Dance First

Play trailer

2:26

Dance First

2024,

1h 40m,

Biography/

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Dance First: Trailer 1

Now Playing

View more videos

Stream Now

Watchlist

44%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

- -

Popcornmeter

44%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Literary genius Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his way, he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett's famous ethos "Dance first, think later," the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Stream

Disney+

Hulu

Watch Dance First with a subscription on Disney+, Hulu, rent on Fandango, or buy on Fandango.

Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

Aug 16, 2024

Parts of the film are so good that it’s a shame it strikes so many false notes.

Go to Full Review

Glenn Kenny

RogerEbert.com

Aug 12, 2024

2/4

It frequently seems that what the movie ultimately wants from Samuel Beckett is for him not to have been…well, Samuel Beckett.

Go to Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

Aug 12, 2024

“Dance First,” a Beckett biopic from James Marsh (“The Theory of Everything”), offers simple explanations for the career of a writer whose output famously resists explaining.

Go to Full Review

Jaylan Salah

Geek Vibes Nation

Aug 23, 2026

7.6/10

Dance First is a tragicomedy, an absurdist meditation on the artist’s search for meaning and failure to find any.

Go to Full Review

Devon Webb

Spectrum Culture

Sep 16, 2024

Dance First lets down its subject with a disrespectfully shallow approach to the life and work of playwright Samuel Beckett, which leaves us waiting, waiting, waiting, on a narrative that never seems to arrive.

Go to Full Review

Clotilde Chinnici

Loud and Clear Reviews

Sep 14, 2024

3.5/5

While there is a lot to be appreciated in terms of its artistic endeavours, Marsh’ film is not entirely successful the very thing we would have expected from a biopic

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

James Marsh

Director

Gabriel Byrne

Samuel Beckett

Aidan Gillen

James Joyce

Fionn O'Shea

Younger Samuel Beckett

Sandrine Bonnaire

Suzanne

Maxine Peake

Barbara Bray

The Apprentice

83%

The Apprentice

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Apprentice

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

95%

92%

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Watchlist

TRAILER

for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Amar Singh Chamkila

88%

Amar Singh Chamkila

Watchlist

King Richard

90%

98%

King Richard

Watchlist

TRAILER

for King Richard

A Million Miles Away

89%

95%

A Million Miles Away

Watchlist

TRAILER

for A Million Miles Away

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Dance First: Trailer 1

2:26

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Literary genius Samuel Beckett lived a life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his way, he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett's famous ethos "Dance first, think later," the film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon.

Director: James Marsh
Producer: Michael Livingstone, Tom Thostrup, Viktória Petrányi
Screenwriter: Neil Forsyth
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Film Constellation, Umedia, Proton Cinema, Sky Arts, 2LE Media
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.7K
Runtime: 1h 40m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings