Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful and moving view of England ca. 1920 to WWII
Review: Even if you have never read Evelyn Waugh's brilliant book, you will greatly enjoy this superb video series. The character of Waugh's incisive prose is preserved, and the first-rate performances of the cast (Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Claire Bloom among others) will deeply impress you.Brideshead Revisisted is the story of Charles Ryder and his connections to the aristocratic Marchmain family whose estate--Brideshead-- provides the core of this story. We follow Charles from his first encounters with Sebastian Flyte (the youngest Marchmain son) at Oxford and the passionate friendship that develops between the two to the final breakdown of Charles relationship with the Marchmain family. Charles's devotion to Sebastian is matched by his romantic interest in the Marchmain clan, and his developing love for Sebastian's sister Julia. With beautiful settings from Oxford to Venice and marvelous music, the watcher is transported to the first half of the 20th century and tossed from emotional high to emotiional low along with the main characters. If you like movies like Howard's End and Wings of the Dove, or TV series like Upstairs Downstairs, why not treat yourself to this set of videos? At nearly 10 hours, it costs about as much as 5 trips to the movies, so is well worth the splurge.
Rating:
Summary: The finest film made for television that I have ever seen.
Review: Brideshead Revisited is the finest film made for television that I have ever seen. It is true to Evelyn Waugh's great novel. After watching this movie I bought the book and liked it as much as the videos. For those viewers who like to read, if you enjoyed the film you are almost certain to love the book. After reading the novel, I viewed the tapes a second time and discovered that the movie was even better than I first thought. What makes this video series great? The performances by a top flight cast are superb and the story is compelling. Jeremy Irons plays the part of Charles Ryder, an artist in search of his soul. His paintings are technially brilliant, but something is missing from them. An eccentric friend characterizes Ryder's work as full of "charm," and this evaluation is true -- the paintings are stylish, but soulless. Anthony Andrews brings to life Ryder's Oxford college friend, Lord Sebastian Flyte, a spoiled royal trying to break free from the influence of his disfuntional family. Claire Bloom is his mother, Lady Marchmain, separated from his father, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Lord Marchmain. Bloom is cool and calculating and she drives young Sebastian to drink. He becomes an embarassing drunk which she seems pleased to attempt to reclaim from social and spiritual destruction. Unlike his friend, Charles Ryder, Sebastian does have a soul which his mother seems detemined to destroy. It is only late in the film that Ryder realizes the machiavellian nature of Lady Marchmain, unlike Sebastian, who has understood his mother's nature all along. Ryder subverts her wishes by giving Sebastian money for alcohol and then Ryder makes a break with the family when his gift of money to Sebastian is discovered by her and she confronts Ryder with her muted, yet terrible anger. Sir John Gielgud is brilliant as Ryder's disinterested father and we come to understand why Ryder lacks Sebastian's heart. Ryder grew up unloved and uncared for and he spends the rest of his life attempting to overcome his disabilty. His marriage to his first wife ends in divorce and he then falls in love with Lady Julia, Sebastian's sister. In the end Ryder's coldness, aloofness, and disdain for religion, something Julia and Sebastian hold dear, cause their breakup. Last, but not least, the filmmakers have lavished great expense on all aspects of this production. The sets are superbly created to give us a true feel for the time and place in England at the time between the great wars. The music also deserves special mention. It beautifully supports the story and is worth listening to on its own merits. It stays in the listener's mind long after the drama is finished. Can film ever stand comparison with great literaure? The Brideshead Revisited video series answers this question with a resounding "yes"!
