Reply With Quote'Upstairs Downstairs'
'The Duchess of Duke Street'
'lillie'
'Penmarric'
'A Horseman Riding By'
'The Pallisers'
Can anyone recomend good period dramas that are on DVD ? Any ones that aren't well known that are good ? X
Last edited by batman; 20-05-11 at 05:40 PM.
'Upstairs Downstairs'
'The Duchess of Duke Street'
'lillie'
'Penmarric'
'A Horseman Riding By'
'The Pallisers'
The best Flashman ever was in the 1971 version of Tom Brown's school-days by the BBC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vBkFjwkJRg
Whenever I read MacDonald-Fraser's books, it's Richard Morant I'm imagining...
Agreed! Although Ian Ogilvy does a good imitation as 'Grayson' in the 'Ripping Yarns' parody 'Tomkinsons Schooldays'! Iain Cuthbertsons 'Dr Arnold' is superb in 'Tom Browns Schooldays'.Originally Posted by Moor Larkin
The best Flashman ever was in the 1971 version of Tom Brown's school-days by the BBC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vBkFjwkJRg
Whenever I read MacDonald-Fraser's books, it's Richard Morant I'm imagining...
Is there any reason why you're looking for Period Drama from the 1970s? I'd say the best era for this genre is the 1990s and early 2000s personally.
A Family at War is a superb 1970s period drama that isn't nearly as well known as it deserves to be.
Cousin Bette
Vanity Fair (late '60s)
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
Wessex Tales
Persuasion
To Serve Them All My Days
How Green Was My Valley
The Caesars (late '60s)
South Riding
Most of the BBC costume or period dramas of the 1970s are on DVD, plus quite a few from ITV. Like the OP it is an era I like because of the number of episodes and the interesting casts. The 1990s ones are good, but sometimes a bit rushed for my taste.
I'd forgotten about 'Wessex Tales'-even after watching it only last week! I agree that the 1970s period drama allow ample time for the adapted novel to be covered properly ('Wuthering Heights' is a good example-it has its detractors but it is my favourite version after the awful intro sequence) but the props/scenery/make up department is often found wanting (BBCs 'Nicholas Nickelby' and 'The Old Curiosity Shop' are good examples-'Wackford Squeers' and 'Daniel Quilp',need I say more?) there are some rushed period drama adaptations in the '90s/00s but there are also excellent adaptations such as 'Pride&Prejuduce' 'Bleak House', 'The Cazelets' which are quite true to the novel(s) and give sufficient time to do the books justice without having to skimp on low budget studio 'locations' etc. The 1970s is my favourite era for TV/Film but I think period drama of the time is hindered by budget and can be too theatrical at times.
Clayhanger must have been one of the most expensive at the time
I haven't seen it yet-I'm waiting for the price to drop whilst I go through my backlog of dvds! The title sounds an awful lot like a western!
Can I add 'The Onedin Line' to the list?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ot7ipUhat8
I found 'The Onedin Line' to be hard work,I watched a number of episodes last year and gave up as the series didn't seem to be going anywhere-the last episode that I watched was the one when the passenger was a diplomat of some sort and his cargo was a group of black slaves. It got off to a bad start with me as the characters were supposedly from Liverpool yet had Yorkshire accents rather than Lancashire accents! I didn't stay long enough to see Jane Seymour unfortunately!
Sorry Nathalie!
Hey each to their own, Jay!
It must be the islander's daughter in me that really takes to the stories and all those beautiful ships.......I can't get enough of it.
I like the ships,i'm not so sure about the miles of grey sea around them though!Hey each to their own, Jay!
It must be the islander's daughter in me that really takes to the stories and all those beautiful ships.......I can't get enough of it.
My dad has always been a nautical enthusiast and is also an amateur genealogist,through his research he struck up a friendship with members of two families-the Cross family and the Coulthard family both of whom ran a prosperous ship building firm and Chandlers shops in Liverpool at the very time that 'The Onedin Line' was set!
I agree. The Tudor trilogy is also very good: The Shadow of the Tower, Six Wives of Henry VIII, and Elizabeth R – showing up the hideous trash of the recently imported The Tudors. What they may have lacked in terms of visual gloss and effects was generally more than compensated for in scripting, fidelity to source, more time for character development, and a better sense of period. Some series seem to be too desperate to prove that the characters were modern people in fancy dress.
The 1978 Wuthering Heights remains definitive; I also love the Dennis Potter-scripted Mayor of Casterbridge. South Riding is superb. In more recent times, some writers have been better served than others: I like the adaptations of Sarah Waters's historical novels, and thought The Crimson Petal & the White was well done.
I'm not sure if it's still available – I got a copy a couple of years ago – but the 1976 BBC Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre Dame de Paris) is quite good, but had to be obtained via the Netherlands: it wasn't released in the UK. It makes the most of its stage-bound nature, with architectural sets like medi�val manuscript illustrations. For me, it was mainly let down by the lacklustre casting of Kenneth Haigh and Michelle Newell. I wish the 1966 version survived (James Maxwell as Claude).
The 1976 Hunchback (with great performances from Warren Clarke and Christopher Gable) isn't easy to find, but was recently in full on a certain video site. Well worth watching.
And kind of in the 'period drama' bracket is the 1977 Count Dracula which I finished today, with Louis Jourdan, Frank Finlay, Judi Bowker, Bosco Hogan and Susan Penhaligon. Probably the closest to the book of all the Dracula versions.
You can`t beat Our mutal friend (1976) IMO.
Chris Gable and David Rintoul walked away with the show. I reviewed it on IMDb.
Yes! It was superb!And kind of in the 'period drama' bracket is the 1977 Count Dracula which I finished today, with Louis Jourdan, Frank Finlay, Judi Bowker, Bosco Hogan and Susan Penhaligon. Probably the closest to the book of all the Dracula versions.
I can!-'Bleak House'(2005),'Upstairs Downstairs','The Duchess of Duke Street','Pride&prejudice'(1993)'The Mayor of Casterbridge'(1978),'Wuthering Heights(1978),'Little Dorrit'(2009),'Martin Chuzzlewit'(1994),'Wessex Tales'(1973).....need I go on??e
Hmmm.. Upstairs downstairs is the only one I can agree with there, but I also agree that Martin Chuzzlewitt was excellent. Little Dorrit definately didn`t do it for me.
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