Willem Dafoe takes on a very different kind of role in The Birthday Party, a new psychological drama from Spanish writer-director Miguel Ángel Jiménez now playing in Prague cinemas. The film’s closing rendition of Nina Simone’s classic Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, performed by Dafoe and backed by the Czech Studio Orchestra recording in Prague, adds a flamboyant finale to a story of wealth, power and mortality.
The recording brings together Dafoe with Greek pianist and composer Alexandros Livitsanos and the Czech Studio Orchestra, conducted by Mikel Toms. Livitsanos also revised and arranged the song for the film, whose score he composed with musician Prins Obi. A new video released alongside the soundtrack features footage from the movie alongside scenes from the orchestra’s recording session at Czech TV Music Studio in Prague.
A Simone classic gets the Dafoe treatment
Written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood was first recorded by Nina Simone in 1964 for her album Broadway-Blues-Ballads. The song has subsequently taken on a life of its own through a series of very different interpretations, most notably The Animals’ blues-rock hit in 1965 and Santa Esmeralda’s disco-flamenco version in 1977. Elvis Costello also recorded a version in 1986.
For The Birthday Party, Livitsanos and Dafoe approach the song from a distinctly cinematic perspective. The soundtrack credits Dafoe as the performer, with Livitsanos on piano and the Czech Studio Orchestra providing the orchestral backing. Toms serves as conductor, while the arrangement was revised by Livitsanos.
The song’s long history of reinvention makes it particularly fitting for the film’s central character, Marcos Timoleon, a wealthy Greek shipping magnate played by Dafoe. As The Prague Reporter‘s review notes, Dafoe is “perfectly cast as the Onassis-like patriarch,” delivering a performance in which even quiet moments carry the authority of a man accustomed to controlling everyone around him.
The rendition arrives at the end of the film, providing a musical flourish to a story steeped in Mediterranean luxury and ancient-tragedy themes. In the review, The Prague Reporter praised the score by Livitsanos and Prins Obi as blending “Greek-influenced sounds with propulsive 1970s party rhythms,” giving the film an identity that helps compensate for some of its narrative shortcomings.
Recording the soundtrack in Prague
The Czech Studio Orchestra’s contribution to the track highlights the role Prague continues to play as a recording center for international screen productions. Based at the Czech TV Music Studio, the ensemble specializes in studio recordings for film, television, games, commercials, pop projects and classical releases.
The Prague facility can accommodate up to 55 musicians, while larger projects can be recorded at partner studios elsewhere in the city. The orchestra’s music director and conductor, Mikel Toms, has recorded with international orchestras and ensembles for labels including Sony, Decca and Universal, in addition to work on television programs and movie soundtracks. He is also resident conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of India in Mumbai.
Producer and sound engineer Vítek Král brings more than two decades of experience recording film, television, games and music projects in Prague. Fellow producer and sound engineer Pavel Rido has worked across electronic and orchestral music and has credits on projects including George Lucas’ Red Tails and the television series Westworld.
The new recording video offers a glimpse behind the scenes, alternating footage of Dafoe’s performance in The Birthday Party with the orchestra working on the track in Prague. The Prague footage was filmed and edited by Aris Dorizas, with additional editing by Lambis Charalambidis.
For The Birthday Party, the recording provides a final burst of music and spectacle after a deliberately intimate psychological drama. As The Prague Reporter concluded in its review, the film’s “final rendition of Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by Dafoe, backed by the Czech Studio Orchestra, recording from Prague, is an appropriately flamboyant cherry on top.”
The Birthday Party opens in Prague cinemas this weekend.
