The Trial (1993)

The Trial (1992)

Budget (GBP)	0
Distribution Company	Europanda Entertainment B. V. (Production Company \| Est. Unknown)
Release Date	1993
Black and White	No
Regional Release	No
Release Notes	Germany 13 May 1993; UK 18 June 1993; Netherlands 24 June 1993 (Amsterdam); Japan 17 July 1993; USA October 1993 (Chicago International Film Festival); USA 24 November 1993 (New York City, New York); Brazil 25 March 1994; USA April 1994; Finland 30 June 1995; Norway 23 August 1997 (video premiere); Spain 26 November 1997.
Description	Film of Pinter's screenplay adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial (1925; 1937). Joseph K. (Kyle MacLachlan) awakens one morning, to find two strange men in his room, telling him he has been arrested. Joseph is not told, with what he is charged, and despite being "arrested", is allowed to remain free and go to work. But, despite the strange nature of his arrest, Joseph soon learns that his trial, however odd, is very real, and tries desperately to spare himself from the court's judgement.
Language	English

Linked Productions

No linked Production have been added to this production record yet.

Linked People

Harold Pinter (1930 - 2008)

Creative | Screenplay

David Jones (1934 - 2008)

Creative | Director

Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924)

Creative | Author (original novel)

Carl Davis (1936)

Orchestrator | Music

Reniero Compostella

Production | Executive Producer

Kobi Jaeger

Production | Executive Producer

Louis Marks (1928 - 2010)

Production | Producer

Carolyn Montagu

Production | Associate Producer

Geoffrey Paget

Production | Executive Producer

BBC

Mark Shivas (1938 - 2008)

Production | Executive Producer

Ann Wingate

Production | Associate Producer

Phil Meheux

Creative | Director Of Photography

John Stothart

Creative | Film Editor

Don Taylor

Creative | Production Designer

Jim Holloway

Creative | Art Director

Jirí Matolín

Creative | Art Director

Anushia Nieradzik

Creative | Costume Designer

Judith Gill-Dougherty

Creative | Assistant Makeup Artist

Zdenek Klika

Creative | Makeup Artist

Alena Sedova

Creative | Hairdresser

As Alena Sedová

Deanne Turner

Creative | Makeup Designer

Jan Balzer

Production | Production supervisor

Jarmila Cajová

Production | Assistant Production Manager

Lubos Cizék

Production | Unit manager

Paul Covington

Production | Unit Manager Runner

Vaclav Eisenhamer

Production | Production Manager

As Václav Eisenhamer.

Dagmar Horevajová

Production | Assistant Unit Manager

Kate Power

Production | Unit manager

Katerina Schaueová

Production | Assistant Production Supervisor

Jan Mensik

Creative | Second Assistant Director

Jirí Ostry

Creative | First Assistant Director

P. J. Simpson

Creative | Assistant Director

Jake Wright

Creative | Assistant Director

John Bush

Creative | Set Dresser

Milan Býcek

Technical | Construction manager

Jaroslav Cesal

Creative | Prop Man

Bohumil Kadlec

Creative | Property master

Jan Klima

Creative | Prop Man

As Jan Klíma.

Roman Makovy

Creative | Art Stand-by

Vojtech Makovy

Creative | Art Stand-by

Martin Maly

Creative | First Assistant Art Director

Barry Moll

Technical | Construction manager

Petr Prusa

Creative | Prop Man

Martin Rus

Creative | Second Assistant Art Director

Ludek Sprincl

Creative | Art Stand-by

Jirí Stach

Creative | Art Stand-by

Martin Tlamicha

Creative | Prop Man

Lucy Fawcett

Technical | Foley artist

Jim Greenhorn

Technical | Production Sound Mixer

Pauline Griffiths

Technical | Foley artist

John Hayward

Technical | Chief dubbing mixer

Catherine Hodgson

Technical | Dubbing editor

Peter Lacey

Technical | ADR Engineer

Nicolas Le Messurier

Technical | Dubbing Assistant

As Nic Le Messurier.

Jenny Lee Wright

Technical | Foley artist

As Jenny Lee-Wright.

Catherine Macer

Technical | Assistant dubbing editor

Zdenek Manych

Technical | Sound Assistant

Katharine Norbury

Technical | Assistant dubbing editor

Helen Whitehead

Technical | Dubbing editor

Christopher Round

Technical | Boom operator

As Chris Round.

Sandy Buchanan

Technical | Post-production sound assistant

Uncredited.

Steve Banks

Technical | Clapper loader

As Stephen Banks.

Geoff Brown

Technical | Crane operator

Pavel Caslavsky

Technical | Gaffer

As Pavel Cáslavsky.

John Curtis

Technical | Generator operator

Jasper Fforde

Technical | Focus puller

Bob Freeman

Technical | Key grip

As Robert Freeman.

Roman Hodek

Technical | Grip

Milos Kabela

Technical | Grip

Václav Korcik

Technical | Assistant gaffer

Simon Mein

Technical | Still Photographer

Thierry Moraldy

Technical | Crane operator

Jirí Nosek

Technical | Electrician

As Jiri Nosek.

