Death of a Princess
Encyclopedia
Death of a Princess is a British
1980 drama-documentary
, produced by ATV
, produced in cooperation with WGBH
in the United States
. The drama, be based on the true story of Princess Masha'il, or Mish'al is the story of a young princess from Saudi Arabia Islamic nation and her lover who had been publicly executed for adultery
.
Antony Thomas
who, upon first hearing the story, grew passionately curious about its veracity, soon drawing upon contacts in the Arab world for their insights and opinions. Because of the candid and sometimes critical nature of the interviews, Thomas and ATV bosses decided not to make the film as a straight documentary but instead to dramatise it with actors.
Thomas himself was played by Paul Freeman under the name 'Christopher Ryder'. The identities of the interviewees were obscured, and the actors chosen to replace them were based only loosely on their subjects. The character of Elsa Gruber, played by Judy Parfitt
, was based on Rosemarie Buschow, a German woman who had worked for the Saudi Royal Family as a nanny.
There was only one exception, a Palestinian
family who played themselves. The fictitious nation in which the drama was set was called 'Arabia' which some viewers took to mean Saudi Arabia
. The name of the Princess was never said.
Death of a Princess depicts Thomas' focus on 'the Princess', as her story became his vehicle through which important parts of Muslim culture
was revealed, showing facets of Islamic tradition, custom, society, gender and social roles, sexuality, politics, myth, and identity. Thomas later explained that he had only reconstructed scenes where he was confident that they did happen, although he included film of interviewees telling him information which he did not believe.
in the UK on 9 April 1980, provoking an angry response from the Saudi government. While resisting pressure not to show the film, ATV agreed to include an introductory comment that said:
The British Ambassador to Riyadh
, James Craig, was asked to leave the country, restrictions were placed on the issuing of visas
to British businessmen, and Saudi Arabia, along with Lebanon
, banned British Airways
' Concorde
from its airspace, making its flights between London
and Singapore
economically unremunative. While the Saudi response had initially driven a UK press reaction against the attempted censorship, when export orders began to be cancelled, the press began to question whether it had been right to show the film. British Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington
found the film "deeply offensive", he "wished it had never been shown", but "to ban a film because we do not like it or even because it hurts our friends" was not an option for the country's government.
Similarly, the US government received enormous political pressure from Saudi Arabia to censor
its broadcast. On May 8, 1980, Mobil Oil placed an advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers condemning the film, which it described as "a new fairy tale". It quoted a letter to the New Statesman
by Penelope Mortimer
, who had worked with Thomas on the film, who said:
While Buschow, had advised Thomas on the making of the film, she later told AP
that it should not have been made, adding that "it achieved nothing but discord... every family has a black sheep, and this is a large family of around 5000 people."
After some stalling, it was eventually broadcast by the PBS
programme World in most of the US on May 12, 1980, although many PBS stations did not do so. For example, in South Carolina
, the PBS affiliate
cancelled broadcast of the film, a decision influenced by fact that the then US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, John C. West
, had formerly been the state's Governor
.
In the Netherlands
, NOS
showed the programme, despite facing considerable opposition from the government and businesses, while in Sweden
, the rights were bought, at a premium, by a video company, Scanvideo, which decided that the economy "would suffer great harm if it were shown, and decided that it must not be shown". In Australia
, the programme was shown on the Seven Network
, although the acting Prime Minister, Doug Anthony
, denounced the film as "grossly offensive to the Saudi Arabian Royal Family and government",which could jeopardise trade deals with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
As a result of playing the role of the Princess, Egyptian actress Suzanne Abou Taleb, according to People
magazine, "was put on a [blacklist by Egyptian TV, film and theatre producers, who are dependent on Saudi petrodollars." Perversely, this blacklisting increased her public prominence and she became one of the most popular actresses in Egypt
, under the name Sawsan Badr
.
In a retrospective interview for the Frontline rebroadcast, Thomas described his reasons for making the film:
The film has never been broadcast again in the UK, although a clip was shown on a 2005 BBC
documentary Imagining The Truth. There was a private screening at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
in 2005. It was re-broadcast in the US by Frontline in April 2005, for its 25th anniversary, under limited terms described in its original contract. Because of copyright and issues with royalties
, it is not available for Internet viewing through PBS.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
1980 drama-documentary
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
, produced by ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
, produced in cooperation with WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The drama, be based on the true story of Princess Masha'il, or Mish'al is the story of a young princess from Saudi Arabia Islamic nation and her lover who had been publicly executed for adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
.
Form
The film was based on numerous interviews by journalistJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
Antony Thomas
Antony Thomas
Antony Thomas is an Emmy and BAFTA award-winning English documentary film maker, director and author who has made films for, amongst others, Channel 4, the BBC and HBO....
who, upon first hearing the story, grew passionately curious about its veracity, soon drawing upon contacts in the Arab world for their insights and opinions. Because of the candid and sometimes critical nature of the interviews, Thomas and ATV bosses decided not to make the film as a straight documentary but instead to dramatise it with actors.
Thomas himself was played by Paul Freeman under the name 'Christopher Ryder'. The identities of the interviewees were obscured, and the actors chosen to replace them were based only loosely on their subjects. The character of Elsa Gruber, played by Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt is a BAFTA-nominated English theatre, film and television actress who began her career on stage in 1954.-Life and work:...
, was based on Rosemarie Buschow, a German woman who had worked for the Saudi Royal Family as a nanny.
There was only one exception, a Palestinian
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
family who played themselves. The fictitious nation in which the drama was set was called 'Arabia' which some viewers took to mean Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. The name of the Princess was never said.
