Tom Stoppard's adaptatio, Parade's End Miniseries on HBO this week

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/26/13 at 9:47pm

I had a thread about this when it aired, and I watched it, on the BBC last fall--but it seems to have disappeared.

HBO, which co-produced the miniseries with the BBC has finally decided to air it Tues, Wed and Thurs, and I'd highly recommend people give it a chance. Much of the press, including the New Yorker, rather snobbily called it a superior Downton Abbey--though it has a very similar setting, I don't think that really does justice to either, though Parade's End's first episode, done in a disjointed style does take a bit to get into. (of course, unlike Downton, Parade is based on a novel, by Ford Madox Ford.) I don't think Scripps was as sold on the series as I was--but I thought it was one of the best things I saw last year.

Here's the trailer


Parade's End Trailer

[wonkit]

Posted: 2/26/13 at 10:43pm

I second the recommendation to watch this series. I have a Region 2 dvd of it, and have watched it twice. Tom Stoppard does well with complex characters (unlike Julian Fellowes who gives you the outline and lets you - or the actor - color it in). Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall are fascinating - like a cobra and a mongoose. An extensive supporting cast of phenomenal actors, including Alan Howard and Janet McTear among many others. The only resemblance I see to DOWNTON (which I also love, by the way) is the quality of the costumes.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 2/27/13 at 4:05pm

Here's your thread Eric (easier to use Google than the Search facility on here). I think I may have had something to drink when I made my posts therein:

https://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1050279&boardname=off&dt=5&boardid=2

I must admit I tend to agree with this review in the WP but maybe I should have devoted more attention to the programme and less to the wine:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/hbos-parades-end-all-dressed-up-with-nowhere-to-go/2013/02/25/685e12cc-7d12-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html


Updated On: 2/27/13 at 04:05 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/27/13 at 6:26pm

Absolutely agreed with all your comments, Wonkit.

It has a rather good overall US rating of 73% positive (from 20 or so reviews) according to Metacritic http://www.metacritic.com/tv/parades-end but I've read one or two reviews similar to your link, Scripps. Huffington Post said they found the lead acting thrilling, but found it hard to sit through, though they seemed to think if you stuck around for the final two episodes things really picked up. In a way I see that--that even seemed to be part of the point as Tiejen (or however you spell his name) becomes less cold, but I found it all spellbinding. But I can see it putting off some people (as Stoppard's film of Anna Karenina which I found way too cold for the novel, did me--though I blame the director there as much as Tom.)

That WP review seems a bit odd to me--going from calling the miniseries "inert" to sorta saying it's actually well done, etc... I assume they wouldn't like the novels either (which is fair enough.) They do mention Mildred Pierce, the recent HBO miniseries, as did the Huffington Post (though WP seems to like Pierece, Huffington didn't.) Odd as it seems, I noticed a similar feel between the two myself, and I think Parade may be liked by people who liked Pierce, and not by people who didn't. Or who knows :P

I do think it would be hard to follow the complete story though while drinking wine--unlike other shows which I prefer to drink with...

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/28/13 at 12:26pm

Tried watching last night, found it very disjointed. The non-linear narrative served no apparent purpose. Cumberbatch was impressive and Hall fascinating. But they seemed to magically wield their star power on characters that didn't otherwise interest me.

Then again, I only watched the first half hour. I'm going to give it a second look.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/28/13 at 12:58pm

I'd give it at least a full episode--I don' think I was clear, but the first half hour is very disjointed--and I'm not sure to what purpose ultimately. They drop the non-linear stuff basically after that, and completely by the second episode. I'm sure Stoppard was trying to make *some* point by opening htat way (or maybe he thought it threw audiences right into the "action" lol,) but...

However, your mileage may vary in regards to how interesting you ultimately find the characters as I know others have felt that way (apparently about the novels it's based on as well.) I do think it grows. I sent copies of the BBC broadcast to my mom, and she admitted that she would have given up midway through the first episode had I not praised it so much, but she became hooked. But I know that hasn't been everyone's reaction.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/2/13 at 6:39pm

Eric, my continued viewing proves you right.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/2/13 at 7:32pm

I am extremely pleased! Have you finished?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/3/13 at 10:50am

I didn't care for it. I found it too dry and the characters completely unsympathetic. I just didn't care what happened to anyone.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/3/13 at 12:37pm

No, I've seen 4 episodes.

[wonkit]

Posted: 3/3/13 at 2:04pm

I think the most difficult thing about this story, both in print and film, is that one must understand the behavior that was expected of both men and women of the upper classes in the period.

SPOILERS

Tietjens was doing what he thought was honorable at a time when the moral code was changing. Sylvia, his wife, felt constrained by his strict code, his honestly and his goodness. She wanted him to be emotional and dramatic, but the more she broke the rules, the more determined he was not to do so. Compare Macmaster, who committed adultery, married his mistress and ended up socially advanced but bullied and unhappy. Tietjens is changed by his war experiences and opens up. The symbolism of Groby tree is unmistakeable. The past and tradition are strong and stable, but must become the fuel for change. This was one story that, for me, had more to do with the path of the story rather than its destination.

Updated On: 3/4/13 at 02:04 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/3/13 at 3:21pm

"I didn't care for it. I found it too dry and the characters completely unsympathetic. I just didn't care what happened to anyone."

That seems to be the main complaint from those who disliked it (although a character like Valentine Wannop--the "other woman" so to speak, seems manufactured and played in a way that's impossible not to like.) I seem to tend to often like things where others see the characters as unsympathetic or un-likeable, so... But I think all of the characters' motivations, even Tietjens who can be maddening as the other characters constantly point out, actually made a lot of sense to me.

Wonkit--I think that's a very astute take on it--and I agree. I haven't read any of the books (or any Ford Madox Ford at all--he's someone I have always known about but simply never read,) but I'm curious to now. I know there's some argument if the final book should even be taken as canon.