The Pallisers – The Complete Collection (British TV)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Episodes: B+

 

 

A massive project come to life, the 1974 television mini-series adaptation of Anthony Trollope’s six novels (published 1865 – 1880) in The Pallisers series was originally issued by Acorn Media as three four-DVD sets.  An even better collection (and at a better price) is The Complete Collection box, which brings the entire 22 hour, 15 minute saga into one set and assures you will not loose any part of the show.

 

Adapted by Simon Raven (Aldous Huxley’s Point & Counterpoint), Susan Hampshire is Lady Glencora, a woman pushed into an arranged marriage with Plantagenet Palliser (Philip Latham), which would usually be the beginning of a tale of unhappiness and disaster.  As things go on, a connection begins to form despite the ugly circumstances and then she beings to rise to power in her own way.  Though she is still off-center form the initial beginnings of the marriage, new surprises and way of life take over.  The result is a vivid saga that gives us a unique light into yesteryear and how British Parliament’s elite lived and loved.

 

This is an amazing show, which is never boring and even the simplest moments have a warmth and realness to them that keeps you watching.  Split into twenty-six numbered parts, the series takes the long way in telling its tales, ups, downs and all.  One of the best things about it is the way manners are considered in their long term, how they affected this polite society and how much weight they had at the time in a way we will never see again.  The timeline spans twenty years, or an entire generation of the lives of all involved.  Though more than a few of the ill characters do their scenes from bed or couches, the show never lays down thanks to the directing by Hugh David and Ronald Wilson.

 

The rest of the fine cast includes Anthony Andrews, Ronald Culver, Iain Cuthbertson, Edward Hardwicke, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Desmond Llewelyn, Anna Massey, Donal McCann, Barbara Murray, Donald Pickering, Sheila Ruskin and Peter Vaughan among others.  Though many of the big names are not in here for long, they are all pleasant surprises to see as you watch.  The show itself is very intricately thought out, as the books apparently are.  One of the supplements confirms just how far and deeply this was worked out.

 

The full frame PAL video on this NTSC set looks good for its age, with later feature film cinematographer Phil Meheux (Goldeneye) being one of the camera operators.  Like the best British series of the time, the look and limits of analog PAL videotape are turned into an asset as the video turns the look of the show into a world of its own.  Production design is also top notch.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 takes the 1974 monophonic sound and boosts it nicely and smoothly into a simple stereo that makes playback sound less dated than it might otherwise be.  Extras include a 36-page booklet that will fit into any DVD case, more or less, but is included in the box.  This is a shortened version of companion book produced by Radio Times for the show’s U.K. debut, which includes a glossary (even adding all the characters!) to make the show clearer.  We recommend you use the sleeve in the DVD 1 case and put it over the booklet as you push it under the plastic holders opposite the DVD holder.

 

DVD 1 has the first part of a recent interview (5/25/2000 at 12+ minutes) with Miss Hampshire about taking on the role when Hayley Mills had to step down at the last minute and she herself had just gone through some awful personal crisis.  There is also text on author Trollope, his life and work in four subsections.  DVD 5 continues the interview, adding 10:47; with discussion about the costumes and another problem Miss Hampshire survived to have a career.  Six brief cast filmographies, a text Victoriana piece in three parts and two text frames of resources for those who find that all the information in this set is not enough.  DVD 9 adds 9:29 to the Hampshire interview, plus four more different-but-brief cast filmographies.  The final part of the interview covers ageism and shows why Miss Hampshire was perfect for this series.  She has great spirit still and is the key to why The Pallisers endures on top of the achievement it already is.  She is the focus and life of the series, a serious talent and lady who can consider the series her legacy as much as event he author’s.  If you have been intending to start watching classic British TV mini-series from the last golden age of production, this is an excellent place to start.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo