Gormenghast

Rating:
Summary: Oh the stones,the stones!
Review: It's about time someone attempted to put the magnificent GORMENGHAST books on film.On the other hand,could film do these books justice?The answer is two-fold.Of the three books in the trilogy I must say that the third, Titus Alone,was the most difficult for me because it reads differently than the prior two.Where the first two swirled in gothic mythos,the third comes across like Jules Verne sci-fi.Fortunately,the BBC production sticks with the first two books.
I found the BBC production very enjoyable,with meticulous attention in it's portrayal of the various characters who inhabit the Gormenghast domain.Notable performances are the characters of Flay,Prunesquallor,Lady Groan,the 76th Earl,Barquentine,Swelter and of course Steerpike.
As with any great work of art,there could be many interpretations of Gormenghast...it holds that kind of "gravitas".I think this version is excellent,and look forward perhaps at other attempts in bringing these "ancient stones" to life.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: I was enthraled by this almost sureal world that Mervyn Peake had created. The idea of a place that existed as its own world was facinating. As I watched I was really taken into the story, I could associate with all of the characters becuase they all had very human characteristics, Greed, Hatred, Loyalty, Sensibility, Idiocy, a desire for continuity, and Devotion. Although every thing appears to be going well on the outside, the castle of Gormenghast seems to be on the verge of catastrophy and just waiting for something horrible to happen.

I found myself captivated and could not get enough of the characters or of the story. I have watched the tape with my friends and they have enjoyed it emensly. Once someone has seen the first episode they have to watch it to the end because you will be wondering what will happen and who will come out the victor in the end. This tape is good for anyone who is interested in a compeling story of human emotion. The highest praise that I believe I can give this movie is that it inspired me to go and read the book, I am not someone has enjoyed reading but I have enjoyed this book.

Rating:
Summary: The vulnerability of old stone
Review: Welcome to the crumbling castle of Gormenghast.
Here, 1000 years of unchanged tradition have eroded the castle. Its occupants live by rote and ritual in a rigid caste system of servants and the served.
Its inhabitants have one thing in common, however: Everyone is expected to show respect for "the stones" of Gormenghast, although few have any clear idea of what that actually means and no one has the will to ask.
Curiosity has virtually gone extinct in Gormenghast, along with spontaneity, music, joy and most art. Surprises generally cause alarm, not delight.
The story begins on a day when two spontaneous, fateful events coincide:
The first is a rare cause for celebration: The birth of a son and heir for the 76th Earl of Groan and his enormous red-haired wife, Lady Gertrude Groan.
The event seems to herald undisturbed continuity.
However, the second forshadows trouble. For on the day of Titus' birth, a 17-year-old kitchen boy named Steerpike escapes from the sweltering hell where he's worked for 11 years to begin his ruthless ascent up the decaying Groan family heirarchy.

It is at a glacial pace that the inhabitants of Castle Groan begin realizing Steerpike's true nature and intentions. Their slowly-dawning awareness amid a slowly-growing list of mysterious deaths creates the drama, pathos and humor found in the story of Gormenghast.
What does it all mean? Is Gormenghast allegory, satire or something else?
Although its fantasy setting has been compared to "Dickens on crack," the Gormenghast trilogy of novels by illustrator Mervyn Peake was Peake's artistic commentary on the horrors of World War II and the post-war era.
Peake was one of the first illustrators to be permitted into the liberated Nazi concentration camps of Europe. He ably captured the horrific images of what he saw in his line drawings.
The images haunted him.
Gormenghast appears to be Peake's attempt to come to grips with the war and with a world forever changed in its wake.
With a cast of the finest British actors and comedians, led by Irishman Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the role of Steerpike, the BBC production of Gormenghast is a densely-textured, visual feast that is entertaining and thought-provoking.
It is packed so full of rapier wit and double entendres that it can be viewed and enjoyed repeatedly by adults and teenagers. Younger children might be disturbed at some scenes, although there is minimal gore in the production.
On the short downside list, one wishes the script writers had paid more attention to the dialogue for Steerpike, who is the central character but whose motives and relevant history are not well defined.
Some reviewers have criticized Jonathan Rhys Meyers for inexplicably transforming Steerpike from simpering kitchen boy to an unfeeling opportunistic schemer without adequate depth. However, Rhys-Meyers does a commendable job of portraying Steerpike with the few lines he is given in the first two episodes.
By the third and fourth installments, we are riveted to the intertwined actions and fortunes of Steerpike, Gormenghast and Titus. The mysteries and intrigues deepen as Castle Groan is disquieted by a series of unexplained deaths, sudden power shifts among the elite and a dawning awareness that a malevalant presence is alive and working in Gormenghast.
By the time anyone gets around to asking "What is going on?" it is too late to hold back the changes that are coming.
More than 50 years after its publication, Gormenghast remains as relevant as today's headlines.
Peake's ever-fresh account of what happens when ambition, resentment, intelligence, and power-lust combine makes for a fascinating story, well told. It is well worth the money and the 4-hour time investment.
I recommend viewing it over two nights, if you can stand to resist popping in that second tape right away.

Enjoy!

Daphne

Rating:
Summary: UNWATCHABLE ...
Review: Not even Christopher Lee could make this mess entertaining. British fantasy at its worst. Watch FRANK HERBERT'S DUNE and leave this bilge to the folks who have to watch the BBC.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: This is the most wonderful video of all time!! The actors are extremely talented, The script but funny and terrifying.

