"Et in Arcadia Ego" was a wonderful first part to 'Brideshead Revisited', one of the best book-to-television mini-series ever made and a prime example of how to adapt such timeless source material, show immense respect to it while not being too faithful. It is essentially a set up episode, but first episodes for anything television related a vast majority of the time have that purpose and in this case that purpose couldn't have been done better really.
"Home and Abroad" is a just as wonderful second episode, where the story and characters move forward further and the tone and such is fully established. It continues to have everything that makes 'Brideshead Revisited' such a classic, and has also everything that was so good about "Et in Arcadia Ego". "Home and Abroad" may not quite have the powerful beginning of the previous part, a beginning that started the series off so beautifully, but things do get going a little quicker here.
The exquisite production values still remain. Brideshead is like its own character, one of beauty and anguish. Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the whole world, although there is a lot of walking, the photography captures that beauty with a lot of nostalgia and affection. Geoffrey Burgen's background scoring is melodious and memorable, if careful not to intrude too much at pivotal points. The main theme is a classic.
Once again, the script is thoughtful, emotionally rich and filled with depth. The story has yet to lose momentum, with the abroad parts being slightly more compelling. Charles and Sebastian are still interesting characters and we are introduced with great promise to Julia, Cordelia and Lord Marchmain. The character relationships are explored beautifully and would develop even more later.
Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews (the latter never bettered his work as Sebastian Flyte in my view) were born for Charles and Sebastian, Irons again proving why he is one of the best when it comes to narration, while Phoebe Nicholls is a truly charming Cordelia. Laurence Olivier was better in his second appearance, the final episode "Brideshead Revisited" where Marchmain's character is meatier, but he does have a great command over his material. Diana Quick may not quite be ideal age-wise for some as Julia, she is a little too old in the earlier episodes, yet she still does bring much heart to the role.
Summing up, wonderful. 10/10
"Home and Abroad" is a just as wonderful second episode, where the story and characters move forward further and the tone and such is fully established. It continues to have everything that makes 'Brideshead Revisited' such a classic, and has also everything that was so good about "Et in Arcadia Ego". "Home and Abroad" may not quite have the powerful beginning of the previous part, a beginning that started the series off so beautifully, but things do get going a little quicker here.
The exquisite production values still remain. Brideshead is like its own character, one of beauty and anguish. Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the whole world, although there is a lot of walking, the photography captures that beauty with a lot of nostalgia and affection. Geoffrey Burgen's background scoring is melodious and memorable, if careful not to intrude too much at pivotal points. The main theme is a classic.
Once again, the script is thoughtful, emotionally rich and filled with depth. The story has yet to lose momentum, with the abroad parts being slightly more compelling. Charles and Sebastian are still interesting characters and we are introduced with great promise to Julia, Cordelia and Lord Marchmain. The character relationships are explored beautifully and would develop even more later.
Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews (the latter never bettered his work as Sebastian Flyte in my view) were born for Charles and Sebastian, Irons again proving why he is one of the best when it comes to narration, while Phoebe Nicholls is a truly charming Cordelia. Laurence Olivier was better in his second appearance, the final episode "Brideshead Revisited" where Marchmain's character is meatier, but he does have a great command over his material. Diana Quick may not quite be ideal age-wise for some as Julia, she is a little too old in the earlier episodes, yet she still does bring much heart to the role.
Summing up, wonderful. 10/10
