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Post by lola on Apr 25, 2011 14:52:53 GMT
My daughter's home sick from college, will be laid up for probably another month Lord willing. She has enough energy to watch a couple of hrs of movies in the afternoons, and is thinking this would be a good time to catch up on British costume dramas. Lightweight, the main plot agony being whether she will realize he's the man for her, that sort of thing.
We finished The Way We Live Now, excellent BBC Trollope, over the past 3 days, and have started the Davies adapted Vanity Fair. I have ordered the Lord Peter Wimsey Christopher Hodson directed series, Gosford Park, North & South. We always snuggle up and watch Pride and Prejudice over Christmas break, so that's covered for the year.
Anyone have any other favorites? I think PatrickLondon would be a good resource for this, too, so I might post on that other travel board.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 25, 2011 15:03:50 GMT
I've posted about this before somewhere, but The Duchess is totally worth it for the costumes alone. And, mirabile dictu, Keira Knightly is quite bearable in it. TheYoung Victoria won't over-excite the patient, as the pace is um, stately, but it has maybe the best dresses in a movie, ever, and excellent actors. |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 25, 2011 15:14:43 GMT
My favourite BBC costume drama in recent years was Cranford
not to be confused with Lark Rise to Candleford...which is inferior in ooooh sooooooo many ways....
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Post by lola on Apr 26, 2011 13:38:31 GMT
Ha, Bixa! I tried to watch Young Vic on a tiny British Airways screen a couple of yrs ago, and found it far too stately for that situation; switched to something brisk and profane. It might be just what the doctor ordered now.
Thanks, cpb. That looks fun. I skimmed to a part where Judi D was sucking an orange.
It doesn't really need to be costume drama; just not in the modern extreme emotion/violence/weirdness mode.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2011 13:41:28 GMT
There's always A Knight's Tale wih Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany. Very light entertainment.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 26, 2011 20:40:17 GMT
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 26, 2011 20:48:53 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2011 23:55:56 GMT
No offense to the UK, but I really think the US version is more satisfying to Americans, simply because of the recognition factor in "then & now". I totally loved the US version, so tried the UK one as well. I can see how well done it is, but I remember the '70s in the US, not the '70s in the UK. (although I think Lola was probably a tot in the 70s) |
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Post by lola on Apr 27, 2011 0:41:41 GMT
Oh, my tot days were back when pterodactyls darkened the skies. I'll see which of those versions we can find on DVD. Our TV is too ancient to watch things streamed.
Thanks, Kerouac and cpb. Will try those. We don't need genteel.
We watched the most of the BBC Emma with Romola Garai today, liked it very much. She makes a darling Emma. It's fun to watch all those same actors in different roles. You can imagine the producers rounding up all the usual gang.
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Post by joanne28 on Apr 27, 2011 14:23:14 GMT
Brideshead Revisited is a classic, as is Pride and Prejudice, the Colin Firth version.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 27, 2011 16:00:39 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2011 18:09:55 GMT
Yes, Pride and Prejudice fits the bill exactly.
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Post by lola on Apr 28, 2011 0:10:40 GMT
P&P is our gold standard for that sort of thing. I like that Persuasian best, too, cpb.
We started North and South today. Either we're going into British Costume Fatigue or the plucky heroine is a little annoying. Why be so mean to the guy when we know she's going to fall into his arms by the last reel?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 28, 2011 16:05:08 GMT
British Costume Drama Fatigue is a well documented syndrome, especially in our house... ;D
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 30, 2011 17:23:07 GMT
BUT....strangely...they've shown the whole series of Pride and Prejudice this afternoon...and because we're so loved up with nostalgia OH and I have watched them all.....sigh.....
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Post by lola on Apr 30, 2011 19:11:09 GMT
We find P&P irresistable. The common thread in these fantasies is that the man sees past her/your imperfections and loves the essential you.
North and South grew on us, so I was wiping away furtive tears at the end.
My daughter's getting better every day, though, so we'll have to step up our pace to get Anna Karenina in before she flies away again.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2011 20:32:04 GMT
Don't forget Tess.
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Post by onlymark on Apr 30, 2011 20:41:58 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on May 1, 2011 0:15:24 GMT
That second one, especially, sounds good.
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Post by auntieannie on May 1, 2011 8:50:34 GMT
glad to read your daughter is feeling much better.
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Post by monetsmum on May 4, 2011 5:48:41 GMT
The BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South is my favourite.
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Post by lola on May 7, 2011 14:51:56 GMT
Thank you, auntieannie! She's so much better, almost her dancing self.
We ended up really liking North & South, monetsmum. I hadn't ever heard of the novel somehow.
Couldn't find either of yours, oM, at the library or Netflix, but both are available on amazing YouTube so I'm watching on my own here and there. Thank you.
The British Life On Mars is really fun. We love the Guv character and Sam, too, of course. British actors reappear in so many different roles, giving the impression there's a room where 20 or so of them hang out waiting for their names to be called. When Guv came on the screen we said, "Dobbin!", but this one has to be his best.
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