Aristocrats (1999/Acorn/BBC)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
In yet another story about the rich and powerful being
threatened by outside political and military forces, Aristocrats (1999)
is a long British mini-series based on Stella Tillyard’s biographical book on
the Lennox Sisters and runs almost 300 minutes. Made in Ireland, it is fair to consider it an off-shoot of the
current cycle of Irish Cinema finally telling stories about the country that
seemed much harder to tell not that long ago.
Harriet O’Carroll’s teleplay is well-rounded enough, while
David Caffey single-handedly directs all six parts. The sisters were part of the power elite; they were daughters of
a cabinet minister, great-granddaughter of a king and would marry into more
power. At the time of the 18th
Century, they were about to do things that were unthinkable for women, which we
could consider pre-feminist and if so, much more than any Jane Austen
work. Closer to The Bronte Sisters’
work, the voice-overs that tell the story in flashback are exactly like a
recent Jane Eyre DVD release we looked at where the edge of the story is
negated somewhat by that safe distance.
Otherwise, this is an interesting program and fine alternative to the
usual Bronte and Austen works.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a little
soft and colorless throughout, partly from the stylized shooting, as well as
from the digital High Definition shooting’s limits. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is good, but has no major surrounds,
though it is clean and clear enough.
Extras include text on the cast, text on Tillyard and a half-hour
making-of featurette.
- Nicholas Sheffo
