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Andrew Birkin's haunting trilogy of biographical films about the author J.M. Barrie; the creator of Peter Pan, is universally regarded as a masterpiece of television drama. Ian Holm gives one of the finest performances of his career as Barrie. All three parts of the trilogy are featured. '...superb and haunting'; - The Times. 'Enchanting and disturbing...My Pick of the Year', Daily Mail.
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
This superb three part series, written by Andrew Birkin in the 70s, uses a wholly convincing and unsentimental combination of documentary evidence and imaginative reconstruction to explore the psyche of the Peter Pan playwright JM Barrie.
Ian Holm is unforgettable in the central role and overall there is a sense of decency, and an absence of sensationalism, in this attempt to give shape to the complex and painful story of this unusual man's emotional needs. I haven't seen the recent movie covering similar ground so can't make comparisons although it's worth mentioning that Birkin says he realised his originally intended one-off drama would compromise the complexity of Barrie's character and held out for a three part series (would the Beeb be as flexible today?). Once you've seen Ian Holm, it's certainly difficult to imagine a better performance: Nico, the last surviving brother was, apparently, "undone" when he first watched Holm as "Uncle Jim."
Incidentally, Nico wrote angrily to a newspaper when a columnist referred to Barrie as a closet pederast - he thought Barrie was incapable of "stirrings in the undergrowth" for anyone - but what the series delicately suggests is that simply being the focus of Barrie's emotional needs could itself be a considerable burden, whatever the comforts or bribes - holidays, gifts - in its wake. The moment I remember most vividly from first watching the series is when Barrie, having frightened off a friend (read: rival) of the adult Michael, is reciting from his play Mary Rose and we see a look of wry amusement on Michael's face, not unmixed with affection; but we've also been given enough material by then to make sense of Michael's later fate.
Overall, this is a fascinating story told superbly well with an astonishing central performance - witness the moment Holm as Barrie learns of the death of one of his "boys" at the front, or his reaction to his wife's intention to divorce him. The earlier scenes with Barrie and the children alone, for which no documentary evidence exists, wrote themselves, according to Birkin, and they are extraordinary. And given the mass of unecessary, anecdotal commentaries on so many DVDs, it's also a relief that no one is talking over those scenes or any others - watch them and engage with them yourself, as Nature intendeded. Birkin speaks in a short, separate piece to camera about the genesis of the project.
A minor point: it might have been useful also to include Andrew Birkins Without Walls piece on Barrie from some time in the 80s or 90s, but I can't remember how much that might have duplicated what he has to say today.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Paul Sutton's "review" vis-a-vis the technical stuff is utter bunk - and I should know as I wrote "The Lost Boys" and was involved in the DVD transfer. The trilogy was remastered from the BBC's original 2" video tapes, which in turn included exterior sequences shot on 16mm, as was the custom in the 1970s. The American/NTSC version came out after the UK/PAL version, not before, and as for stating that "the picture quality is a long way short of the old one on the old VHS tape" this too is claptrap since the trilogy was never released on tape!
I suggest Paul Sutton stops writing defamatory remarks about things he knows nothing about.
[In order to post this rebuttal, I fear I had to rate my own efforts, so naturally gave them 5/5!]
I suggest Paul Sutton stops writing defamatory remarks about things he knows nothing about.
[In order to post this rebuttal, I fear I had to rate my own efforts, so naturally gave them 5/5!]
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Dear Andrew, sorry to have upset you. The film is marvellous and your book should be on everyone's shelf. My review was of the DVD released in America, which I bought (because it had a better cover) because it was released much later than the DVD released in England (early DVDs were DVD-5s, later DVDs are DVD-9s and should be higher quality). The picture quality of the American discs is shockingly bad. It is certainly transfered into NTSC from a PAL source, so the picture 'ghosts' whenever there is movement. It is not nearly as good as the VHS copy I recorded from television. Naturally I sent the disc back and posted a warning to customers to stop them from being ripped off. I don't have a copy of the disc released in the UK. I bought a copy for a friend, who watches DVDs on an old analogue portable TV, and he's happy with it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
delivery review only
bought as a present - haven't actually seen the film. Delivery was pretty quick given that it was just before Christmas.
Published 17 months ago by hypnobear
Sometimes Words Are Not Enough
How does one entitle a review of a television drama series that is so absorbing and thought-provoking that one cannot possibly describe it without becoming mired in the... Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2008 by F. S. L'hoir
Never Never land
The tragedy of this series is that it could not be made today in this ghastly politically correct world.
It is superb of course just as the other reviewers say. Read more
It is superb of course just as the other reviewers say. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2006 by Herakles
THE REAL PETER PAN
This story is warm, funny, tragic and heartbreaking.
J.M.Barrie WAS the REAL Peter Pan, a little boy who yearned for a lost childhood that he never had, now grown old in a man's... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2005 by "toothfairy62"
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