The Barchester Chronicles
by David Giles
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DVD details
Actor: Clifford Parrish, David Gwillim, Donald Pleasence, John Ringham, Joseph O'ConorDirector: David Giles
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Geoff Feld
Editor: Stan Pow
Producer: Jonathan Powell
Writer: Alan Plater
Writer: Anthony Trollope
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 374 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-01-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner
Product features:
- The cozy community of Barchester is rocked from its complacency when a crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires. Overnight, Septimus Harding (Donald Pleasence) becomes the pawn in a political battle begun by his younger daughter's beau, John Bold, and kept kindled by his older daughter's husband, Archdeacon Grantly (Nigel Hawthorne).Running Time: 385 min. For
DVD Reviews of The Barchester Chronicles
DVD Review: Ensemble cast makes a wonderful diversion
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this because of Alan Rickman was very happy to see him and so many other familiar British faces. This was a refreshing change to all of the expletives, nudity, & sex that shows up on more recent features. I don't think that this one of Anthony Trollope's works ever made it to Buffalo, New York television. It is a nice look at days gone by and a reminder of how mores have changed. If you like costume pieces this is quite a bargain.DVD Review: Not as engaging as I'd hoped
Summary: 3 Stars
The story is good, but the pace is slow. Alan Rickman's performance is up to his usual excellence, but some of the others are a bit disappointing. It was something worth watching once, but not a "keeper", in my opinion.DVD Review: the barchester chronicles
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful production. Marvelous actors, acting, script, sets, & locations. It gets better with each viewing. DVD Review: Great series!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite series from the BBC. So very well done--a classic with nothing to shame or embarass anyone. You'll love it!DVD Review: A brilliant production! Superb acting!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first watched the Barchester Chronicles, I was not expecting a drama about the interpersonal tangles within the Church of England would be particularly interesting. But what a surprise! After renting the series, I knew I had to buy it - and indeed, having now watched it three times, I believe it to be worthy of many more viewings. Never have I seen a film (or mini-series) with so many brilliant actors, creating such enchanting characters.
Donald Pleasance is heartwarming as Mr. Harding; every expression and gesture of his is perfect. Alan Rickman as the Slippery Slope is hysterically appalling, as is Geraldine McEwan as the Bishop's wife - frighteningly unforgettable. Nigel Hawthorne captures well the emotional, outraged but basically decent Dr. Grantley. And the delightful Susan Hampshire (who I first saw and admired in the Pallisers) brings a tone of playful lightness to the film.
I couldn't recommend this mini-series more highly. It is one of the best-acted and best-directed films I have every seen.
Description of The Barchester Chronicles
The cozy community of Barchester is rocked from its complacency when a crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires. Overnight Septimus Harding (Donald Pleasence) becomes the pawn in a political battle begun by his younger daughter's beau John Bold and kept kindled by his older daughter's husband Archdeacon Grantly (Nigel Hawthorne).Running Time: 385 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DRAMA UPC:?794051211125The first two episodes of this BBC miniseries only hint at the delights to come. A lawsuit aimed at church reform in the town of Barchester forces a decent middle-aged clergyman (the august Donald Pleasence, best known in the U.S. for the Halloween movies) into a moral crisis and a conflict with his son-in-law, a pompous archdeacon (Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George). The gracefully written and acted narrative shows glimpses of dry wit--but in episode 3, the arrival of a new bishop (Clive Swift, Keeping Up Appearances), his imperious wife (Geraldine McEwan, The Magdalene Sisters), and his devious chaplain (Alan Rickman, Truly Madly Deeply, the Harry Potter movies) launches The Barchester Chronicles into a satirical power struggle all the more mesmerizing because of the smallness of the territory. The scheming of the citizens and clergy of this British town is both Byzantine and wonderfully comic as the tempestuous personalities claw and dig at each other.
Rickman, in one of his first film or television roles, turns in a tour de force of oily ambition. McEwan's ferocious machinations are downright terrifying, while the sputtering Hawthorne (The Madness of King George) seems constantly in danger of bursting a vein. At the center of it all is Pleasence. Making goodness compelling has always been difficult, since wickedness is always more dramatic; but Pleasence brings a deep and stirring passion to his role that proves as engaging as all the back-biting that surrounds him. And these are just the more familiar faces; a host of lesser-known actors give equally superb performances. The final episode (of seven) will have you on pins and needles. The Barchester Chronicles, adapted from two novels by Anthony Trollope, is one of those marvels of British television, a skillful production that proves intelligent fare can be hugely entertaining. --Bret Fetzer
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