Harold Pinter's The Caretaker "Aston's Monologue"

Monologue from "The Caretaer" (1963) by H.Pinter

[@mookie2637]

Shaw was an astonishingly good actor. RIP.

[@playjessbrett]

Dam right, love you Shaw x

[@stuartus]

A peak moment from one of my favorite films and favorite plays. What a superb, utterly perfect cast! Aside from Shaw's definitive performance and Donald Pleasance's eloquent listening, notice how carefully and simply Clive Donner directs the sequence. He lets the actors work with very little interference.

[@emilycarter3246]

Hardly any camera hijinks at all, you are right.

[@pucahorse]

I can see where Shaw got his inspiration for his amazing Monologue in JAWS. What brilliant actor. WOW!!

[@NostalgiNorden]

Shaw didn't write the script dumbass.

[@kenpudsey6435]

@@NostalgiNorden he didn't say he wrote the script..he was saying how Shaw delivered the script...dumbass!

[@Phantomrasberryblowe]

NostalgiNorden Shaw did have a hand in it apparently.

[@sonercennetoglu8207]

One of the best monologues ever existed in British Literature. This performance...Shaw is a great actor.

[@LolitaSkittle]

soner cennetoğlu I agree

[@josephbennett4236]

+soner cennetoğlu It's hardly 'Hollywood'!

[@sonercennetoglu8207]

+Joseph Bennett I thank you Joseph Bennett i must be victim of some kind of advertising ^^ Everything related to this video is just ' British ' . the writer , the performer and the performance , all is british.

[@NostalgiNorden]

Not hollywood.

[@claudrebille178]

​@@sonercennetoglu8207 British .? Could be FRENCH also or anything else? As a FRENCHMAN I m quite sentive to SHAW S monologue

[@carlosavila8829]

the greatest of actors for me magnetic and threatening and the same time

[@PatriciaMcCarthyAuthor]

I never tire from watching the superlative acting of Robert Shaw. Love his novels too.... inspiring writer (or rather was); RIP

[@davidwhyberd7612]

It was sad that he died at just 52 with a massive heart attack. He had a magnetic screen presence, and I only looked at HIM when he was on screen.

[@emilycarter3246]

Shaw breaks my heart every time. I can't believe he's the same actor who was all "arrgghs and ham" as Quint in jaws. It's pitch perfect. Also, although I never had ect or a lobotomy, I did have an aneurism, and his regret over his changed brain....rings too true. I cry every time he does it.

[@maggiesmith2600]

I honestly believe this scene is the finest piece of acting Robert Shaw ever did, and I never saw him give a bad performance in anything .

[@tatuco8]

Shaw was notoriously competitive. I dont think he would have allowed anyone to out do him in any scene.

[@josephasghar]

Shaw. Pinter. Genius...

[@stevecox7075]

Pleasence.

[@cockshield]

Red Grant opens up and bears his soul to his boss, Blofeld.

[@davidwhyberd7612]

Robert Shaw was riveting as Red Grant. Great actor.

[@deacondavis5098]

Cockshield I caught that! AWESOME

[@AngelikiS]

Robert Shaw as Aston, astonishing performance!

[@mgn5667]

yess

[@davidwhyberd7612]

Robert Shaw had such a powerful screen presence. He was a great actor. Great actors command attention and you just look at THEM in every scene. Richard Burton was the same. I saw David Suchet in "All My Sons". Another great actor with tremendous stage presence.

[@markchadwick6847]

Simply astonishing.

[@bradshawvincent]

yes i dont think this could be better also wonderfully enhanced by the subtle camera movements and angles,lighting also the creepy electronic sounds as his monologue progresses.

[@efoxkitsune9493]

This speech is absolutely harrowing. Reading that part of the play was the equivalent of getting punched very suddenly in the gut for me. I did not see it coming.

[@mojojim6458]

This is brilliant, completely brilliant. In my opinion much better than his Jaws monologue.

[@stevedriver1476]

reminds me of the birthday party

[@plasticweapon]

love the birthday party!

[@davedoyle9623]

Brillaint,,,only the Brits could do this,,,,Thank you cousins,,,,Eric Clapton loved this film

[@alexcamichel7771]

shaw was a great actor

[@9964jjc]

This for me is the definitive Aston performance. I keep returning to it. Douglas Hodge has given a sinisterly fragile interpretation too. Ten years or so ago.

[@TulseLuper]

You could perform this monologue myriad ways. Colin Firth is every bit as brilliant as Robert Shaw but they couldn't be more different. I just love the slow burn of Shaw's delivery, letting the madness seep out gradually. Sends chills down my spine towards the end.

[@mootpointjones8488]

Putting Firth in the same class as Shaw is a little silly, think!

[@MichaelMadisonVideo]

Great monologue! Thank you for posting.

[@derrick4525]

ɷ I Havee Watchedd Thisss Movieeee Leakedd Versionnn Hereeee : - t.co/RlKbv1hghK

[@televisionarchivestudios1130]

He brought some of this in the Jaws.

[@MyCovertNarcissism]

Doctor Fuckin Loomis in the house !!!!

[@bradshawvincent]

@NA3LKER i could not disagree more. robert shaw gives a masterclass in understated but totally powerfull and convincing acting. im always very moved by this.i think its really enhanced by the camerawork and subtle creepy sounds.

[@jamesjeffreypaul]

As great as his monologue about the ship Indianapolis in JAWS.

[@MrPaulDewdney]

Monologue masterclass

[@StephanieG1]

Shaw rather reminds me of Rudolf Hess.

[@FDisguise]

I have to learn this monologue to get in to Drama School. But I have a different method ....

