08-03-2013, 12:24 AM
Not really Movies but here goes.......
Finally I obtained copies of two 1980's TV mini series that I have long sought. Sadly my initial enthusiasm was somewhat tempered by the fact that in both cases they are heavily edited versions and not as originally released.
The first is The Last Days of Pompeii starring Duncan Regehr and Ned Beatty. This is at least the third version of the Victorian classic tale by Edward Bulwer Lytton. and probably only a mini series could really do justice to that lengthy novel. Here it is given a typical 80's soap spin.
Sporus the Gladiator loves Lydon the Gladiator, who loves Nydia a blind flower seller, who loves Glaucus a wealthy Greek who loves Ione, a soon to be priestess of Isis dominated by Arbaces, a corrupt priest with dreams of becoming emperor. Still following?
Peter Connolly was the historical advisor and it shows. The sets are stunning and there are tantalising glimpses of accurate archaeological details everywhere. The amphitheatre walls are decorated with authentic patterns (it was filmed in the actual arena at Pompeii, although some scenes show that only about half of the arena was used) with vendors selling snacks. The costumes and hairstyles are for the most part well done. The local militia wear no armour, have red clothing and use a version of an attic helmet, while their centurion sports a transverse crest. The tavern and shop scenes all look visually attractive as does the harbour scene with a few large scale ships. Look out for the artist who appears to have painted every well known wall painting and slogan in Pompeii!
Peter Connolly however was unhappy with how things worked out and apparently walked off the set and it is easy to see reasons why. I remember at the time that his name was in the credits for the first episode but was not included in the final episode. Most of the costumes worn by the leading characters are dreadful. In particular some notable low points are those worn by Chole played by Lesley Anne Down, a prostitute with a heart of gold. Her wardrobe includes a body stocking and high heels when she dances the dance of the one veil. Virtually all the costumes worn by Ned Beatty, a wealthy oil ( fish oil that is) baron, are ghastly and completely over the top. The gladiator scenes are generally well done but the hero has to have a black leather outfit with his arm protector on the wrong side.
The DVD version I have was released in Germany with the dialogue dubbed into German but with English audio. It is an attractive 3 disc set with the third disc being a German documentary on Pompeii. However as I have said the series itself has been heavily edited. This is immediately apparent when several scenes break off in mid sentence or the music soundtrack suddenly stops. However this version is still longer than an American release. The original opening sequence with introduction by Anthony Quayle, who also appears in the series, has been replaced by a very amateurish one for no apparent reason. An interesting point however is that several of the deleted scenes appear in the Deleted Scenes section of the Extras!!! I guess someone with the technological know how could splice them back in!
Overall the series is a bit of a mixed bag. The actors are a mixture of British and American, young and old stars notably Lawrence Olivier in one of his last performances. Even with the edits it is best viewed over a couple of nights but passes the time. The special effects are not always up to modern standards but who can forget Brian Blessed playing a fire breathing Christian blacksmith, 'Christ's alive!!!' Sorry couldn't resist!
The second series is A.D. starring Anthony Andrews and Ian McShane. This is in effect a sequel to the famous TV series 'Jesus of Nazareth', made by the same production team and filmed at many of the same Tunisian locations.
Unfortunately it never made the same impact as the first series and has, as far as I know, never been seen again on British television since its original showing. I believe in America it suffered a similar fate. Perhaps it did not help that some of the leading roles in the original series were played by different actors and some of those actors who were in the original series, like Ian Mc Shane and James Mason played completely different roles.
It is also fair to say that it attempted to be two series in one with a mixture of New Testament events played alongside contemporary Roman ones. For the most part the New Testament events include many lengthy theological debates and dialogue which would have been off putting to many. Equally the Roman sequences, which one might expect might be the most interesting, unfortunately came soon after the classic BBC series 'I Claudius' which was probably still fresh in the memory for many. Almost on every level the acting performances fail to match those of the BBC series, with the possible exception of Anthony Andrew's as Nero, who did not really feature much in the other series. Andrews was a much more handsome and athletic choice for the role of Nero than perhaps what most people might expect but unfortunately this element of surprise is lost as he continually acts as if he is sucking a particularly sour lemon!
The DVD release I managed to purchase recently from Amazon was the first time I have ever seen it on their site, so I ordered it at once. Temporarily I seem to have got the only available copy. It is in Castillian with English Audio option. As it was a Three disc set I was confident this was the whole series but once again I was disappointed. No running time was given so I can be excused but it appears it was originally nearer 10 hours long while this set is only six hours long. For some that might be a blessing.
