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A Dance To The Music Of Time [1997]
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RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £199.99 (subject to change)
Dance
Review date: 2008-01-14 Rating: 10 out of 10
Having read the books, I wondered how on earth they would manage to do them justice on the television. I have to say, I thought the acting was absolutely first-rate, without a shadow of a doubt: I can't think of any weak characters, and some of them were simply outstanding: Charles Stringham descending into alcoholism and reborn, but completely destroyed in the process; Widmerpool, played, I think, by the same actor all the way through the series, and always more or less ridiculous; Pamela Widmerpool, played by Miranda Richardson, having some marvelous lines as she turns one male head after another; and then gentle Nick Jenkins, who appears to be the only sane person in the whole mad world.
There's lots in the books that couldn't possibly find their way onto the TV, but it was splendid to see so much of it brought to life. I found it a very enjoyable 6 or 7 hours viewing. Highly recommended for any Powell aficionado, or anyone looking for something a bit out of the way.
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Reviews
Just watch and enjoy
Review date: 2007-07-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
I have watched this several times and it always puts me in a good mood. It is like a classy 'soap' about friends, enemies, lovers and acquaintances who keep meeting over the years, their lives affecting each other in romantic, comic or deadly ways. To me it is mainly about friendship and loyalty. There are two central characters, Nicholas Jenkins, who is decent and everyone's friend. Then there is Kenneth Widmerpool, the figure of fun who rises to power to the surprise of everyone around him.
There are some of our very best actors in this : Sir John Gielgud, Alan Bennett and Edward Fox, and some who are seen more on our screens today such as James Purefoy (Mark Anthony in 'Rome'). Claire Skinners looks wonderful. Miranda Richardson plays a black widow type who causes more than one death. She plays it very much like one of her characters out of Blackadder
One thing which I did find disappointing, was that for the second half of the story, another much older actor was used to play Nicholas Jenkins and his wife, and yet, the same actors play the other characters, and are just aged a bit. Very odd.
3 out of 4 is ... er, well ...
Review date: 2005-01-28 Rating: 6 out of 10
The first three episodes of this series are quite enjoyable, and very much in the vein of (the far superior) Brideshead Revisited. A budget version of the Merchant-Ivory films if you will, and I don't mean that in a bad way. But the fourth episode! Its plot is laughably far-fetched, the psychological development totally unconvincing and as a result it completely ruins the mood set by the precious three. Even the truly original and fascinating character of Kenneth Widmerpool manages to suffer irreparable damage. Watch it, by all means, but do yourself a BIG favour and skip the last part.
Almost a masterpiece
Review date: 2004-04-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a fantastic production, much overlooked in the past few years. There is only one problem with it, for people unfamiliar with the books:the actors change. Thus the part of Jenkins, the narrator, is played bythree actors as he moves through Eton, WWII and old age. It isparticularly confusing in the first episode, where you've barely had timeto get acquainted with the schoolboy characters before they are into their20s and suddenly played by another actor. If you hadn't been playingclose attention to the names, this switch can make it difficult to matchthe first-phase actor with the second-phase actor.
To my mind, it is largely because we have very few actor switches in FilmsTwo and Three that those two are the most excellent of an altogetheroutstanding series.
But there is one character who is played by the same actor throughout --all the way from film one to film four -- and that is the magnificentSimon Russell-Beale. He should have been showered with BAFTAs for hisacting here. Widmerpool is such an awful character, yet many of us haveknow similar people in our lives. He really deserves the utterly selfishPamela, played by the scene-stealing Miranda Richardson, who marries himdespite everything.
Gets better with each viewing
Review date: 2004-02-02 Rating: 10 out of 10
I have tried to get in to the books, but without success. This TV version is an ideal introduction. You have to pay attention because they cram in a lot of characters over a long time span. Simon Russell Beale as anti-hero is superb.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Oliver Ford Davies
Eileen Atkins
Frank Middlemass
Alan Bennett
Robin Bailey
Creators:
Robin Bailey (Primary Contributor)
Alan Bennett (Primary Contributor)
Alvin Rakoff (Producer)
Hugh Whitemore (Producer)
Hugh Whitemore (Writer)
Lorraine Goodman (Producer)
Peter Ansorge (Producer)
Anthony Powell (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Cinema Club
Manufacturer: Cinema Club
EAN: 5014138296797
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2003-05-12
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 415 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1997
Language: English (Original Language)