- Find all the best television shows from the other side of the pond in our US TV store and catch the latest shows in our 2012's Hottest TV page.
Learn more about one of British TV's most loved actors as we put Martin Clunes In the Spotlight...
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
The BBC's lavish, glowingly designed adapation of Mervyn Peake's eccentrically brilliant novels Titus Groan and Gormenghast is a triumph of casting. Ian Richardson's Lear-like depiction of the mad earl of a remote, vast, ritual-obsessed building is matched by the brutal pragmatism of Celia Imrie as his wife, the synchronised madness of Zoe Wanamaker and Lynsey Baxter as his twin sisters and the duplicitous charm of Jonathan Rhys-Meyer as Steerpike, the kitchen-boy determined to take over no matter how many deaths it costs. John Sessions is surprisingly touching as Prunesquallor, the family doctor who realises almost too late what Steerpike intends.
It is always tricky to film a book dear to the hearts of its admirers: Wilson and his design team achieve a look rather more pre-Raphaelite than Peake's own illustrations, shabby velvets, garish sunlight and dank stone passages. The score by Richard Rodney Bennett is full of attractive surprises--fanfares and waltzes and apotheoses--and John Tavener's choral additions are plausibly parts of the immemorial ritual of Gormenghast.
On the DVD: The double DVD comes with scene selection, an informative half-hour documentary on the making of the serial and a slide gallery of costume designs, characters and their dooms. --Roz Kaveney
Special Features
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Costume Gallery
Picture in Picture
English
Region 2
Costume Gallery
Picture in Picture
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Ignore those who say that this doesn't do justice to the books - it's different, yes, but in a good way. What's the point in sitting down to watch something that's EXACTLY like the book, or complaining because it doesn't EXACTLY match what you thought it should look like? The BBC made an amazing job of what was almost impossible to film, and the cast is just perfect. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Steerpike with more than a touch of genius, and the chemistry between him and Fuchsia is spot-on... Everything about this is awe-inspiring; the sets, the scripts, the acting. Admittedly, Warren Mitchell's portrayal of Barquentine is more comical and capricious than the fearsome and powerful character in the book, but it works. Likewise, Irma Prunesquallor seems more ridiculous on the screen than she does on the page, but a bit of comic relief does wonders for this exquisitely dark production. The word 'masterpiece' is overused, or else I would not hesitate to describe Gormenghast as such. It is easy to forgive the odd bit of artistic licence, and when you consider that they have managed to compress three extremely complex books into four hours of fantastic viewing, it's difficult to find fault.
67 of 72 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
First let me clarify where my viewpoint is coming from. The Gormenghast trilogy is probably my all time favourite literary work. I have "lived" with this wonderful story since I was but a strap of a lad, 18 years ago. I suppose you could say that it holds a special place in my heart, so I was always always going to be a difficult critic to convince. I was definitely looking forward to seeing the result though, when I read that the BBC were going to produce an adaption.
The first problem is the format. There is no way that the first two books could be filmed in 4 hours, whilst keeping the narrative and dramatic integrity of the books. When lesser, mainstream and unimportant "pap" series can command six 1 hour episodes, and considering the amount of time and money involved in bringing the production to the screen, it is frankly amazing that the Beeb would cut the legs from under the production before it was even made. The end result is comparable to driving through the centre of Florence at high speed! Many beautiful impressions appear fleetingly, with the next vista appearing before the previous can be digested. Subsequently many wonderful plot and character details are cut from the work to fit the time constraints. The greatest example of this is the removal of the Keda's life and loves.
The second, and to this reviewer, even more serious flaw, is in its handling of the most important character, and one of the few with whom the reader forms an emotional bond: namely Fuschia. In the first book she is a 15 year old girl, given to a life in her own imagination, through her alienation from her family and those around her ( Nannie Slagg apart). What do we get? An actress in her mid twenties purveying the ghastly scene of a child in an adult's body, causing the viewer to assume that she must be suffering from developmental problems! The end result is reminiscent of a pantomime. (Gwyneth Paltrow as Alice anyone?)
The final flaw is to completely alter the nature of Fuscia's relationship with Steerpike, so that her most important scene in the second book (when she stands looking out of her window across the flooded landscape), is altered from one of the most beautifully moving pieces of prose to a cheap (and convenient) piece of plotting.
So why do I give it 3 stars do you ask, given my harsh critique? The bulk of the casting was exceptional, Steerpike was a revelation, and much of the visual language was faithfully reproduced: Cora and Clara's tree being a perfect example.
Enjoy this adaption, but make sure you read the book also. The former is in no way a representation of the depth and beauty of the latter.
48 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This BBC self-proclaimed Millenium Drama really is a triumph! Despite some critics chastising the production for not being 100% faithful to Peake's original novels, it's as faithful as any 4-hour TV adaptation could be! With beautiful, opulent costumes, seemingly endless sets and excellent "blue-screen' effects - the whole creation of the world of Gormenghast is like a dream, sprinkled with the stars of British acting. John Sessions is wonderful as the painfully verbose Prunesquallor, with Fiona Shaw truly sublime as his menopausally desperate sister Irma. Neve McIntosh is the most beautiful, infantile Fuchsia that one could imagine, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the very essence of emotionally troubled teenager as the ultimate social climber Steerpike. Topped off with the likes of film legend Christopher Lee as Flay, along with Celia Imrie, Stephen Fry et al. this really is a must see for fans of the genre. Read the novels in conjunction with the video to really get the best out of both!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Worth watching, but falls short of its potential despite a stellar...
The birth of Titus Groan, heir to the vast castle of Gormenghast, is a time of great joy and happiness for the inhabitants. Read more
Published 8 days ago by A. Whitehead
Give it a chance
I saw this when it was originally broadcast and gave up after the first episode. Having read the reviews, I tried again. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr. Michael J. Atkins
Tradition vs Freedom
The books clearly have a following which hold that the characters and atmosphere, and of course plot, are to be literally copied. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Merlin's Owl
Subtitles for hard of hearing= YES
I love quirky films and this one is that!. I had seen a version on TV of the book some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lizlass
Travesty with no redeeming qualities
I read Mervyn Peake's novels as a boy, and just reread them this summer (the centenary year of the author's birth). Read more
Published 7 months ago by Romulus
A good tale, well dramatised
I had to fiddle with the colour settings on my VHS, but once the right ones had been found for this tape I viewed it with much pleasure in one sitting. Read more
Published 8 months ago by R. Barlow
Goremenghast
I have bought many period drama's produced by the BBC but this has to be the worst I have ever seen. Read more
Published 8 months ago by D. Berg
GORMENGHAST DVD
I enjoyed this when I first saw it on TV. Then I listened to the Radio 4 production. This is a superb interpretation of a unique story.
Published 8 months ago by Mr. David Cookson
Mervyn Piqued
Never has there been a more ill-judged,crass, misguided travesty of a filmed version of a literary masterpiece, and the fact that it was by the BBC makes it even more... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Franimi
Shakespearian yet more excentric
Great cast (introducing a young J. R. Meyers), good story and maybe a little to much excentricity (its not always entertaining).
Bottomline: worth buying and watching.
Bottomline: worth buying and watching.
Published 11 months ago by Ana
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