However it was still nice to see this time capsule of eighties acting talent. The scene I most remembered, Caligula's abortive invasion of Britain, was still included but practically all the other Roman Imperial scenes are missing. As I have said previously they did not really work but it does make the whole thing harder to follow as certain characters appear and then disappear without reason and every so often there is a different incumbent on the Imperial throne without any explanation as to why or who they are. Also as all the leading stars, as advertised on the DVD cover and who appear in the opening titles, seem to play Romans it means many are missing entirely. Therefore the likes of Ava Gardner, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer O'Neil, do not feature at all! While Ian Mc Shane and James Mason fall into the category of, now you see them now you don't!
The Caligula scene as I remembered, although visually impressive fails to stir the emotions. Perhaps I am unfairly comparing it to something like the speech of Marcus Aurelius in 'The Fall of the Roman Empire'. At the end of that the imperial troops rush forward to huge cheers of "HAIL CAESAR, HAIL CAESAR, HAIL CAESAR", which echo around the valley. Here Caligula rides past an impressive number of troops who however just mutter "hail caesar" as he passes. I guess that sort of sums things up with this series. I had the same negative feeling comparing the entrance of Commodus into Rome from FOTRE with the same scene in 'Gladiator'.
One aspect that was a big improvement on the 'Jesus of Nazareth' series was the Roman armour and equipment which for 1985 was very good. The legionaries wear a mixture of faded red orange tunics and off white ones with reddish cloaks. Some legionary soldiers wear coolus type helmets while the auxilia have helmets with the hair style decoration and mail shirts. The archers wear conical helmets and have long blue robes. The Praetorians wear undress uniform of deep red tunic and cloak with the attic brow band as seen in Russell Robinson. A few legionaries and Praetorians wear leather lorica segmentata which may not be to everyone's taste but the design is nevertheless based on the statuette of a legionary from the British Museum. It is also nice to encounter some of the peripheral characters who appear in the Bible whom we never normally see, such as Simon Magus or the Centurion at Caesarea who is the first Gentile convert to Christianity. However perhaps due to the editing their appearances are only fleeting.
It would be nice if one day both series could be released on DVD in their full versions but for the moment it was just pleasant to indulge in a bit of mid eighties nostalgia.
Graham.
Finally I obtained copies of two 1980's TV mini series that I have long sought. Sadly my initial enthusiasm was somewhat tempered by the fact that in both cases they are heavily edited versions and not as originally released.
The first is The Last Days of Pompeii starring Duncan Regehr and Ned Beatty. This is at least the third version of the Victorian classic tale by Edward Bulwer Lytton. and probably only a mini series could really do justice to that lengthy novel. Here it is given a typical 80's soap spin.
Sporus the Gladiator loves Lydon the Gladiator, who loves Nydia a blind flower seller, who loves Glaucus a wealthy Greek who loves Ione, a soon to be priestess of Isis dominated by Arbaces, a corrupt priest with dreams of becoming emperor. Still following?
Peter Connolly was the historical advisor and it shows. The sets are stunning and there are tantalising glimpses of accurate archaeological details everywhere. The amphitheatre walls are decorated with authentic patterns (it was filmed in the actual arena at Pompeii, although some scenes show that only about half of the arena was used) with vendors selling snacks. The costumes and hairstyles are for the most part well done. The local militia wear no armour, have red clothing and use a version of an attic helmet, while their centurion sports a transverse crest. The tavern and shop scenes all look visually attractive as does the harbour scene with a few large scale ships. Look out for the artist who appears to have painted every well known wall painting and slogan in Pompeii!
Peter Connolly however was unhappy with how things worked out and apparently walked off the set and it is easy to see reasons why. I remember at the time that his name was in the credits for the first episode but was not included in the final episode. Most of the costumes worn by the leading characters are dreadful. In particular some notable low points are those worn by Chole played by Lesley Anne Down, a prostitute with a heart of gold. Her wardrobe includes a body stocking and high heels when she dances the dance of the one veil. Virtually all the costumes worn by Ned Beatty, a wealthy oil ( fish oil that is) baron, are ghastly and completely over the top. The gladiator scenes are generally well done but the hero has to have a black leather outfit with his arm protector on the wrong side.
The DVD version I have was released in Germany with the dialogue dubbed into German but with English audio. It is an attractive 3 disc set with the third disc being a German documentary on Pompeii. However as I have said the series itself has been heavily edited. This is immediately apparent when several scenes break off in mid sentence or the music soundtrack suddenly stops. However this version is still longer than an American release. The original opening sequence with introduction by Anthony Quayle, who also appears in the series, has been replaced by a very amateurish one for no apparent reason. An interesting point however is that several of the deleted scenes appear in the Deleted Scenes section of the Extras!!! I guess someone with the technological know how could splice them back in!