[@skyler951]

Damm what a great actor. 👍

[@davedoyle9623]

This guy is badass ,,,Rock On,,,,

[@stephenotoole6633]

This is as far from Hollywood as you can get

[@zappahart2]

compelling

[@CultureJudge]

Kurtovnik - what do you mean 'improve it'? This is ROBERT SHAW.

[@stupidintellect90]

I really want to know what he means by 'thats why I(pause)' after he talks about them doing the procedure standing up. I'm doing this for my A-levels, it was quite wierd at first but I'm loving it more each time I read it. Aston is just adorably innocent.

[@manfromnocky]

That's why he laid one of them out. (In my humble opinion).

[@malkavian333]

@docjudge BTW. You remind me of my uncle's brother. He was always on the move, that man.

[@emilycarter3246]

soon as I get down to sidcup for me papers....................

[@jonnyy4088]

Shaw was very good

[@FDisguise]

@malkavian333 Exactly, mine too. I get very nervous especially at the part where I describe how they did that thing to me while standing. I have some parts that they cut on this one...and I do it in Romanian

[@malkavian333]

Yep me too. My method was more lively and nervous

[@LulTomIsL33T]

I'm studying the play at the moment for A Level English. It's a brilliant piece. :) Just wondering if anyone understands what is meant when Aston says "But I didn't die"? There's no way Pinter would've wrote it without some kind of metaphorical meaning.

[@emilycarter3246]

HEre's how I saw it and it's only me: There's too many cracks in the roof. The house will never get "fixed up". Ashton will always be ill and vulnerable, he will always need a "caretaker" (his brother") but, as he didn't die, and neither did we, life will go on......

[@malkavian333]

@docjudge Sure. But U have to wait few days cause I havent time to rip it.

[@Stephen21ism]

In 5:05 he glances to the camera.....while he turn his head.....Excelent performance though!

[@thewholecity]

It's just camera right. Almost a glance but not quite but he is so good it doesn't detract from his masterful performance.

[@stupidintellect90]

@arsenal902 Never thought of it that way...I like your thinking. Looking back, Aston did once smile at Davies when he was asleep, which I found quite bizzare and which could be interpreted as quite malicious, btw your comment could not have come at a better time, I could really use this persepective in my writing. so, thank you!

[@MyNoshin]

Oh God that is so creepy! Im doing this for ALevel english and NONE of the creepiness is conveyed in writing, so lucky i came across this. Before i thought of Aston as a poor soul who'd suffered alot but now oh wow. He is geniunley crazy, the actor lets the crazy seep put slowly and what starts off as a tale of woe turns sinister when "The shed" all of a sudden becomes something scary. He has a sadistic look in his eyes. So annoyed there isnt enough revision notes etc. On this play.

[@MrGotmymojoworkin]

nice .

[@C0NTR4B455]

Its brilliant..Cos when he talks about everything getting really quiet and clear its like he's stumbled onto something quite profound without really knowing what it is..I love this performance..Shaw is like a holy fool..There's a lovely innocence to this performance..I never got that from the C Firth clip.

[@bradshawvincent]

@LulTomIsL33T severe depression is like death...he was probably suprised he got better.

[@jor99912]

The only film in the world that can't be found. L lost my VHS copy. From around 1978 I guess. Whenever VHS came out. I missed a few minutes of the beginning when I recorded it. Wasn't the clearest. The only film worth finding can't be found.

[@chrisshepherd8585]

The BFI released it on DVD.

[@eezee5744]

6:48 Pause. He's pissed. I would be too.

[@malkavian333]

@LulTomIsL33T He said about his suicide attempt after he get back home from hospital

[@malkavian333]

@Kurtovnik You dont need to know any tips. Just think why do U want to say it. and then you will get know what do you feel. If the situation will make you shame, naturaly you'll be shame. Just find your target and motivation to say it. Sorry for my english.

[@Cruxx_]

8:45

[@notleonard]

@LulTomIsL33T It's no metaphor. It's like when you doze off and suddenly wake yourself up. For Aston (and it really comes across in this lethargic performance), dozing off is like dying. If anything, "but I didn't die" is a *refusal* of an unbearable metaphor.

[@biggerthanafruitfly]

Female doing this for year 12 major project?

[@emilycarter3246]

It's about mental illness and invasive medical procedures, not gender. A woman could pull this off fine. Maybe even add a lit something.

[@mensahcarrelle]

***Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen-footer. You know how you know that when you're in the water, Chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn't know... was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Heh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. Y'know, it's... kinda like ol' squares in a battle like, uh, you see in a calendar, like the Battle of Waterloo, and the idea was, shark comes to the nearest man and that man, he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin', and sometimes the shark'd go away... sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. Y'know the thing about a shark, he's got... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'... until he bites ya. And those black eyes roll over white, and then... oh, then you hear that terrible high-pitch screamin', the ocean turns red, and spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin', they all come in and they... rip you to pieces. Y'know, by the end of that first dawn... lost a hundred men. I dunno how many sharks. Maybe a thousand. I dunno how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin', Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland- baseball player, boatswain's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up... bobbed up and down in the water just like a kinda top. Upended. Well... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. Young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper. Anyway, he saw us and come in low and three hours later, a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. Y'know, that was the time I was most frightened, waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a life jacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water, three hundred sixteen men come out, and the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway... we delivered the bomb.*** RIP Mr Shaw +

[@Kurtovnik]

This is my igcse monologue :). But i dont want it slow like this. Any suggestions how to improve it or when behave differently...Im not asking to do it for me, just few tips if you have any experiences with it. Because I used to do Shakespeare (most of monologues were said in anger voice or in rage) and this is kinda new for me.

[@davedoyle9623]

" In yer interest theres only wun curse a we cun take,,,,,thurs sumethin in yer "brain",,,Oh Golly Gee Thanks Guys! I can Ardly Wait !!!!!"