I probably don't have what it takes to truly understand this series. Why? I'm not British! After everything i've read about this series i've understood that there is something here that just speaks to the British soul. I don't know quite what it is, but there is some nostalgia here that is probably lost on the rest of the world. In Swedish the title of this series can be translated to "A Lost World", and i guess that says it all.
I didn't know quite what to expect when i popped the DVD into the player. I had bought this series for my mother on her birthday since she remembered seeing it on TV in the 1980's and loving it. After seeing it again on DVD she said it was difficult to sit through. But that might be for a lot of reasons. So i decided to listen to the reviews on the DVD-cover, they stated that this was Britains all-time favorite TV-series. And since i do enjoy British television expectations were quite high.
I can start off by saying that Jeremy Irons is one of my favorite actors. There is some dignity and worthiness about him that just speaks to me. Although he picks his roles as a blind man throws dart, he still manages to come out at least decently unscathed most of the time. Here he is the main character as well as the narrator. And let me tell you, for all my warm feelings toward Jeremy Irons i couldn't stand him after watching "Brideshead Revisited"...
My lasting memory of this TV-series will always be the droning voice of Jeremy Irons. Like a wet blanket over the whole story, covering it all like a tarp held down by lead weights. The acting is mostly great, and Irons is excellent as usual. The story itself is not exceptionally interesting but the environments and the sheer atmosphere makes it capturing nevertheless. Also there are location shots here that are excellent, from Egypt, Venice and a ship at sea. I don't know how much filming was actually done on these locations, but the ambiance is extraordinary. Also the slightly homo-erotic tendencies between the two main characters adds another layer to the story.
But then we return to Irons and his narration. While i did enjoy the acting, the scenery, the story (mostly), the characters and so forth, Irons still drove me to sleep with his droning voice. I don't know, maybe the narration was what made this such a good adaptation of the novel? I don't know, i haven't read the novel and after this i don't care to. But for the pacing the narration is murder. It's as if the watch is moving at half pace when he speaks, as though i'm slowly drowning in a pool of hot fudge... It's like before an accident when you can suddenly see everything stopping for a moment before your car hits that tree... And imagine that Irons speaks for most of every episode. It was on the verge of unbearable.
In the end i have mixed feelings about this series. I can understand why British people love it, i found a lot to like myself. But the pacing problems are just too much for me to take. The series doesn't exactly rush on as it is, and with Irons slowing everything to a crawl this became one of those viewing-experiences where i looked at the watch many times every episode. Perhaps i'm damaged by modern TV and it's cut-cut-cut pace (although i doubt it since i like many slow-paced things), maybe it's just my failure to appreciate the poetic beauty in Irons reading... Whatever it is, this became a sleeping pill for no good reason. I wanted to love it, now i just like it. Recommended, but load yourself up with caffeine...
6/10.
I didn't know quite what to expect when i popped the DVD into the player. I had bought this series for my mother on her birthday since she remembered seeing it on TV in the 1980's and loving it. After seeing it again on DVD she said it was difficult to sit through. But that might be for a lot of reasons. So i decided to listen to the reviews on the DVD-cover, they stated that this was Britains all-time favorite TV-series. And since i do enjoy British television expectations were quite high.
I can start off by saying that Jeremy Irons is one of my favorite actors. There is some dignity and worthiness about him that just speaks to me. Although he picks his roles as a blind man throws dart, he still manages to come out at least decently unscathed most of the time. Here he is the main character as well as the narrator. And let me tell you, for all my warm feelings toward Jeremy Irons i couldn't stand him after watching "Brideshead Revisited"...
My lasting memory of this TV-series will always be the droning voice of Jeremy Irons. Like a wet blanket over the whole story, covering it all like a tarp held down by lead weights. The acting is mostly great, and Irons is excellent as usual. The story itself is not exceptionally interesting but the environments and the sheer atmosphere makes it capturing nevertheless. Also there are location shots here that are excellent, from Egypt, Venice and a ship at sea. I don't know how much filming was actually done on these locations, but the ambiance is extraordinary. Also the slightly homo-erotic tendencies between the two main characters adds another layer to the story.
But then we return to Irons and his narration. While i did enjoy the acting, the scenery, the story (mostly), the characters and so forth, Irons still drove me to sleep with his droning voice. I don't know, maybe the narration was what made this such a good adaptation of the novel? I don't know, i haven't read the novel and after this i don't care to. But for the pacing the narration is murder. It's as if the watch is moving at half pace when he speaks, as though i'm slowly drowning in a pool of hot fudge... It's like before an accident when you can suddenly see everything stopping for a moment before your car hits that tree... And imagine that Irons speaks for most of every episode. It was on the verge of unbearable.
In the end i have mixed feelings about this series. I can understand why British people love it, i found a lot to like myself. But the pacing problems are just too much for me to take. The series doesn't exactly rush on as it is, and with Irons slowing everything to a crawl this became one of those viewing-experiences where i looked at the watch many times every episode. Perhaps i'm damaged by modern TV and it's cut-cut-cut pace (although i doubt it since i like many slow-paced things), maybe it's just my failure to appreciate the poetic beauty in Irons reading... Whatever it is, this became a sleeping pill for no good reason. I wanted to love it, now i just like it. Recommended, but load yourself up with caffeine...
6/10.