Ray Potter

Technical | Best boy

Terry Potter

Technical | Gaffer

Andy Shuttleworth

Technical | Steadicam Operator

Jaromir Simek

Technical | Electrician

Petr Svoboda

Technical | Electrician

Brendan Donnison

Creative | ADR Casting

Petr Hartl

Creative | Casting Advisor

John S. Lyons

Creative | Casting

USA

Lenka Chocová

Creative | Wardrobe Assistant

Theresa Hughes

Creative | Costume Assistant

Vera Mirová

Creative | Wardrobe Mistress

Patricie Palmer

Creative | Wardrobe Assistant

As Patricia Soptenková.

Anna Mejtska

Creative | Second Assistant Editor

Martin Kuk

Production | Location manager

Jaroslav Pour

Production | Location Assistant Manager

Carl Davis (1936)

Orchestrator | Conductor

Nic Raine

Orchestrator | Orchestrator

John Timperley

Orchestrator | Music Recording Engineer

Ron Kern

Technical | Transportation coordinator

Uncredited.

Pavel Backovsky

Technical | Cashier

Marie-Gabrielle Blake

Production | Production secretary

Cecilia Coleshaw

Production | Script supervisor

Sarah Daman

Production | Finance Assistant

Miroslav Doleral

Production | Customs

Juraj Durovic

Technical | Studio Manager

Vera Frantiková

Technical | Interpreter

As Vera Frantíková.

Eva Furmanciková

Technical | Interpreter

Marie Grochová

Production | Production secretary

As Maria Grochová.

Martina Janouchová

Technical | Interpreter

Jan Kalousek

Technical | Interpreter

Jirí Kasl

Technical | Interpreter

Zora Kounovská

Technical | Interpreter

Mirek Lux

Technical | Interpreter

As Miroslav Lux.

Stanislav Mrázek

Technical | Interpreter

Eva Palecková

Production | Production secretary

John Rushton

Production | Production accountant

Miroslav Seliga

Production | Stand-in

for Mr. MacLachlan.

Jana Vocetková

Production | Production accountant

Joan Washington (1949 - 2021)

Production | Dialogue Coach

Nelly Jencíková

Production | Production accountant

Uncredited.

Jiri Kucera

Technical | Interpreter

As Jirí Kucera.

Linked Organisations

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) (Cultural Institution | Est. 1922)

Europanda Entertainment B. V. (Production Company | Est. Unknown)

Characters

Landlady (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Uncredited.

Performer: Jean Stapleton (1923 - 2013)

Old Woman (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Valérie Kaplanová (1917 - 1999)

Old Man (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Jirí Ded (1922 - 2001)

Read Beard (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Jirí Vavricek

Small Boy (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Václav Jakoubek (1980)

Chief Clerk (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Jan Laibl (1920)

Titorelli's Girl 1 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Credited as Lynda Rybova.

Performer: Linda Rybová (1975)

Signor Rossi (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Reniero Compostella

Bookstall Woman (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Lena Birková (1925 - 2010)

Executioner 1 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Karel Augusta (1935 - 1998)

Executioner 2 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Petr Drozda (1952)

Policeman (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Vladimír Tausinger (1948)

Man in the Window (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Petr Skarke (1943 - 1999)

Policeman (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Vladimír Tausinger (1948)

Stairman 2 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Performer: Leon Lissek (1927)

Titorelli's Girl 2 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Sabina Remundová (1972)

Titorelli's Girl 3 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Lucie Bartonova

Titorelli's Girl 4 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Klára Jandová (1979)

Titorelli's Girl 5 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Performer: Nicolle Gavlasova

Linked Awards

No award have been added to this production record yet.

Resources

Nigel Andrews, 'Narcissistic Trip through Hell-Cinema', Financial Times (London), 17 June 1993, "Arts," p. 19 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

John Armstrong, 'Straight from Oz, the Return of Yahoo You Can't Be Serious', Vancouver Sun, 9 September 1994, 'Entertainment: Video', C1 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

'The Arts: Putting a Gloss on Kafka's Black Farce', Daily Telegraph (London), 18 June 1993, p. 18 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

'The Arts: Sex and the Single Policewoman', Daily Telegraph (London), 20 December 1993, p. 17 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Peter Birnie, 'Trial True to Kafka's Angst', Vancouver Sun, 6 August 1994, 'Entertainment', C9 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Michael Blowen, 'A Split Verdict on "The Trial"',Boston Globe, 10 June 1994, city ed., 'Living', p. 56 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Bill Brownstein, 'Harrowing Film Brings Kafka's The Trial Back to Trouble Us', Gazette (Montreal) 16 April 1994, 'Entertainment: Show', C10 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Leo Burley, 'Film: The Jury Is Still Out on Joseph K', Independent (London), 23 April 1993, 'Arts', p. 17 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Jay Carr, '"The Trial" Doesn't Quite Do Justice to Kafka', Boston Globe, city ed., 25 March 1994, 'Arts & Film', p. 5l (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Quentin Curtis, 'Film: Without a Leg to Stand On', Independent (London), 20 June 1993, 'Arts', p. 19 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Roger Ebert, '"Trial" Can't Match Kafka Novel', Lexington (Ky.) Herald- Leader, 13 May 1994, 'Weekender', p. 9 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Roger Ebert, '"Trial" Verdict: Kafka's Terror Tamed, but So Is Impact', Chicago SunTimes, final ed., 8 April 1994, 'Weekend Plus, Movies', p. 37 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Fred Haeseker, 'BBC Tackles Kafka's The Trial', Calgary Herald, 26 August 1994, 'Entertainment', F10 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

