All are available on Netflix and surely as good!
Have a look!
Lark Rise to Candleford (click title to read more)
Set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighbouring market town of Candleford, the series chronicles the daily lives of farm-workers, craftsmen and gentry at the end of the 19th Century. Lark Rise to Candleford is a love letter to a vanished corner of rural England and a heart-warming drama series teeming with wit, wisdom and romance. (Source)
A dance to the Music of Time
There'll always be an England--and Anglophiles shall be forever grateful. A Dance to the Music of Time is a sumptuous, leisurely portrait of a time in Britain's history (from the 1920s to the '60s) that epitomizes the pinnacle of romance. At the center of this Dance is Nicholas Jenkins, the narrator of the tales of intrigue, infidelity, queer friendships, and ruthless ambition that intersect throughout the series. Jenkins is played by the appealing James Purefoy, who, with starring turns in the likes of the film Vanity Fair and the HBO series Rome, clearly has not met a period drama he could not master. Flawed but clear-eyed, Jenkins observes the machinations of the upper crust from a bit of a remove, as if watching a play unfold.
And unfold it does. The plot is far too intricate to encapsulate, and in the end, plot isn't the appeal of British drawing-room dramas, anyway. Instead, it's the evocation of a time bound by intricate, unspoken rules--which participants seem to spend as much time and furtive energy trying to break as they do abiding by them. Notable characters include the greasy Widmerpool (played by the BAFTA-winning Simon Russell Beale), who, despite being utterly unremarkable, manages to build quite a career in the British government and military. John Gielgud is riveting as the novelist St. John Clarke, whose books are wildly popular but sniffed at by serious critics, and Miranda Richardson is the devilish Pamela Flitton.
The miniseries bears more than a passing resemblance to the much-beloved Brideshead Revisited, and in fact the cast of characters is so complex that the boxed set includes a "cheat sheet" guide to the most prominent 15 of them. But keeping tabs is less important than simply being swept into the lush period of time and allowing its gorgeous details wash over the viewer. For Anglophiles, the experience of watching A Dance to the Music of Time is truly transcendent. --A.T. Hurley (Source)
There'll always be an England--and Anglophiles shall be forever grateful. A Dance to the Music of Time is a sumptuous, leisurely portrait of a time in Britain's history (from the 1920s to the '60s) that epitomizes the pinnacle of romance. At the center of this Dance is Nicholas Jenkins, the narrator of the tales of intrigue, infidelity, queer friendships, and ruthless ambition that intersect throughout the series. Jenkins is played by the appealing James Purefoy, who, with starring turns in the likes of the film Vanity Fair and the HBO series Rome, clearly has not met a period drama he could not master. Flawed but clear-eyed, Jenkins observes the machinations of the upper crust from a bit of a remove, as if watching a play unfold.
And unfold it does. The plot is far too intricate to encapsulate, and in the end, plot isn't the appeal of British drawing-room dramas, anyway. Instead, it's the evocation of a time bound by intricate, unspoken rules--which participants seem to spend as much time and furtive energy trying to break as they do abiding by them. Notable characters include the greasy Widmerpool (played by the BAFTA-winning Simon Russell Beale), who, despite being utterly unremarkable, manages to build quite a career in the British government and military. John Gielgud is riveting as the novelist St. John Clarke, whose books are wildly popular but sniffed at by serious critics, and Miranda Richardson is the devilish Pamela Flitton.
The miniseries bears more than a passing resemblance to the much-beloved Brideshead Revisited, and in fact the cast of characters is so complex that the boxed set includes a "cheat sheet" guide to the most prominent 15 of them. But keeping tabs is less important than simply being swept into the lush period of time and allowing its gorgeous details wash over the viewer. For Anglophiles, the experience of watching A Dance to the Music of Time is truly transcendent. --A.T. Hurley (Source)
Welcome to The Grand, a four-star 1920s English hotel where melodrama is offered in high style. Love, lust, adultery, greed, prostitution and plenty of juicy gossip come into play as owners John and Sarah Bannerman (Michael Siberry and Julia St. John) host a crop of colorful characters. This collection includes episodes from Series 1 and 2 of the acclaimed British television show, which originally aired on PBS. (Source)
To Serve Them All My Days
This is a movie I particularly love. Perhaps of the subject of a teacher, full of good influence and beloved by his students. Something I so missed as a child growing up in East Germany...
In this classic BBC drama based on the novel by R. F. Delderfield, shell-shocked WWI veteran David Powlett-Jones (John Duttine) goes from the trenches of war to the trenches of education when he lands a job teaching history at an elite boarding school. Scholastic life transforms him from cynic to an idealist loved by his students, even as a long-running conflict with the headmaster and unimaginable tragedy threaten to destroy his personal life.
I hope to have inspired some wonderful movie nights! This winter is still long!!!
I hope to have inspired some wonderful movie nights! This winter is still long!!!
Happy weekend!
All images as indicated!
You can't beat a good period drama. I love the costumes and my daughter and I are big fans of Agatha Chrystie's Miss Marple because the clothes are incredible. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteLois, I can't believe it, I just finished the entire collection... with my daughter, always guessing who the culprit might be....
ReplyDeleteJulia McKenzie perfect in the role of Miss Marple!
Thanks for stopping by!
Victoria, I think I have shared this before....I am obsessed with period piece movies! I cannot get enough of them and when masterpiece theatre shows them, I am right there waiting and watching! My mother and sister also love them and there are always DVD's circulating around between us. I have so many fav's and have done several posts on them. I seriously want to take a trip to England just to visit some of the areas where many of the movies have been filmed! I loved Larkrise and my mom and I were just discussing that today and wondering when the last one will come out...I thought there was mention of having a last episode made. My daughter and I watched something like 52 episodes of "Emily Of New Moon". It is about a young girl but so enchanting at times! I could go on and on! I will check out "A Dance To The Music Of Time". Thanks!
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