Rating:
Summary: mildly disturbing, in a good sort of way
Review: the very first time i saw Gormenghast was during a three day long special on T.V. i caught the second and third days, but i didn't catch the first. so, after frantically searching the T.V. Guide for a few minutes, i saw that the first would be on again.
after watching all three days worth of Gormenghast, i really appreciated it. it is an extremelly good movie, but i would not recomend it to people who don't like the awkward type of genre that it was originally written in.
Steerpike was my favorite character. i know he is the "bad guy" and that he kills a lot of people during the movie, but that doesn't matter to me. what matters to me is whether or not the character is played to the fullest, and Steerpike was supreme. devious, manipulating, and discreet, Steerpike is the very essence of villainy. i will never look at any villain the same ever again.
and no matter how hard i look, i cannot find the Gormenghast books in my local library. i think i just might have to order them off here...

Rating:
Summary: Gormenghastly...
Review: A fairly decent feature. The gothic overtones and OTT acting make this a memorable piece. Rhys-Myers oozes charisma as the brilliant but nasty Steerpike. Some class actors and fine imagery, Gormenghast is a well made adaptation if some what sombre in parts.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: When I first saw Gormenghast, I had no idea what I thought of it. By the end, though, I knew the answer. I absolutely LOVED it. At first I thought it would only be good because of the cute guy in it, but then I discovered its magnetism. It's so weird - I was not prepared for that. I think it was perfect, save a few nitpicks. The acting was amazing. Before I had gotten into the film I thought everyone was overacting, but then I understood why. Everything was overdone (in a good way), and each character represented something bigger in the world (i.e. communist, romantic, intillectual, etc.) The story was awesome, and the characters were hilarious, in a dark sort of way. I think that making this movie seem so lighthearted and then have such a dark view of society really contrasted and worked well. I especially liked Steerpike. He was beautiful, but he also played a hypnotizing character. I really recommend this movie that walks a fine line between comedy and tradgedy.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent job but books not quite understood
Review: ... I first read them when I was a moody teenager myself and they carried an impact I still feel 30 years later. There are very few books that have an impact that lasts a lifetime. It is a shame the video could not capture the languid atmosphere of the books but I suppose it can't be helped given the limitations of video. I was concerned that the presentation would contradict my own visualization of the characters, but to the contrary the presentation was dead-on. Rather than contradict the books, watching the video was more like seeing the same story but from a different perspective, focusing more on the characters and less on the environment.

My main criticism is that the screenwriter (or director or producer, whoever controlled the script) didn't really understand one of the main messages of the books. This comes through in the mishandling of the key character of the Master of Ritual, called the Secretary in the video. Changing the title was a mistake. And so was the change in the character. In the books the first Master of Ritual is old, quiet Sourdust, who helps set the eliagic mood before Steerpike starts to interfere. Steerpike then kills him (accidentally) in the library fire (this is why Steerpike in his later delirium says the sisters make 5 -- Sourdust, Nanny Slagg, Cora, Clarice, Barquentine. Steerpike did not know what happened to Sepulchrave or Swelter, only Flay knew). Steerpike's fire brings nasty, cussing Barquentine into the book, and that is what first causes the mood to change. But in the video, it is nasty Barquentine from the start (although because he isn't named until much later, you think at first it is supposed to be Sourdust). Sourdust is simply deleted. The result is that in the video you always have the nasty element, and Steerpike has no responsibility for it. I should have thought the screenwriter would be more careful about cutting Steerpike's first murder. The author, Peake, knew what he was doing by starting with Sourdust and having Steerpike kill him.

The title of Master of Ritual is important for another reason. It is such an important point: in that castle, Ritual is master, so the Master of Ritual is the true master of the castle. Steerpike wanted to be Master of Ritual because he knew that in that role he could control the law; it was where the real power was. As Master of Ritual he could surreptitiously change the rituals, because no one else could understand their intricacies, and set everyone dancing to his commands. The Groans were puppets of the Master of Ritual. In the books ritual is all-powerful. Recall that in the video Barquentine complained that Sepulchrave's breakfast was not part of the ritual. The meeting in the library came about only because of the breakfast, wherein Sepulchrave defied the control of ritual, to plan an act (the breakfast) intended to show his love for his son. Yet that led to the burning and Sepulchrave's madness and death. Sepulchrave's penalty for defying ritual was terrible. Steerpike wanted to marry Fushia and thus combine in himself both the control of the ritual, and be the central player in the ritual. But the dedication of the loyal servant of ritual, Barquentine (who burned Steerpike and made him mad) and the loyal servant of nobility, Flay (who relentlessly tracked him) along with the goodhearted, intelligent Prunesquallor and the heir, Titus, defeated him, preserved the ruling family, and thus preserved the ritual. Then Titus, having preserved the ritual, flees it, because he knows it is too powerful to defeat. I think a more understanding screenwriter would have developed these themes more clearly and still had a compelling drama.

Lastly, I was disappointed in the flooding sequence and the hunt for Steerpike, which was very compressed in time and visual scope; this should have been developed with sweep and steadily-building tension. I would have preferred they cut or compress the Bellgrove/professor sequences entirely to devote the time to a really powerful climactic flood/hunt sequence.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: When I saw that Gormenghast was being made into a mini-series my first reaction was skepticism that any plot so convoluted and setting so otherworldly could be successfully translated to the screen. When I saw the series I was so enthralled that I bought the DVD as soon as it was available. This is one spectacular production. The whole flavor of Peake's work is preserved and enhanced by the care given to every intricate detail. The DVD also has a documentary on the making of Gormenghast, with interviews with many of the cast and crew members.