A film involving a small number of characters interacting over a short period of time in a limited environment. Additional characters and environments may exist as support to the main action but would be few in number and appear only briefly.
Chamber piece is also known as chamber film or chamber drama.
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See our review of Roman Polanski’s Carnage (2011) for a great example of a chamber piece.
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Ingmar Bergman and the Birth of Chamber Films
Chamber film was initially derived from the term chamber music and subsequently chamber play. Chamber music constitutes a small group of classical musicians who – originally – could fit in a palace chamber. A chamber play usually comprises three acts dramatized on the stage by a small cast on one unchanging set.
The first and most well-known proponent of this method of directing for the cinema is Ingmar Bergman, who referred to Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1963), The Silence (1963) and Persona (1966) as his “chamber films”.
Bergman’s goal with these films was to rediscover the essence of theatre through imitating the interaction and juxtaposition of musical instruments in a chamber orchestra. In visual terms, this translated into a small group of characters remaining in a single setting and interplaying for the duration of the film. In dramatic terms, Bergman’s variation of character combinations, and the differences in rhythm and tonality he used during their exchanges shows a strong association with the characteristics of classical music.
movie example
Wonderful Cinema 
Would “Carnage” qualify as ‘Chamber Piece’?
Yes.
Awesome site! Have anything from Charlie Chaplin silent films?
Yes! Just search for “Chaplin” on the top right of the home page.
Interesting concept, I’ll have to watch one of those Bergman films soon.
Great site, keep up the good work.
If you’ve never seen any of those Bergman flicks, you Definitely owe it to yourself to see them All..,
Great! A play I am doing is a chamber piece as will be the subsequent film (titled Cadillac).
Hey, thanks for follow. This style also makes me think of certain Hitchcock films – ‘The Rope’, I think set in a penthouse apartment with friends around for drinks. Think it even used a single shot – no edits, just moving forwards, reverse, panning and tracking.
That sounds very interesting – thanks for the tip!
Wicked awesome blog and thanks for checking out mine too…..yo!
A great recent example was “Buried”. Ryan Reynolds is the only person you see in it and the film had all of one coffin-sized set. It’s exactly the sort of thing that should have gotten boring quickly, but Reynolds is a better actor than I realized and some interesting camera work almost makes you forget that he never moves.
nice blog, I’ll point my son toward it too. He’s doing film studies at A level and plans to continue at uni
What a Wonderful site! Tell me more 😀
Thanks for your ‘Follow’ on my blog.
Yes, Rope by Hitchcock would be the ultimate example of chamber piece cinema. The action all takes place in one room, and has a very claustrophobic atmosphere. One of my favourite films of all time. I fancy seeing Carnage as well.
Another great example: “Death and the Maiden,” 1994. “Bound,” “American Buffalo, and “Dead Calm,” are others.
This was a very good post. I learned something. I very much enjoy chamber music. You have me convinced I will enjoy chamber films.
Hi, happy that you want to follow me. Thanks
Interesting blog. I came here because you are now following mine, and thanks for the follow I am glad that people are interested in what I have to say. I don’t follow films all that much, John Carter was the last film I saw in a theater although I do have a fair DVD collection. I think another Hitchcock film that would qualify here is that one set exclusively in a lifeboat. Wouldn’t REAR WINDOW qualify as well? And also TWELVE ANGRY MEN? As I said, I’m not much into films but those three jumped out at me (the only one of those three that I’ve seen is TAM, both versions).
Thank you for following my blog. I am not much of a movie buff, I spend most of my time outdoors. And when I do watch films, they’re the harmless variety, usually animations. I just can’t deal with heavier stuff or violence. So I can’t say that I’ve seen all that many horror films. That being said, I AM a student of human behaviour and the way we think. I think Hitchcock had it nailed. He knew that our imaginations were far more powerful than any cinematic technique. I mean, I didn’t even see it, but “Psycho” shower scene…with the screeching violins, the knife, and woman, naked and wet in a shower-is possibly the most frightening scene in all film play. Even the weapon…guns are far more lethal and you don’t have to have much training. But a gun is less scary than a knife. A gun is blunt. A knife? Shiny. Pointy. Sharp. Scary stuff.
Thanks for liking “ringtone” and for following my blog. Best to you and your blog. You’re the first to bring to my attention the term and concept of “chamber film.” Would “The Odd Couple” qualify? How about “A Streetcar Named Desire”?
Hey thanks for the follow! Your own blog is really well written, best luck!
Thanks for the follow! I look forward to reading your blog as well. I’m a bit of movie fanatic myself, I see about 2-3 movies in the cinema a week and recently there were some great movies out!
Nice site, thanks for visiting mine. I thought of Bergman sometimes on my Scandinavian trip, and with the last photo of my latest travel25years blog especially.
