Till Death Us Do Part

Rating:
Summary: Interesting... but know what you're buying
Review: I bought this on VHS a few years ago thinking it would give me a sense of the groundbreaking BBC TV series on which "All in the Family" was loosely based. For that, I should have just bought episodes of "Till Death Us Do Part" (which are also available on DVD in America).

This is a cinema-release feature film based on the series, and was aimed at fans of the TV show who wanted to know more about its characters. Out of that context, it doesn't really hold up. It's okay, and a fascinating document of its era, but it's nothing to write home about.

Still, the brilliant Warren Mitchell is in fine form in his signature role as Alf Garnett, the hard-drinking, loudmouthed, bigoted working stiff. And Dandy Nichol is her wonderful self as his long-suffering "silly moo" of a wife, Else (even if I don't quite buy her as a twentysomething in the flashback). The problem is that a little Alf Garnett goes a long way. And in this flick, you get a lot of Alf.

Much of the film is a flashback to the 1940s, where we get to see the early years of Alf and Else's "romance" (if you can call it that). Then it jumps ahead to the 1960s as Alf's xenophobia gets a workout when Britain faces Germany for soccer's World Cup.

Whether you buy this film or opt for the TV show (I suggest the latter), bear in mind that the tone is much harsher than the later American series, and many U.S. viewers may find "Till Death Us Do Part" so shrill as to be unwatchable. The TV series is growing on me. This film isn't.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting... but know what you're buying
Review: I bought this on VHS a few years ago thinking it would give me a sense of the groundbreaking BBC TV series on which "All in the Family" was loosely based. For that, I should have just bought episodes of "Till Death Us Do Part" (which are also available on DVD in America).

This is a cinema-release feature film based on the series, and was aimed at fans of the TV show who wanted to know more about its characters. Out of that context, it doesn't really hold up. It's okay, and a fascinating document of its era, but it's nothing to write home about.

Still, the brilliant Warren Mitchell is in fine form in his signature role as Alf Garnett, the hard-drinking, loudmouthed, bigoted working stiff. And Dandy Nichol is her wonderful self as his long-suffering "silly moo" of a wife, Else (even if I don't quite buy her as a twentysomething in the flashback). The problem is that a little Alf Garnett goes a long way. And in this flick, you get a lot of Alf.

Much of the film is a flashback to the 1940s, where we get to see the early years of Alf and Else's "romance" (if you can call it that). Then it jumps ahead to the 1960s as Alf's xenophobia gets a workout when Britain faces Germany for soccer's World Cup.

Whether you buy this film or opt for the TV show (I suggest the latter), bear in mind that the tone is much harsher than the later American series, and many U.S. viewers may find "Till Death Us Do Part" so shrill as to be unwatchable. The TV series is growing on me. This film isn't.