TV/film/ video/ DVD

Coriolanus

A DVD capturing Berkoff´s stage version of Shakespeare's Coriolanus.  Berkoff plays Coriolanus, a hero without the common touch.

Decadence 1994

Berkoff directs himself and Joan Collins is a film version of his own play. The directing is poor, with Berkoff unable to capture the dynamics of a film, as distinct from the filming of a play. The sharpness of the play and effectiveness of the same couple playing both roles are missing. This film probably removed any possible future work as a film director. In terms of acting Joan Collins is very good- it would be interesting to see her on stage handle other Berkoff roles- and Berkoff himself has some good moments, particularly in the restaurant scene. The first choice to play beside Berkoff was Linda Marlowe but the studio rejected her, and they also rejected Miranda Richardson and Helen Mirren (info from here).

East 1999

A live filming of the 25th anniversary revival at the Vaudeville Theatre, London in November 1999. Berkoff directs but does not act.  Matthew Cullum is Les, Christopher Middleton is Mike, Tanya Frank is Sylv, Jonathan Linsley is dad and Edward Bryant (a man) plays mum.  The play is a definitive performance, with the words and actions blending. The mime is always beautiful and at times spectacular. The sparse music, a piano played by Simon Sharp, is effective.  Recommended.

Greek, an opera 1988

An opera by Mark-Anthony Turnage based on Berkoff´s play Greek. As well as DVD the opera is available on CD.

The opera works well with the mixture of East London and Greek Mythology fitting under Turnage´s music. If you like modern classical music and opera (as I do) you will like this adaptation.

Turnage says: I just got stuck into cutting Berkoff's play and setting the lines almost as soon as I'd cut them. It was a strange way of working. Greek is a very wordy play, and the language is unbelievable - the opera libretto's tame by comparison. I had to match that language, that extraordinary combination of Shakespeare, colloquial English and cockney, and the sort of seaside humour that suddenly becomes incredibly lyrical.

Harry's Christmas 1982

In Free Association Steven Berkoff says "[Harry's Christmas] was commissioned to open the new Limehouse TV studios on the Isle of Dogs".  However because of its subject, suicide, it was never shown.

Silent Night from 1991 was another television adaptation, and this version was broadcast.

Metamorphosis 1986

Steven Berkoff plays the father in this TV version of his play. Tim Roth is Gregor, with Linda Marlowe as the mother.  Strangely this filming relegates the metal framework of the staging to the background (literally) so removing a lot of the physical acting and energy. The result is a poor stagebound production.  irected by Jim Goddard in 1986.

A site visitor says "Metamorphosis film was very badly acted; the actors were all very naturalistic and were not really very grotesque at all".

Salome 1992

Filmed for television in the Ginza Saison Theatre, Tokyo in 1992.  Directed by Berkoff who plays Herod. Salome is played by Myriam Cyr, Herodias by Carmen du Sautoy and Jokanaan (John the Baptist) by Mark Lewis.

Salome is performed in slow motion, characters wafting across stage, as every word is savoured.

In his poem On Salome in New York Berkoff finishes with "We enter the arena stage/ And spin our tale again of pain/ Decapitation, lust and death,/ In slow motion and stately pace/ I say my final line, my heart is high/ From 2000 hands it rained applause/ And bravos shattered the Brooklyn skies/ At last New York was Salom-ised" (Steven Berkoff, Poems for the Working Class, 2021). 

The video includes 10 minutes of Berkoff talking of the play "the language is like music and its very unusual to find a play which devotes itself to such intense poetic expression". Strangely Berkoff does not mention that the words are translations, Wilde having written the play in French. Berkoff also says "the play is about passion...conflict...people who love without restrictions".  Recommended.

Shakespeare's Villains 2002

Berkoff´s one man show on DVD, directed by Frank Howson (who worked with Berkoff on the film Flynn).  The films differs from the stage performance, omitting most of the Shakespeare performances and concentrating on the (superior) comments by Berkoff.

