Drama > Langton, Simon Drama

All The Austen Without The Read

Advantages: Excellent entertainment
Disadvantages: Some of the productions are better than others

Jane Austen needs little or no introduction to both modern readers and viewers. She was one of the pioneers of the modern novel and her work continues to be read widely - not just for its historic value but for its entertainment too! Whilst some consider it to be "women's literature" this is simply because her heroines are young women. Frankly it is a gender-inspired argument as ridiculous as to say that Shakespeare is for men. Her novels are carefully ...
...potential suitor for Emma and Jane Fairfax (Ania Marson) is thought by some to be a peer, or rival, for Emma herself in her role as uncrowned Queen of Highbury. However, it's a a game of two halves and it ain't over until it's over! Although Emma is a meddler and a teeny-weeny bit snobbish she is really well-meaning and her mortification as things go awry is thus tempered with other, happier, developments. Doran Godwin is perfect as the engaging ...

JoePoirot 12.12.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Jane Austen (Box Set) (DVD)

Riveting Spy Tale For Grown-ups

Advantages: Made during the peak years of British tv. Good idea, the glossary!
Disadvantages: Measured pace may turn off some restless viewers.

...spy agency, the KGB. It's Smiley's self-imposed mission to uncover these links and their significance to his friend's murder. Just like the finest of British television during their peak years (the Seventies to the Nineties), 'Smiley's People' boasts excellent performances by a cast headed by the redoubtable Sir Alec Guinness. Mr Guinness, whose mere reaction shots threaten to dominate any scene, is in his usual fine form. He lives and breathes ...
...bored. We follow developments from Smiley's point of view, except that our imposed ignorance forces us to lag some steps behind him. A thread of tension runs through the tale, with mildly sardonic humour sprinkled hither and yon. The tension occasionally grows taut, offering only fleeting moments of relief from the persistent feeling of unease. Things culminate in a suspenseful finale that is profoundly moving for its humanness. In the world of which ...

zerbine28 29.09.2005 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Smiley's People (DVD)

The best dvd adaptation of the book

Advantages: Fantastic.
Disadvantages: There are none

I am a big fan of "costume dramas" and I remember watching this when it was first shown on the BBC and I loved it. I am sure I have seen it ten times since then and I look forward to watching it again, it is a series I never tire of. The reason for this being the modern way it was shown although keeping the integrity of the novel. Also the actors that starred in the programme were excellent and brought the characters to life. Jennifer Ehle was the ...

flytequeen 01.08.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Pride And Prejudice (Anniversary Edition) (DVD)

Michael Caine is The Whistle Blower.

Advantages: A brilliant piece of acting by Michael Caine
Disadvantages: A little slow in the first 15-20 minutes.

...Whistle Blower” DVD The Whistle Blower carries a Parental Guidance (PG) classification. The genre is Espionage/Drama and the film was first released in 1987. It has a run time of 1 hour 40minutes. The copy I am reviewing is a single disc edition with a limited special feature selection of Scene Selection and Photo Gallery. Cast, Director and Producer The DVD has a strong cast list which includes Michael Caine, Nigel Havers, John Gielgud, James ...
...is Simon Langton and the producers Geoffrey Reeve, Jim Reeve, John Kelleher, Peter Dolman and Philip Nugus . Soundtrack by John Scott. The Plot The Whistle Blower is based on a novel by John Hale, this film is basically a cold war spy story. Frank Jones (Michael Caine) is a war veteran, he served his country during the second world war and is now an ordinary civilian, a law abiding business man. Frank has a son, Bob, (Nigel Havers) of whom he ...

brittle1906 19.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Whistle Blower (DVD)

CHARCOAL

Advantages: An inexpensive period drama
Disadvantages: Lacking realism

...150-minute film was written by Catherine Cookson and produced by Tyne Tees Television and published by Corgi books (1994), licensed & distributed by Granada Ventures (www.granadaventures.tv). Screenplay by Alan Seymour, music by Barrington Pheloung, producer Ray Marshall, Director Simon Langton. CAST: Lloyd Owen - Charlie MacFell. Catherine Zeta Jones - Victoria Chapman. Tom Bell - Edward MacFell. Marie Miles - Nellie Chapman. THE STORY This ...
...with 2 sisters, then goes to fight in WW1. The film starts in 1913, Charlie returns from University to Northumberland and the prosperous farm owned by his father Edward a man with a sadistic bent. He routinely humiliates family and farm workers alike. Edward becomes the victim of a murder made to look like an accident. Charlie is witness (and so is another - Ginger Slater) to it and blackmail follows. He also marries the beautiful but adulterous ...

JeffreyB 13.05.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Catherine Cookson - The Cinder Path (DVD)