John Hartl, '"Silver Stallion" Heads from Festival to Videotape', Seattle Times, 9 June 1994, 'Arts, Entertainment, Video Watch', p. 1 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Tom Hutchinson, 'Melanie Goes to Washington: Films: The Trial', Mail on Sunday (London), 20 June 1993, p. 39 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Brian D. Johnson, 'Trial and Tribulation', Maclean's, 25 April 1994, p. 63 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Sheila Johnston, 'Film: One of Those Nights', Independent (London), 18 June 1993, 'Arts', p. 18 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

lain Johnstone, 'Special K', Sunday Times (London), 20 June 1993, sec. 9, p. 10 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Gabriel Josipovici, 'Showy but Not Telling: The Trial with Screenplay Written by Harold Pinter Based on a Work by Franz Kafka', TLS: The Times Literary Supplement (London), 9 July 1993, p. 19 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Mick LaSalle, '"The Trial" Nightmare in the Mundane', San Francisco Chronicle, final ed., 29 April 1994, 'Daily Datebook', C3 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Helen Meany, '"The Trial," IFC, Dublin, Members and Guests Only', Irish Times (Dublin), city ed., 6 August 1993, 'Sound & Vision: Cinema', p. 9 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Todd McCarthy, 'The Trial', Variety, 1 February 1993, p. 99 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

'Movie Takes', Financial Post (London), 30 April 1994, 'Spectrum: Arts & Leisure', ST, sec. 4 (reprinted from Toronto Sun) (Paper-based)

Type: Review

'New Releases: The Trial', Calgary Herald, 8 September 1994, 'Entertainment, New Releases', A20 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Peter Paterson, 'Suspect Past Its Prime', Daily Mail (London), 20 December 1993, p. 27 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

David Robinson, 'Living and Dying by Desire', Times (London), 17 June 1993, 'Features' (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Scott Rosenberg, '"Trial" and Terror, Kafka Comes Alive: Film Adaptation Captures Nightmare of a "Guilty" Man', San Francisco Examiner, 29 April 1994, 'Weekend', B6. (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Rob Salem, 'Kafkaesque and Well Acted', Toronto Star, final ed., 22 April 1994, 'Entertainment', C9 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Jay Stone, 'Powerful Tale Is Told in The Trial', Ottawa Citizen, 22 April 1994, 'Movies', B3 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Clifford Terry, '"The Trial" Examines Facelessness of Evil', Chicago Tribune, final ed., 8 April 1994, 'Friday's Guide to Movies & Music: Movie Review', p. 1 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Kevin Thomas, 'Movie Review: Adaptation of Kafka's "Trial" Better Suited to the Stage', Los Angeles Times, 22 April 1994, 'Calendar, Part F', p. 8 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

'The Trial', Cineman Video Reviews, 4 July 1994, Home Video Report (Paper-based)

Type: Review

Stephen Whitty, 'A Funny Thing about Kafka: "The Trial" Shows What's Been Lost in Generalities', San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, morning final ed., 29 April 1994, "Eye," p. 5 (Paper-based)

Type: Review

The Trial Trailer, 1993 (URL)

Type: Trailer

External Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC7jcaE_KjA

Original trailer.

Sources

IMDB

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108388/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

URL

Sharp Cut: Harold Pinter's Screenplays and the Artistic Process

Steven H. Gale, Harold Pinter's Screenplays and the Artistic Process (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003)

Academic book

Contains chapters on each of Harold Pinter's filmed screenplays and includes a bibliography of reviews of films up to 1999.

BFI Online

https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7bdb3784

URL

The Trial (1993)

Linked Productions

Linked People

Linked Organisations

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) (Cultural Institution | Est. 1922)

Europanda Entertainment B. V. (Production Company | Est. Unknown)

Characters

Priest, The (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Josef K (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Dr Huld (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Fraulein Burstner (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Block (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Titorelli (Age: Not Specified, Male)

K's Uncle (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Washer Woman (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Franz (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Willem (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Inspector (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Court Usher (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Examining Magistrate (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Flogger (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Leni (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Babensteiner (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Kullich (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Kaminer (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)

Deputy Bank Manager (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

K's Assistant (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Stairman 1 (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Berthold (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Thin Defendant (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Clerk (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Herr Deimen (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Male)

Landlady (The Trial) (Age: Not Specified, Female)