Thank you for following my blog! A film I really enjoyed and 95% of the scenes are shot in a room is ” The Man from Earth (2007)”. Really like your philosophy 🙂
If you broaden the definition a bit, a ton of wonderful films would fit into, just to add some: some movies by Eric Rohmer (My night with Maud, A Summer’s Tale), movies by Bertolucci (The Dreamers, Stealing Beauty), the wonderful film Sleuth by Mankiewicz, My dinner with Andre by Louis Malle, ….
You are quite correct, a list of additional films should be added. Of the ones you have mentioned, I have only seen Sleuth. I wonder if it really a chamber piece; they do move around the house quite a bit, as far as I can remember. It is not filmed all in one room, is it?
No it isn’t. That’s why I wrote: “If you broaden the definition a bit…”. In my opinion the movie doesn’t necessarily have to play in exact ONE room, to qualitfy as a chamber piece. It can be one house, or one property as well. What’s more important I guess, is the intimate feeling that it gives you and the drawing of the characters and their psychology. As the article above says: limited space, limited cast, limited time. But that doesn’t mean it really has to be entirely in a “chamber”
I’ll have to watch the films you’ve recommended to see if I agree with you. Thanks for all the tips!
Hey really informative, love the idea of actors as classical instruments, have heard the term before but didn’t know what it meant. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the follow! Will do the same for you. Look forawrd to checking out more of your posts.
Hi Shimky!
Thanks for liking and following my blog! Can’t wait to see more of your work!
Thanks for the like. Looking forward to more on your blog.
Would Reservoir Dogs qualify as a chamber piece? Tarantino opens with a couple of external sets and has one extended flashback, but otherwise the action takes place in one intense period of time in a space about fifteen feet wide on each side while one of the characters is bleeding to death. I’ve always thought it would make a great stage thriller because it looks like a slightly opened up play adaptation. On that note, we just got back from seeing a new digital 3D restoration of Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, which really is a stage play opened up only by a couple of external shots. And it has great use of 3D to give the viewer a very clear idea of the narrow space the characters exist in. But Hitchcock loved that kind of film. North by Northwest must have given him agoraphobia.
Polanski likes to see himself as Hitchcock’s spiritual heir and much of The Pianist had that oddly confined feel that Rear Window had, with action glimpsed only through a window. We also saw God of Carnage, on which Carnage is based, on stage with the original cast (including the now late James Gandolfini). It works beautifully in the confined space of the stage. But there are lots of great plays that do.
Hi Christopher. I would say that Reservoir Dogs is definitely not a chamber piece. There are several scenes which do not take place in the warehouse – probably almost half the film. I agree with you: it would work really well on stage!
I haven’t seen Dial M for Murder yet! I must do soon. Oh dear, my Watch List is growing and growing!
I loved Polanski’s Carnage. I think I’ve loved every one of his films that I’ve seen. I heard that God of Carnage was excellent but didn’t get the chance to see it at the theatre myself.
Many thanks for writing!
I don’t think “A Late Quartet” fits the definition, but the cast made beautiful music together!
Thanks for the follow. Interested if you read my blog or just followed?
I have never heard of a chamber piece, so informative post. Thanks too for visiting/following my blog.
Welcome! Thank you for subscribing to follow my blog. I hope you are encouraged, inspired and enjoy the photos I take of life’s events as seen through the lens of my camera.
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Thank you so much for following us! Amazing blog, by the way.
Great page -and thanks for following me on Cold.
This is the interesting side of contemporary film.
Cheers,
Laurie Keim
If people didn’t follow my blog, I’d never learn half the interesting things I do. Thanks for that, and for this — an entire film genre hiding in plain sight. Some that jump to mind are:
La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928), directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and starring Renée Falconetti. Everything took place on a small custom stage set, and the film took place over just a few days, but the supporting cast may have been too large. And Twelve Angry Men (1957). One room; fairly compressed time frame, but maybe, again, too big a cast? And, of course, every episode of The Honeymooners.
Really enjoyed “The Man from Earth” and I’m glad to know there’s a term for what I enjoyed about it.
Glad to be of help, Habib!
There’s plenty to be learned from your site.
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Thank you, László!
Chamber pieces are like testtubes in a laboratory setting allowing for one to study human behavior through interaction. If a few people are forced into a claustrophobic setting they realize their own mortality and the restrictions cast on them in everyday life. Best examples that need mentioning
-12 angry men
-10 little indians
-murder on the orient express
-cube (and this one in particular for its incredibly clever use of moving chambers)
-the whole saw franchise to a certain extent
-interestingly enough most haunted house horror movies as the house usually tends to get smaller and smaller as the haunting gets more prominent and the problem grows
Whenever you see human behavior being the true theme of a screenplay you can rest assured that the setting follows the basic principle of a chamber piece as it allows for the quickest results in a small and controlled environment.
I ak obsessed with chamber pieces and am currently working on a one.
Very nice input, Olivier. Many thanks!