"Tess of the D'Urbervilles" (2008) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series | Class Differences | England | Period Piece | 19th Century

Cast

Gemma Arterton	...	Tess Durbeyfield (4 episodes, 2008)
Eddie Redmayne	...	Angel Clare (4 episodes, 2008)
Ruth Jones	...	Joan Durbeyfield (4 episodes, 2008)
Hans Matheson	...	Alec D'Urberville (4 episodes, 2008)
Ian Puleston-Davies	...	John Durbeyfield (4 episodes, 2008)
Christopher Fairbank	...	Groby (4 episodes, 2008)
Jo Woodcock	...	Liza-Lu Durbeyfield (4 episodes, 2008)
Steven Robertson	...	Cuthbert Clare (4 episodes, 2008)
Hugh Skinner	...	Felix Clare (4 episodes, 2008)
Jodie Whittaker	...	Izzy Huett (3 episodes, 2008)
Kenneth Cranham	...	Mr Clare (3 episodes, 2008)
Donald Sumpter	...	Parson Tringham (3 episodes, 2008)
Rebekah Staton	...	Marion (3 episodes, 2008)
Jessica Turner	...	Mrs Clare (3 episodes, 2008)
Jeany Spark	...	Mercy Chant (3 episodes, 2008)
Joel Rowbottom	...	Abraham Durbeyfield (3 episodes, 2008)
Christine Bottomley	...	Kate (3 episodes, 2008)
Emma Stansfield	...	Mary (3 episodes, 2008)
Emily Beecham	...	Retty Priddle (2 episodes, 2008)
Trevor Cooper	...	Mr Crick (2 episodes, 2008)
Sally Bankes	...	Mrs Crick (2 episodes, 2008)

Runtime:

240 min (4 parts)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

BBC Drama Productions

Trivia:

BBC Television's first-ever adaptation of Hardy's novel.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: There are two musical anachronisms. First, Angel plays an autoharp which was not invented until the 1880s in Germany, and would not have been an English folk instrument at the time of TESS. Secondly, the congregation is heard singing "How Great Thou Art," which was written in Swedish in 1885, but was not commonly known in English until Stuart Hine's translation (circa 1950).

Movie Connections:

Version of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1924)

Good adaptation

This is the first BBC dramatisation of this wonderful novel by Thomas Hardy, which I have read several times. I first knew it from the Roman Polanski film which has a different approach to casting - Tess was played by Nastassja Kinski who was more obviously sexual in her appearance, and Angel Clare was Peter Firth, who to me had more charisma than Eddie Redmayne. I loved that film and it was very upsetting to watch, when I was in my teens. Now I'm older and wiser, but Tess's story is so tragic that it still has enormous sadness. I felt that the protagonists in this version were more believable as young people living in a rural community, but the romance between Tess and Angel was not very convincing. Angel was well represented as a weak man who makes bad decisions, but he could have been more attractive, to persuade me that all the milkmaids were in love with him. So on the whole, although the story was told in faithful detail and well done, it didn't excite me in the way I expected. I always have sympathy for Tess as a character - whether or not she was technically raped is open to interpretation, but the main facts are that she was an innocent girl who was preyed upon by one man and let down by another. However, to be a tragic heroine, she possesses character flaws that allow her to succumb to the events that overcome her. It is a sad story that has relevance still, and it is a good introduction for viewers who have never read the wonderful book.