Rating:
Summary: Et In Arcadia Ego
Review: Brideshead revisited, Evelyn Waugh's portrait of a world trying to come to terms with the obliteration of what for its inhabitants were absolute certainties, by war and its aftermath represents a mountain of almost Himalayan proportions for any would-be adaptor, so much so that it's surprising that anyone was ever mad enough to try. Luckily for us though John Mortimer (more widely celebrated for "Rumpole of the Bailey") was indeed mad enough to give it a go. What he came up with has over the intervening years come to be seen as one of the finest adapted screen plays ever set before the viewing public. Remaining remarkably faithful to the spirit of the book, Brideshead Revisited is told from the prospective of the painter Charles Ryder (Jeremy Irons). From a decidedly upper middle class background, when we first meet our narrator, Charles is an officer in the British army at the outbreak of World War 2 whose general disillusionment is exceeded only by his distaste for army life. From this present we are taken back twenty years by Charles' reminisces to his first term at Oxford University at the beginning of the 1920's and to his developing relationship with the aristocratic and charmingly dissolute Sebastian Flyte (Anthony Andrews). Supported by a truly superb cast of characters including, Jane Asher, Diana Quick, Clair Bloom, Nikolas Grace, Sir John Gielgud and in what was to be his final performance Sir Laurence Olivier. The acting is just what you would expect from such an accomplished bunch, as close to perfection as can ever be obtained. As absorbing as the story is, it is almost overshadowed by other aspects of this production. Shot on location at Castle Howard, Yorkshire (the home of the then chairman of the BBC George Howard, even though this production was made by the BBC's rival Granada Television), Oxford, Venice and aboard the cruise ship the Queen Elizabeth II. The location filming has a beauty that at times can be truly breathtaking, with a lushness and sensuality that is a perfect foil for the decadence of the Sebastian and his circle. Just as in Waugh's original text, the whole atmosphere of the piece is redolent with nostalgia. This takes two forms, the most prominent from the beginning is Charles' nostalgia for his youth and idealism, his feeling that his life could be what he wanted it to be, the friends he knew, his time with the Flyte family and his love for Lady Julia. Secondly and perhaps most importantly is nostalgia for the world of the Victorian and Edwardian upper classes with its certainties and its view of Britain as the centre of the greatest Empire that the world had ever known. Post World War 1, it was rare to find an aristocratic British family who had not suffered the loss of a Father, Son or Brother in the trenches and this longing for a world which was as "irrecoverable as Lyonnesse" was all too real for many people of all classes and backgrounds. In this story of the rise and to a certain extent destruction of a single man, Waugh has given us a metaphor not only for the British aristocracy, but for the wealthy and socially mobile wherever and whenever they may be. I remember once discussing the novel with my Father and he expressed the opinion that while Waugh may not have loved the aristocracy as such, he certainly loved the life of an aristocrat. In many way's Brideshead Revisited reminds me of Edward Elgars' Cello Concerto, possessing the same kind of painful beauty combined with the most agonising sense of grief and heartache, but in the final analysis it is this love that colours both the book and this adaptation, rendering it as sublime as the memory of a summers afternoon and just as unattainable.
Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing mini-series
Review: I came across this mini-series completely by accident. The episode descriptions sounded interesting, and I am a fan of British period drama, so I decided to give it a try. I was really suprised at how much effort went into it--after taking a peek at a few chapters of the novel, I found that it's an almost word for word adaptation. The characters are all well developed and fascinating, but none is more intriguing than the tragic Sebastian. In addition to the story, the scenery and the performances given by all involved make this mini-series one to remember.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Film Translation Of Waugh's Classic Novel!
