes from watching another brilliant performance take shape as Ms. Streep tries out different line readings, gestures and poses in her search for Mother Courage.
By Manohla Dargis FULL REVIEW
75
What is the value of art in times of strife? Should people be sitting in the theater or rioting in the streets? Walter's film reminds us that once there was a man whose work made no distinction between the two.
By Wesley Morris FULL REVIEW
70
Engrossing and timely, this crackles with ideas about art, politics, religion, and the terrible costs of war.
By Andrea Gronvall FULL REVIEW
70
What emerges from Walter's docu is not a sense of failure, but a recognition that the play's the thing, enriched by every flawed performance, perfection almost irrelevant to its cry of anguish.
By Ronnie Scheib FULL REVIEW
67
Though Theater Of War is informative--both about Brecht and about the effort it takes to mount a big New York production--Walter overreaches in trying to connect Brecht’s anti-war sentiment with contemporary protest movements, and doesn't do more than dabble with the themes of truth and representation in documentary filmmaking.
By Noel Murray FULL REVIEW
60
Passionate and ambitious, John Walter's chronicle of a Public Theater production is too scattered for broad appeal. But those who connect with his themes will find themselves quickly drawn in.
By Elizabeth Weitzman FULL REVIEW
50
Walter's doc can't decide whether it wants to be about Brecht, Streep, or Mother Courage herself.
FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company White Buffalo Entertainment
Release Date Dec 24, 2008
Duration 1 h 35 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
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Awards

Chlotrudis Awards
• 1 Nomination
Tribeca Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

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