Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant Forsyte remake for the modern generation., 9 Jun 2008
For those of you who are very fond of the original black/white series, do not fear. This new adaptation takes nothing away from the beloved earlier version, but rather takes a fresh and modern look at the novel.
We begin in the late Victorian period with the Forsytes, a very rich and powerful family who appear to have it all on the outside, but underneath lies deceit, betrayal, unhappiness and affairs.
Young Jolyon Foryste (Rupert Graves) is stuck in a loveless marriage with only his young daughter, June, as his happiness. When Jolyon falls in love with his daughter's nanny and leaves his wife, he is cast out by his father, Jolyon Forsyte Sr (Corin Redgrave brilliantly cast) and left to live in poverty.
Years later, Jolyon Sr is now looking after his beloved granddaughter, June (Gillian Kearney) and has come to deeply regret his estrangement with his son.
As he tries to rebuild a relationship lost, meanwhile the story now has shifted focus to the other side of the family - to Jolyon Sr's brother, James Forsyte, and his son Soames and daughter Winifred.
Young Soames (Damian Lewis), a solicitor attached to his father's business, has been brought up to think that men have higher rights over women and that people should follow codes of honor and duty.
When he meets pretty Irene (Gina McKee) he instantly becomes infatuated by her. Despite her reservations and concerns, Irene is pushed into marrying Soames for security. However she soon finds herself suffocated by a lonely marriage, after Soames becomes possesive and overbearing.
As her hatred towards her husband grows, tensions arise within the Forsytes, and tragedy ensues when Irene embarkes on a passionate affair with June's fiancee, the handsome Phillip Bosinney (Ioan Gruffudd).
The second series continues to be as addictive and enthrawling as the first, with a new generation of Forsyte's taking centre stage just as the 19th century unfolds - bringing with it new fashions, art, music and technology.
As the years roll by, cracks appear across the whole family when Forsytes fall in love with other Forsytes, money is gambled away, affairs ruin friendships, and a whole generation of old and new come and go.
The Forsyte Saga is an exciting and addictive drama that you never want to end. The acting and casting is superb. Rupert Graves and Damian Lewis in particular shine in their roles, the supporting cast (including Gillian Kearney, Amanda Root and Ben Miles) and later in the second series the two young leads (Emma Griffiths Malin and Lee Williams) are brilliant and the bright costumes and locations just adds to the perfection.
The only thing I would say I didnt like was the casting of Irene (Gina McKee). McKee is without a doubt a brilliant actress, and here she does well, but she doesn't look the part. I don't see why Soames and her future lovers, including Phillip Bosinney, would be so infatuated by her. She is not especially 'attractive and beautiful', as she is constantly described and her portrayal is also very under stated.
However If you love period romances and dramas, then this modern Forsyte Saga complete series is for you!
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Forsyte Saga or the Art of Letting Go, 20 Oct 2008
The 2002/2003 Forsyte Saga version of John Galsworthy's novels, starring Damian Lewis, Gina McKee, Amanda Root, Colin Redgrave and Rupert Graves, is a Granada and WGBH Boston co-production. Although, many would label the series a remake of the 1967 BBC version, it is not. This is a free adaptation of Galsworthy's three novels and two interludes (The Man of Property, Indian Summer of a Forsyte, In Chancery, Awakening and To Let). The saga chronicles the lives of an upper-middle-class British family, from the beginning of the 19th century to the 1930s. Directed by Andy Wilson, produced by David Boulter and Sita Williams and adapted by Kate Brooke and Phil Woods, the Forsyte saga is definitively a saga that shakes things up. In two discs and ten episodes, we will follow the story of Soames Forsyte (Damian Lewis) - a rich solicitor who pictures himself as the family's upholder of moral values - and other characters. Soames also has a genuine gift for always saying or doing the wrong thing, at the wrong time and to the wrong person. Which he does when he marries Irene Heron (Gina McKee - astonishingly beautiful). Unfortunately, it will take him almost the ten episodes to realize that. Meanwhile, we follow the busy lives of the other Forsytes, their ups and downs and the way they relate to the family's values (money, possessions, power), especially when confronted with those of no-property (Irene, young Jolyon, Bosinney, Jon and at times, the old Jolyon too). The interesting thing about this saga is the way it deals with its own subject matter. When we might expect a traditional costume drama, with one-dimensional characters, the saga is actually everything but predictable. In fact, the complexity of the characters - Soames being the most tortured and troubled one - is well-rendered in the visual style of the series, oscillating between long and close-up shots, between old fashion feels and boundary-cross scenes of intimacy. Nothing is completely what it seems, people often wear masks, yet underneath the facade they too experience passions, betrayals and violent impulses and got dragged into intrigues. There is a sense of modernity alongside the Victorianism, an outsider view of bourgeoisie, which gives away Galsworthy's own experience of playing both sides, so to speak. There have been rumours that Galsworthy put a lot of his own life into Soames and Irene characters, as a way of settling scores with his oppressive class, the way he had to live a painful double life with his beloved mistress Ada Nemesis Pearson Cooper, whom he would eventually marry, despite the family's disapproval. If anything, Galsworthy/Irene/young Jolyon are daring 'characters', jumping out of the cosy nest in the name of love. Of course, there is a terrible price to pay for that, but who said life ought to be easy and pleasant? Perhaps, this is why I enjoyed the 2002/2003 Forsyte Saga so much. While much of the story is about possessions, and all the silly things they make you do, I still can relate to these characters (especially Irene). Its language and concerns are modern enough to make you part of the story, to identify perhaps with some of the flawed characters. Shot almost entirely near Manchester, the Forsyte Saga is a delight for both the eye and the heart. The four disc box-set comprises the ten episodes, along with English and HOH English subtitles. There is an interactive menu for a total running time of 699 minutes. Lastly, a special treat with the main theme soundtrack interpreted by Bryn Terfel (Life is a Dance We Must Learn). I don't know for you folks, but at the end of the saga, I felt nothing but the pressing need of letting go things and enjoy just being here. Zen and all that...
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Si graçieux et magnifique!!!!!, 1 Oct 2008
Mon anglais est si mauvais que je m'abstiens par égard pour tous d'en faire étalage!!! Ce commentaire surtout destiné aux personnes françaises qui comme moi adorent ces superbes sagas en langue anglaise pour leur grande et superbe qualité et qui une fois encore ne démentent pas leur réputation: c'est grandiose! Et contrairement à ce que je peux lire sur les quelques réserves autour de Gina McKee pour le rôle d'Irene, je la trouve personnellement d'une grâce infinie, simplement parce qu'elle épouse les traits mondains et libres des peintures de J.S Sargent ou de Boldini et qu'elle incarne là cette douce liberté qui a fondé la femme moderne. Dommage que nous n'ayons pas en France beaucoup d'acteurs d'une telle envergure. Seul bémol: pensez à nous avec un sous titrage en français!!!
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