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A Family At War - Series 1
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A Family at War
Review date: 2006-10-24 Rating: 8 out of 10
My wife has been after this for some time and I eventually succumbed. We have really enjoyed it and are now nearing the end of series 2. The attraction lies in the setting (30's surroundings and attitudes, the onset of war and the gradual effect it has on the family's lives). The acting is good (not superb but believable) and the plot development, of local disputes against the greater turmoil, keeps you involved.
The other angle of interest is that this was filmed in 1970 and the differences in technique between then and now are interesting in themselves. No sex (suggested, but not on-screen), no bad language (even in scenes of great dispute, it just doesn't come out), no graphic violence (yes, its a film about war and people do get shot and bombed, but they don't hammer each other into pulp as we see so often today).
All in all, a good watch
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Reviews
A Family At War 'The Facts of Life'
Review date: 2005-09-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is one of the best series ever made and we are enjoying watching it again, it was nice to see some of the old actor's such as Bet Lynch, Percy Sugden and Fred Elliot all out of Coronation Street when they where younger.
Family At War Disc 2 - The Facts of Life
Review date: 2005-02-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
Thoroughly enjoyed it and intend to watch whole series from beginning to end. Although I remember the series it is like watching it for first time as it has been so long since it was televised.
A Family at War
Review date: 2004-07-12 Rating: 10 out of 10
I'm writing from the US. I first saw this series in the '70's on American public television. The powerful story and wonderful acting has stuck with me for all this time. When it became available of DVD I bought it immediately, even though I was almost afraid to see it again after 30 years- afraid it would not be as good as I remembered. Believe me, it was as good and better than my memory. This is a gripping story of how real people handled the stresses of war, separtion, bombing and displacement. A MUST SEE!
Accurate, articulate and atmospheric
Review date: 2004-05-21 Rating: 10 out of 10
TV Drama, by its very moniker, has an implied expectation and today's programme-makers do deliver the literal. Any modern dramatization of the war years tends to revolve around sensational acts of bravery, mishaps, controversey, revelations or - God forbid - murders.
A Family At War dates back to a time when dramatists were not afraid of subtelties. This series deals with the impact of war on the everyday lives of an ordinary family and does more to evoke an understanding of what it must have been like to live through those years than any recent attempts. Here we see people reacting to change as humans do - slowly and not particularly well. We see the tetchiness born of a broken night's sleep; the dawning realisation that the war was not going to be over in a matter of months; the slow and painful agony of not knowing the fate of a loved one; how uncertainty and confusion can bring out feelings and thoughts buried throughout years of normal living. Moreover all this is built up with a subtely more akin to reality. It is realised through ordinary conversations, as much in what is not said as what is: the viewer finds an empathy with the characters and begins to understand them as he/she gets to know them. None of the high impact, short, sharp dumbed-down bursts of intense drama designed to ensure that even the greatest fool gets the point of any particular scene.
While it's accuracy is still a little off the mark in the finer details, it is still far more authentic than most recent wartime recreations - no doubt to draw the greater percentage of an audience who - in 1970 - would have lived through the times. Occasionally, the acting seems a little more stilted than we are used to but let us not forget that this series was made 34 years ago and we have not always been the expressive, free-speaking people we are today. To me this simply lends more authenticity to an excellent, evocative dramatisation (in the non-sensational, theatrical sense of the word!)
This is compulsive viewing for those who are interested in people rather than events. As a reflective piece of social history, I cannot recommend it enough.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Barbara Flynn
Colin Douglas
John McKelvey
Leslie Nunnerley
Coral Atkins
Creators:
Colin Douglas (Primary Contributor)
Barbara Flynn (Primary Contributor)
John Brabazon (Writer)
John Ellison (Writer)
John Finch (Writer)
Recording label: Acorn Media
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
EAN: 5036193090349
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 6
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2004-01-12
Number of discs: 6
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Running time: 650 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)