Silent Night

Silent Night, a television version of Harry's Christmas for British Channel 4, filmed in 1991.  Stage productions approach an hour, but this performance is pared down to 26 minutes.

Clara McNulty played Clara.  The director was Bob Baldwin, camera work was by Howard Badger and Deek Rose, and the editor was Stuart Briggs.

Berkoff with his alter-ego.

There is an in-joke "I'll take it easy today and just nod off in front of Beverly Hills Cop".

The pain of utter loneliness and despair.

One strange scene has giant pills floating round.

A fault of Harry's Christmas is the unremitting sadness leading to inevitable suicide.   Silent Night breaks this with some salvation.  Berkoff says this was the idea of director Bob Baldwin "his input was so valuable and insightful".

All images from the film, all quotes from the DVD extras.

The Tell Tale Heart 1991

Berkoff stars in the one-man performance of Poe's story.  A television production for British Channel 4 directed by Jon Felix.

The Tell-Tale Heart 2002

Berkoff´s solo performance of Poe's Tell-Tale Heart is available on video.  It was filmed at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town in November 2002.  It was shot for the video, with lots of close-ups and playing to the camera.   It also includes a short interview with Steven about the performance.

Tell Tale Heart, Steven Berkoff´s performance of Poe's short story.  Unlike the stage version this has Berkoff's character in court telling his story to the judge, rather than a monologue to the audience.  The film does miss the intensity of live performaces with Berkoff, and he does at time over-act here.

Berkoff says "The key thing about Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell Tale Heart is its absolute connection to human psychology, that's what makes it so really riveting and so fascinating and so easy to identify with... it examines the motivation of somebody who is unbalanced and feels some compelling need fulfill some kind of fantasy, some kind of compulsion".

"It felt better that I was able to do the piece telling the story to the examining magistrates who were watching me, and this enabled me to do it with a sense of joy, pride of confessingwhat he did".

The director was John Carlaw, the editor was Jonathan Cooke and photography was by Peter Middleton.  The title of the stage play The Tell-Tale Heart is the same as Poe and used Tell-Tale (with a hyphen), here the hyphen is replaced by a space and The is omitted.

All images from the film, all quotes from the DVD extras.

The Trial 2002

Kafka´s The Trial adapted and staged by Berkoff.

West 1983

A television production by Berkoff of the play for Channel 4. It was originally commissioned, then rejected, by the BBC.

Eat Dolink!, the first of two films directed by Berkoff in 2017.  Here Berkoff visits three restaurants, and reminisces about food, particularly Jewish food, his mother and father, Holywood and animal cruelty.  Berkoff often mentions his love of food, particularly Jewish food.

Like a discussion with someone in a restaurant where the discussion moves in and out of topics.

Canter's then and now.

Berkoff and his mother.

The importance of food to Jews living in harsh conditions, so whenever there was extra food it would be pickled to preserve it.

He talks of how his grandfather or father (he was not sure which) changed the name from Berkovich to Berks, a name he hated, so he changed it partially back to Berkoff.

Oliver Cowley did camerawork as well as editing and direction.  The restaurants were Canter's Deli, Greenblatts Deli-Restaurant and Musso and Frank Grill.

All images from the film.

Venice Beach, the second of two films Berkoff directed and released in 2017, this concentrates on the poor and homeless in Venice Beach.  1 hour 15 minutes, with Tim Shiner  credited initially as producer, and later as Cameraman and Editor.

Berkoff has come to Venice Beach every year since 1980 but he regrets it is no longer the seeding ground for new talent, with few performers around (Sebastian Seagraves on tightrope).

Berkoff taks with compassion to the poor and homeless, such as Marc, a former gold miner, with his nose needing medical treatment, and he reveals to a suprised Berkoff that he is blind...

... and Gary who says that now for the homeless like him they have to piss in a pot (to test for drugs) in order to get his benefits.

Most people don't recognise Berkoff, but one group say they heard he was in films, and Berkoff eventually mentions Beverly Hills Cop and Rambo.  One person then says he recognises Berkoff from The Krays.