BBC Suggestions

[feaito]

I'm going to borrow that one from my sister. Thanks for the info Ali!

[JackFavell]

I loved Cranford, although I was upset that Eileen Atkins wasn't in it more. I think I have Return to Cranford lying around here somewhere.

I thought Bleak House was excellent. A big surprise.

[movieman1957]

The Bride will be looking for more things from that era so I guess "Bleak House" goes in the queue.

1985 or 2005?

[JackFavell]

2005 was the one I was talking about.

[charliechaplinfan]

I just finished watching Bleak House, the advantage of having it on DVD is that you can watch fairly quickly and not be at the mercy of scheduling. Despite reading the book some years ago there was an awful lot I hadn't remembered as a result of Dickens having so many threads and characters in this story, weaving in and out of the picture. Gillian Anderson was inspired casting, perfect for Lady Dedlock, Charles Dance plays awfully good baddies. The atomosphere of this serial is bleak and some of the more sordid characters are greasy, dirty and the appearance conjures up more than words can say. My only small drawback is that Crook's demise isn't as dramatic as it is in the book, I remember being agog at Dicken's description in the book, it's still good in the serial but can't convey it as well as the written word. I highly recommend it.

[feaito]

Thanks for that insightful review Ali.

I'm currently watching the 11 episode Miniseries of Evelyn Waugh's "Bridesehead Revisted" (1982) with jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Claire Bloom, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier et al. Fine adaptation. Excellent period atmosphere and performances.

[charliechaplinfan]

There's another series I've never seen, another one my parents sent me to bed before it started so they could have some peace and we didn't have a video recorder. I've read Brideshead but never watched it although I can get hold of a copy. Something else to add to the queue

[feaito]

A couple of pals recommended it to me and I saw the 11 episodes over this long WE (today's a National Holiday). Very engrossing and complex storyline which deals with Catholic religion, salvation, sin, atonement; a riveting psychological study of an Aristocratic Catholic family and the effects the strict Catholic principles by which the mother raised her children influenced their lives and destinies and that of the people involved with them. The last episodes became more contemplative and difficult to digest, but nevertheless fascinating. Must be one of the most complex works ever translated to the screen; Kudos to ITV and Granada Television for what they achieved. Remade as a film in 2008, but upon seeing the trailer I can tell that its quality is inferior and that the screenwriters changed a lot of things.

[JackFavell]

Brideshead was a wonderful series, some think it ws the best ever produced, but I find it maddeningly enigmatic at the end. I felt the same way about the book. I guess I just want things neatly wrapped up, and motivations to be clear. Still, I find it well worth watching.

[feaito]

Agreed Wendy. Nothing is clear at the end...Perhaps, like life itself

[charliechaplinfan]

I can't imagine that they will ever be able to rival the casting to the original Brideshead, fancy remaking it!

[JackFavell]

Exactly, fer!

Alison, I saw the remake, and although it can't hold a candle to the original series, it did clarify Julia and Sebastian's mother for me a bit.

[feaito]

Yesterday I watched with my wife and sister "Adam Bede" (1992) an interesting BBC production based upon a George Eliot story, in which Patsy Kensit was miscat as Hetty (I felt the actress looked to modern for the role). There were many well-known actors in the cast: Iain Glen (Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones) Susannah Harker (Pride and Prejudice), James Wilby (Maurice, Gosford Park), Julia McKenzie (Cranford). Pleasant.

[JackFavell]

I don't know where to post this, but I'll put it here, since the Downtonuts, as Moira calls them, hang here. I'm glad someone has compiled pictures of some of these lost stately homes.

http://lh.matthewbeckett.com/lh_featuredhouses.html

[moira finnie]

They may not be available for free online for long, but right now Downton Abbey 's entire episodes of seasons 1 and 2 are on the PBS channel on youtube, found here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... pbs&page=2
and on the main PBS site here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/

Hmmm, do you think we are being primed for Season 3?