Death of a Princess depicts Thomas' focus on 'the Princess', as her story became his vehicle through which important parts of Muslim culture
Muslim culture
Islamic culture is a term primarily used in secular academia to describe the cultural practices common to historically Islamic peoples. As the religion of Islam originated in 7th century Arabia, the early forms of Muslim culture were predominantly Arab...
was revealed, showing facets of Islamic tradition, custom, society, gender and social roles, sexuality, politics, myth, and identity. Thomas later explained that he had only reconstructed scenes where he was confident that they did happen, although he included film of interviewees telling him information which he did not believe.
Controversy
A critically acclaimed film, it caused a great deal of controversy when it was shown on ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in the UK on 9 April 1980, provoking an angry response from the Saudi government. While resisting pressure not to show the film, ATV agreed to include an introductory comment that said:
"The programme you are about to see is a dramatized reconstruction of certain events which took place in the Arab world between 1976 and 1978. We have been asked to point out that equality for all before the law is regarded as paramount in the Moslem world."
The British Ambassador to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, James Craig, was asked to leave the country, restrictions were placed on the issuing of visas
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to British businessmen, and Saudi Arabia, along with Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, banned British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
' Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
from its airspace, making its flights between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
economically unremunative. While the Saudi response had initially driven a UK press reaction against the attempted censorship, when export orders began to be cancelled, the press began to question whether it had been right to show the film. British Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington
Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, is a British Conservative politician. He served as British Foreign Secretary between 1979 and 1982 and as the sixth Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. He is the last surviving member of the Cabinets of both Harold Macmillan and Sir...
found the film "deeply offensive", he "wished it had never been shown", but "to ban a film because we do not like it or even because it hurts our friends" was not an option for the country's government.
Similarly, the US government received enormous political pressure from Saudi Arabia to censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
its broadcast. On May 8, 1980, Mobil Oil placed an advertisement in the New York Times and other newspapers condemning the film, which it described as "a new fairy tale". It quoted a letter to the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
by Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Ruth Mortimer , was a British journalist, biographer and novelist.-Early life:...
, who had worked with Thomas on the film, who said:
"With the exception of Barry Millner, who had already sold his story to the Daily ExpressDaily ExpressThe Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, Rosemary [sic] Buschow, and the Palestinian family in Beirut, every interview and every character in the film is fabricated. The "revelation" of the domestic lives of the Saudi princesses -- man-hunting in the desert, rendezvous in boutiques -- was taken entirely on the evidence of an expatriate divorcée, as was the story of the princess first seeing her lover on Saudi television. No real effort was made to check up on such information. Rumour and opinion somehow came to be presented as fact … the audience, foolishly believing it to be authentic, is conned."
While Buschow, had advised Thomas on the making of the film, she later told AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that it should not have been made, adding that "it achieved nothing but discord... every family has a black sheep, and this is a large family of around 5000 people."
After some stalling, it was eventually broadcast by the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
programme World in most of the US on May 12, 1980, although many PBS stations did not do so. For example, in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, the PBS affiliate
South Carolina Educational Television
South Carolina Educational Television is the statewide public television and public radio network in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It consists of all the Public Broadcasting Service member [television stations and National Public Radio member radio stations in the state...
cancelled broadcast of the film, a decision influenced by fact that the then US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, John C. West
John C. West
John Carl West was a U.S. Democratic Party politician who served as the 109th Governor of South Carolina from 1971 to 1975. He served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1977 to 1981.-Early life:...
, had formerly been the state's Governor
Governor of South Carolina
The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the State of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch. The Governor is the ex officio...
.
In the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, NOS
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting , English: Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation, is one of the broadcasters in the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system...
showed the programme, despite facing considerable opposition from the government and businesses, while in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the rights were bought, at a premium, by a video company, Scanvideo, which decided that the economy "would suffer great harm if it were shown, and decided that it must not be shown". In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the programme was shown on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, although the acting Prime Minister, Doug Anthony
Doug Anthony
John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:...
, denounced the film as "grossly offensive to the Saudi Arabian Royal Family and government",which could jeopardise trade deals with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
As a result of playing the role of the Princess, Egyptian actress Suzanne Abou Taleb, according to People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine, "was put on a [blacklist by Egyptian TV, film and theatre producers, who are dependent on Saudi petrodollars." Perversely, this blacklisting increased her public prominence and she became one of the most popular actresses in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, under the name Sawsan Badr
Sawsan Badr
Sawsan Badr is an Egyptian actress of film, stage and television. Sawsan Badr’s performance in “El-Shouq” is outstanding and will certainly go down in history as one of the best in her career...
.
In a retrospective interview for the Frontline rebroadcast, Thomas described his reasons for making the film:
"I set off to investigate this story with the idea of doing it as a drama, and gradually I realized that something completely different was developing. Where I traveled through the Arab world, the story was celebrated. Everyone had their own version of that story, all very, very different. ... Whoever I spoke to — whether they were Palestinians, whether they were conservative Saudis, whether they were radicals — they attached themselves to this princess. She'd become a myth. And they identified with her, and they kind of co-opted her to their cause. People were discussing things with me about their private lives, about their sexual feelings, about their political frustrations, that they'd never discussed with me before. ... Somehow this princess was sort of like a catalyst. And after thinking about it seriously, I thought, my gosh, this is perhaps an even more interesting story to tell."
The film has never been broadcast again in the UK, although a clip was shown on a 2005 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary Imagining The Truth. There was a private screening at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
in 2005. It was re-broadcast in the US by Frontline in April 2005, for its 25th anniversary, under limited terms described in its original contract. Because of copyright and issues with royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
, it is not available for Internet viewing through PBS.
External links
- PBS Frontline site
- Full transcript
- The 'Death of a Princess' Controversy" by Thomas White and Gladys Ganley, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, 1983 - CJR: 'The Reagans': What CBS Should Have Done
- ScreenOnline - Death of a Princess (1980)
- http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=102965368