Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Brideshead Revisited: Revisited

"The production lasted two-and a-half years. We all knew we were being stretched to our limits but working together for so long made us very agile as a group. We could rise to anything. We knew what we had – but could never be sure we'd pull it off. There was a fear that it was too long, too slow and too gay. Then, crucially, two US backers said what they'd seen was brilliant. That was all we needed to push through the last stages."

Director and writer Charles Sturridge talking to The Guardian about making the "classic" Granada TV series.
Anthony Andrews does, too.
All sounds a bit nightmarish.
Oh, and it was too slow - and coulda been gayer.

3 comments:

  1. The book isn't slow at all - it's only like 300 pages or so and goes at quite a pace, but the TV thing is sooooo slow.

    There isn't any bumming in the book and I wondered if the bits Waugh took out later on were of the bumming nature.
    I'd like to read an original printing from the '40s and see...

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  2. Also! The recent film version is one of the worst films I've ever seen.
    Everyone kept comparing it to the TV series and saying how much was left out, but if they'd stayed faithful to the book and its pace, they could have easily brought it in at just over 2 hours.
    They didn't, though - whole chunks are left out and things are added which shouldn't have been.
    The only good thing is you get one single peck on the cheek between Ryder and Flyte, which is a bit meagre but still...

    The two leads are blooming GORGE, though!!!

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  3. UND! Didyouknow!? That Aloysious was based on John Betjeman's teddy??? :'(

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