Dorathen Better Late Then Never

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

davdecrane Even at 24 hours or so, this family does not overstay its welcome. Splendidly costumed and intricately plotted characters – for the most part wonderfully portrayed – combine in a number of imbricate tales, all of which, however seemingly episodic, reveal aspects of our main characters' (the Paliser paterfamilias and his wife) personalities. Humane, feminist, open- minded and just – all these define the stiff, awkward, sometimes dour but never pessimistic Plantagenet Paliser, and explain his attraction to us. He indulges his wife, the real axis for much of the story, and it's good he does; she rounds out his truth with an emotional honesty of her own that he opposes at first only to, always, bow to. It is the characters then that grab us in this long miniseries, as they must in any long-form for us to stay engaged. The Palisers may not have the same degree of dramatic ups and downs of I, Claudius and other miniseries greats – but the humanity the eponymous couple demonstrates is just as compelling.

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.

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.

Julie-30 this is one of the greatest mini-series ever made.The Pallisers is based on Trollope's six wonderful political novels, and this production is very faithful to the source material. I was a little nervous when I heard that the first eight episodes were being released because I was afraid that they wouldn't be as good as I had remembered. However, I was very pleased to see that this production has aged rather gracefully, unlike so many other productions from the 1970s. It is still a delight to behold.I have waited 17 years to see The Pallisers again and, while owning episodes 1-8 is wonderful, I am champing at the bit to see the rest.