Overall the series is a bit of a mixed bag. The actors are a mixture of British and American, young and old stars notably Lawrence Olivier in one of his last performances. Even with the edits it is best viewed over a couple of nights but passes the time. The special effects are not always up to modern standards but who can forget Brian Blessed playing a fire breathing Christian blacksmith, 'Christ's alive!!!' Sorry couldn't resist!
The second series is A.D. starring Anthony Andrews and Ian McShane. This is in effect a sequel to the famous TV series 'Jesus of Nazareth', made by the same production team and filmed at many of the same Tunisian locations.
Unfortunately it never made the same impact as the first series and has, as far as I know, never been seen again on British television since its original showing. I believe in America it suffered a similar fate. Perhaps it did not help that some of the leading roles in the original series were played by different actors and some of those actors who were in the original series, like Ian Mc Shane and James Mason played completely different roles.
It is also fair to say that it attempted to be two series in one with a mixture of New Testament events played alongside contemporary Roman ones. For the most part the New Testament events include many lengthy theological debates and dialogue which would have been off putting to many. Equally the Roman sequences, which one might expect might be the most interesting, unfortunately came soon after the classic BBC series 'I Claudius' which was probably still fresh in the memory for many. Almost on every level the acting performances fail to match those of the BBC series, with the possible exception of Anthony Andrew's as Nero, who did not really feature much in the other series. Andrews was a much more handsome and athletic choice for the role of Nero than perhaps what most people might expect but unfortunately this element of surprise is lost as he continually acts as if he is sucking a particularly sour lemon!
The DVD release I managed to purchase recently from Amazon was the first time I have ever seen it on their site, so I ordered it at once. Temporarily I seem to have got the only available copy. It is in Castillian with English Audio option. As it was a Three disc set I was confident this was the whole series but once again I was disappointed. No running time was given so I can be excused but it appears it was originally nearer 10 hours long while this set is only six hours long. For some that might be a blessing.
However it was still nice to see this time capsule of eighties acting talent. The scene I most remembered, Caligula's abortive invasion of Britain, was still included but practically all the other Roman Imperial scenes are missing. As I have said previously they did not really work but it does make the whole thing harder to follow as certain characters appear and then disappear without reason and every so often there is a different incumbent on the Imperial throne without any explanation as to why or who they are. Also as all the leading stars, as advertised on the DVD cover and who appear in the opening titles, seem to play Romans it means many are missing entirely. Therefore the likes of Ava Gardner, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer O'Neil, do not feature at all! While Ian Mc Shane and James Mason fall into the category of, now you see them now you don't!
The Caligula scene as I remembered, although visually impressive fails to stir the emotions. Perhaps I am unfairly comparing it to something like the speech of Marcus Aurelius in 'The Fall of the Roman Empire'. At the end of that the imperial troops rush forward to huge cheers of "HAIL CAESAR, HAIL CAESAR, HAIL CAESAR", which echo around the valley. Here Caligula rides past an impressive number of troops who however just mutter "hail caesar" as he passes. I guess that sort of sums things up with this series. I had the same negative feeling comparing the entrance of Commodus into Rome from FOTRE with the same scene in 'Gladiator'.
One aspect that was a big improvement on the 'Jesus of Nazareth' series was the Roman armour and equipment which for 1985 was very good. The legionaries wear a mixture of faded red orange tunics and off white ones with reddish cloaks. Some legionary soldiers wear coolus type helmets while the auxilia have helmets with the hair style decoration and mail shirts. The archers wear conical helmets and have long blue robes. The Praetorians wear undress uniform of deep red tunic and cloak with the attic brow band as seen in Russell Robinson. A few legionaries and Praetorians wear leather lorica segmentata which may not be to everyone's taste but the design is nevertheless based on the statuette of a legionary from the British Museum. It is also nice to encounter some of the peripheral characters who appear in the Bible whom we never normally see, such as Simon Magus or the Centurion at Caesarea who is the first Gentile convert to Christianity. However perhaps due to the editing their appearances are only fleeting.
It would be nice if one day both series could be released on DVD in their full versions but for the moment it was just pleasant to indulge in a bit of mid eighties nostalgia.
Graham.
"Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream" Edgar Allan Poe.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
"Every brush-stroke is torn from my body" The Rebel, Tony Hancock.
"..I sweated in that damn dirty armor....TWENTY YEARS!', Charlton Heston, The Warlord.