Review: This superb depiction of upper class life in Britain over the span of some thirty years was released when I was living near London, and was a sensation at the time. Unlike the United States, the English acknowledge the marked differences in life style and life chances assocaited with their social class structure, and this intricately filmed adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's best-selling novel springs to life on the screen for nearly a dozen hours of revealing and dramatically staged drama. The cast is superb, featuring Jeremy Irons as the intrepid Charles Ryder, a world-weary officer suddenly stationed at the castle which was the family home for the illustrious Marchmain family decades before, but which now has been mothballed and shuttered due to exigent circumstance. Also featured is a very young Anthony Edwards as the fey but intellectually captivating Sebastian, enfant terrible of the Marchmain household, and soon to become Charles closest friend and confidant. The rest of the supporting cast is simply superb, ranging from Lord Lawrence Olivier as the self-exiled "pater familias", Claire Bloom as his ever-suffering estranged wife living out the marital lie since as devout Catholics they cannot divorce, the lovely Diana Quick as Sebastian's comely and somewhat haughty sister Julia, and a small role for John Gielgud as Charles' bemused, self-absorbed, and distant father. The story revolves around Sebastian's life, which for reasons best left to the viewer to discover continues to spiral out of control, with eventual tragic results all around. This is not popular soap opera, but rather an extended look at a dysfunctional family and the effects of that situation on each of the familial members. Still, it has many light and wonderful sequences within its doomed orb. The depiction of college life at Cambridge is lovely, as is the way in which they show how the upper class lived and thought in the first several decades of the 20th century. With Charles' gradual insinuation into the family, his fortunes and life becomes intricately intertwined with the course of the family members, and he suffers greatly for this alliance as the years progress. As Sebastian's friend and confidante, and then later as Julia's lover and fiancée, Charles rides a course fraught with emotional risk and eventual denouement. Yet in the end he appears to accept all that transpires stoically, and finds solace in the memories of all that has transpired in the foreboding castle he so briefly revisits. This is perhaps one of the best extended dramas ever filmed, and I highly recommend it for your personal video library. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable
Review: I've seen this story dismissed as upperclass twaddle which no one should read or view unless they are a rich Brit with sentimental longing for the world of their grandparents. But this has been my favorite novel and movie for more than 20 years. It's a story about growing up, courtship and marriage, separation and divorce, birth and death, substance abuse, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, sick and aging parents, religion and spirituality, and the continual quest to find what really gives meaning to life. And don't forget love, in a variety of forms. If you think these themes have no relevance to anyone who is not rich and British, then I don't know what planet you pretend to be from. I pick up the book once or twice a month to read bits, and I try to either read the whole book or watch the entire film adaptation once a year to remind myself what's really important in life. I'm delighted to have it on DVD -- like other reviewers, now I can set aside my inadequate VHS tapes. This was one of the great English language novels of the 20th century, and the film adaptation is as masterful as the book. Like all great works, however, it elicits different reactions depending on the perspective you bring to it. One example: for years I regarded Lady Marchmain (portrayed by Claire Bloom) as the story's great villain with her cold attempts to control her younger son's life. Then I watched the story with my mother, and after every one of Claire Bloom's scenes I asked, "Isn't she horrible?" Finally a quiet voice responded, "She's only trying to do what's best for her son." Suddenly I was able to see her as the tragic figure adding her grief for her son to her grief for her husband and to the painful mortal illness that was slowly destroying her.
Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get much better than this...
Review: This mini-series is well-worth adding to your collection since it is one you will view again and again, discovering something new each time. Superbly acted with beatiful sets and scenery, it is a perfect adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel. Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews and Diana Quick are excellent, as are the rest of this talented cast.
Rating:
Summary: LAVISH, FAITHFUL RENDERING OF WAUGH'S MASTERPIECE
Review: I recently watched the whole six vhs cassettes at two sittings and was suitably impressed by the close adherence to the book - having just recently re-read it for the umpteenth time. Castle Howard is the ideal setting for such a sumptuous drama and the costumes, make-up, hairstyles, crystal, china, furniture, linens, etc., etc. are all authentically reproduced and add to the verisimilitude of the production. I especially liked the interaction between Jeremy Irons and his father - as played by Sir John Gielgud. I howl with laughter everytime I see that absent-minded scholar potting about his townhouse and Gielgud's humour has always been of the most subtle and insidious kind. Many present-day actors and actresses could learn from Sir John's mordant sense of humour and how to convey it without resorting to Hollywood-style gesturing and crass "acting".
John Gielgud is one of the many treasures of this set and it is good that his consummate acting abilities have been immortalised on video and dvd. He is also brilliant in Peter Greenaway's "Prospero's Books" and has there ever been such a resounding and unforgettable voice? I highly recommend this set and doubt is it will ever be remade as actors and sets such as these are now prohibitively expensive.
