NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Enoch Sneed In 1967 the BBC produced "The Forsyte Saga", a 26-episode adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels. It was a sensation and gripped the whole country. The BBC's only mistake was making the series in black-and-white. In the early 1970's, with colour television becoming the standard, they looked for another 'saga' they could treat the same way but as a colour production and came up with "The Pallisers". Once again they got it right, magnificently right, but the series didn't seem to grab the public as the Forsytes did (a strike half way through the first transmission didn't help). This is a great shame because this is one of finest costume dramas ever made for TV.It's hard to know where to start praising this series. Simon Raven does an excellent job of weeding out Trollope's inessential sub-plots and leaving the meaty stories revolving around major characters. His dialogue is rich and intelligent and full of character.The production values are superb. The use of videotape for exterior scenes avoids the jarring jump from studio work to grainy film that was a feature of TV production at the time (although some remote locations, such as Scotland, still rely on film). The interiors are rather set/studio-bound, but there's nothing cheap about them and they are convincing. The costumes look as though they cost a fortune in themselves (I don't think Susan Hampshire wears the same dress twice).So what of the drama? Nothing less than 26 episodes packed with incident and fascinating characters: George Vavasor, Ferdinand Lopez, Mr. Bonteen, Robert Kennedy, Mr. Chaffenbrass, Lizzie Eustace, Lord Fawn, Sextus Parker, the list is huge and the cast is a roll-call of the best British actors around doing some of their best work to bring their characters to life. It's a team effort and impossible to select one outstanding member, they are all memorable.At the centre lie the two fixed characters of Plantagenet and Glencora. All I can say here is that Susan Hampshire is so charming and lovable as Glencora she steals your heart as much as she does Planty Pal's. In some ways Philip Latham has a thankless job as Plantagenet. He is the embodiment of a high-minded public servant: humourless, devoted to his work, and an apparently aloof, unaffectionate husband and typical Victorian father. Again, though, the script fills out the character and some of the most memorable moments in the whole series come when Philip Latham shows the human qualities that lie behind this forbidding shell (particularly his fair-mindedness when faced with an argument). The scene where he tells Glencora never to think he doesn't love her is very moving and as a fine a piece of acting as you will find.Above all, the story of Glencora and Plantagenet shown in the series is the *true* story of a marriage. With all its ups and downs, misunderstandings, disagreements and differing points of view, there comes to be a deep affection between them that stands the test of time.It is this that makes "The Pallisers" one my very favourite TV series (along with "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" which is a horse of a very different colour): it is huge in scale but never loses sight of the human element. Anthony Trollope said he was fascinated by "the interestingness of existence". This adaptation, full of love, betrayal, greed, jealousy, ambition, *and* comedy, captures this in a truly unforgettable way.

operajsc This excellent series starts slowly and takes several episodes to really get off the ground, but patience is rewarded because the series becomes quite engrossing. Most of the acting is excellent, with many of the "Usual Suspects" of BBC/Masterpiece Theater productions. Central to the whole drama are Phillip Lathan as Plantagenet Palliser and Susan Hampshire as PP's wife, Lady Glencora. Past the first few episodes they are rarely at the center of the goings on, but they provide a dramatic constant and help hold the rather sprawling series together. The focus of the series, like Trollope's "Palliser" novels, moves from one series of characters and events to another. While this makes "The Pallisers" a bit jumpy and episodic, it does provide variety and keeps the very long miniseries from getting stale. My personal favorite series of episodes are those in which Phineas Finn is tried for murder; there are some wonderful courtroom scenes. If you like period drama, this is just the ticket for you.

BarbaraDiSarle Does anyone know why the beautiful narration by Greer Garson was removed from the DVD? I too loved the series and want to watch it again but with the narration and cannot locate a VHS or DVD with it.I remember looking forward to every Sunday evening with Alistair Cooke and The Pallisers. Wonderful. We would sip sherry and not speak for one hour.The cast, in my view, was brilliant. The costumes authentic and because of the way in was filmed in 1974, I felt I was watching and enjoying live theatre. This would be a brilliant class project for students in a high school. To hear beautiful English spoken and watch a tale of long ago unfold each week for a whole term. Marvelous.

Rosabel This series was a huge undertaking, of a sort that probably would not be attempted today. It was an adaptation of Trollope's "Palliser" novels, and dealt with a great many characters and intertwining plots. The series worked best for viewers who could take an interest in the fictional politics of the time, as Plantagenet Palliser, like most of the men in the story, is a politician and this theme runs throughout the series. However, Susan Hampshire as Lady Glencora, his mismatched wife, provides a romantic strain as well, though she eventually adopts her husbands concerns and interests as her own. The story from time to time veers away from these two main characters, and becomes quite entertaining as it delves into the complicated life of the scheming Lizzy Eustace, and also that of the greenhorn politician from Ireland, Phineas Phinn. His problems with women and his trial for murder (including a cross-examination in Latin!) are among the most interesting and enjoyable passages in the series. This is a thoroughly entertaining series for those who can just relax into the Victorian atmosphere and are not in a hurry to get to the end.