Rating:
Summary: Quomodo sedet sola civitas
Review: Brideshead Revisited was an epic film designed for television, yet has become the yardstick by which subsequent British period dramas are measured by. The sheer scale of this film, in terms of locations, cast and production costs have been flawless and rather unique; indeed, no expense seems to have been spared in its making. The principal filming location was at Castle Howard in Yorkshire, an enormous country house which became 'Brideshead', the seat of the Marchmain family. The film is eloquently narrated by Charles Ryder, about whose life the story is about. Beginning as an Oxford undergraduate, Ryder (Jeremy Irons) meets the eccentric Lord Sebastian Flyte (Anthony Andrews) whose family epitomizes the personality and values of the Edwardian English aristocracy. While sharing a near-intimate bond with Charles Ryder, Sebastian warns him away from the mysterious Marchmain family, and in so doing increasingly draws him into their austere world. As the lives of Charles and Sebastian collide more, so does the decline of Sebastian's health become. Having fallen short of the harsh expectations of his strict Catholic mother, Lady Marchmain (Claire Bloom), Sebastian falls from grace into a perilous state of drunkenness. While seeking refuge in Charles, Sebastian stubbornly clings to his Catholic beliefs. Although harking back to his early years at Oxford, Charles can no longer help Sebastian and instead finds love in Sebastian's captivating older sister, Lady Julia (Diana Quick). Following their adulterous lives, Julia and Charles finally enjoy the peace and harmony they had longed for as a couple, until the death of Julia's father, Lord Marchmain (Sir Lawrence Olivier). The important theme of the film revolves around the strict Catholic rules that impinge upon the loves and relationships of the Marchmain family. As the members of the family become ever more estranged, their faith on Catholicism appears to strengthen. The language used in the dialogue and narration attests to the quality of Brideshead Revisited as a singularly important period drama. Indeed, the script is faithfully contemporaneous of the time. Like a window on the past, Brideshead Revisited gives us a close-up view of both a period and class structure that was influenced by the dignity, religious and social values of that bygone age.
Rating:
Summary: A Way of Life Vanishes Before Your Eyes
Review: What is it that people often say about film adaptations of great literature? "It's not as good as the book"? Brideshead Revisited is the exception that proves the rule, I guess, for you will never find a screenplay that more closely adhere's to the author's words, characters and story. This is Evlyn Waugh's valentine to an upper class that maintained its privilege and lifestyle for centuries, but met it's match in the 20th century. That way of life dissolves before our eyes. At the beginning of the film it would seem that each of the Marchmain children would have their future mapped out exactly as had generations before. Coming out parties in London, marriage arranged with another upper class family, and a continued life of balls, fox hunts, and managing their huge estate. But as the twenties tumble into the thirties, each one finds themselves on an uncharted course. And by the end of the film, during the Second World War, their palatial grand London house has been torn down and turned into apartments, and their country house, Brideshead, is stripped and sandbagged - turned into an army encampment. The way the film depicts it, you can't help but be a little nostalgic for that beautiful life that is no more. But even still, upper class life wasn't quite the enchanted existence it seemed from the outside - which gives the film its second theme of the superiority of the mystical and spiritual over the secular. Jeremy Irons is amazing as our protagonist and narrator, Charles Ryder. He ages from an innocent college boy stumbling into his first love, to a hollow shell of a middle aged man who has let all hope of love go, except for a flicker of faith that he acquired along the way. As an upper middle class student at Oxford in the 20's, he normally would never have come in contact with the privileged class. However, he is befriended by Sebastian, beautifully and charmingly played by Anthony Andrews. Sebastian wants to keep Charles away from his family, but he only ends up pulling Charles deep into the lives of the Marchmains, where Charles is entangled in their charm, piety, and dysfunction. The film is cast and performed so well by the entire ensemble that it is impossible to single out any one individual, though Irons has the yeoman's job as he appears in nearly every scene. (Backstage note: Production went so over-schedule that the last few weeks Irons had to commute between finishing Brideshead and filming "The French Lieutenant's Woman" with Meryl Streep.) Brideshead Revisited will hook you in those first hours when Sebastian's life and family seem magical. Then it will pull you through the downward spiral that each life takes. This is amazing television, and certainly something that will hold up for many repeat viewings.
| 
