 "Took me a while but I finally loved it!" | 2009-09-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A6Z969DHDXPCR |
As w/The Duchess of Duke Street, this series is visually stunning and makes one forget that you're actually viewing a DVD and not there in person. The costumes, furniture and landscape are so spectacular that it made me envious of those born in that time period except for the fact that women had virtually no rights back then.
It did take me until nearly halfway through the series before I began to actually like the story and the characters, though, because the acting is so over the top. Dramatic doesn't even begin to describe it. The lead character, Plantagenet Palliser, or "Planty Pal" as he was sometimes called, as played by Philip Latham was distracting for me at first because, forgive me for this, his voice sounds exactly like the voice of comedian Norm MacDonald! I kept waiting to hear him say "Is my face ever red!" (one of MacDonald's classic lines in his standup) Once I got past that, however, I was able to enjoy his character. Susan Hampshire is another who grew on me. In the beginning, I found her character, Lady Glencora, to be annoying because Hampshire has a habit of always touching her hands to her abdomen; why, I don't know but it, too, was distracting. Finally, when I decided to overlook these things and just get into the story, I found myself totally immersed in it and was sad when the series ended.
The series primarily follows the lives of Plantagenet and Glencora but it is divided into several novels all of which stand on their own and add much to the series as a whole. I'll admit to never having read Trollope until I stumbled upon the Pallisers but now that I've seen this marvelous work, I look forward to reading his novels and to viewing more productions of his work.
Highly recommended!
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 "Sad when it ended" | 2009-08-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A20KKH89HPKJ5B |
| I have just completed the whole series. I feel like something has been added to my life as a result of watching this story unfold. I cried when it ended because I will miss this family. The costumes and the acting were superb. The story held my interest so well because it moves along quickly, weaving in and out of different characters lives and the progression of time. It is interesting from an historical perspective to see how people interacted with each other back then. |
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| "Never disappoints!" | 2009-06-19 |
| - Reviewed By jody@vanwert.com |
I love Victorian novels. There's nothing like immersing oneself in a long-gone way of life and experiencing the subtleties of character and language that the likes of Dickens, Collins and Trollope did so well, and for 400 plus pages at a time.
The Pallisers is an excellent translation of Trollope's novels to the small screen. Because of the series format, none of the characters gets short shrift and all of the intricacies of the various plots are given their due. Unforgettable characters such as Phineas Finn, Lady Eustace and the enchanting Lady Glencora play out their dramas against the rigid societal structure of the 19th century, and the BBC's production is flawless down to the wallpaper and china patterns.
I consider The Pallisers and Upstairs Downstairs to be the two must-haves of any collection, and neither EVER disappoints. Both worlds are as wonderful to visit for the fiftieth time as they are for the first. |
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| "Faithful to Trollope's characters" | 2009-04-16 |
| - Reviewed By vincentpoiriertokyo |
Anthony Trollope's strength lies in his ambiguous characters. They are very true to life in that their personalities do not fall to absolutes.
*Plantagenet Palliser, later the Duke of Omnium, demands much of and commands much to those around him, but he is generous and sacrifices his ambitions for the welfare of his loved ones. He is an egalitarian liberal and yet sometimes a hypocrite when he looks down on those not born in his class.
*Glencora Palliser loves Plantagenet but not right away and she never forgets she was made to give up her first love.
*George Vavasor is an enterprising, ambitious, worthy man who cannot bear to humble himself and breaks under the strain to become a cad.
*Phinneas Finn aspires to women of a class above him while dallying with a girl of more humble origins, and yet quits a lucrative post on a matter of principle.
*Ferdinand Lopez swindles money from business associates, from the Duke of Omnium, from his father in law to finance his speculations and ambitions, but when these fail he shows remarkable courage, concern, and tenderness in doing the right thing.
The situations of these characters work themselves out following what I like to call Trollope's moral calculus.
*When the liberal duke refuses to allow his daughter to marry a commoner.
*When Glencora, who found deep and true happiness with Plantagenet, resolves because of her own lost love that her children will not suffer her fate.
*When Phinneas Finn gets a girl whom he doesn't love in trouble and marries her, despite having been a bit of a brute.
*When the wealthy Marie Max refuses the advances of the elder Duke of Omnium, from whom Plantagenet inherits the title later in the series, and also refuses to be his wife because both courses lead to a loss of honour.
It is usually Trollope who does the calculating, by the way, not his characters.
The Palliser series has taken some liberties with the novels but in this respect I don't mind. I never loved Trollope for is plots and the changes made aren't important because the plots aren't important.
More interesting is that where in this series the main characters are Plantagenet and Glencora, in the novels these two are often recurring secondary characters who grow in between the novels.
A wonderful BBC period piece.
Vincent Poirier, Tokyo |
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| "I LOVED everything about The Pallisers, BUT TWAS Lady Glencora who Stole My Heart!" | 2009-01-18 |
| - Reviewed By alphaspace |
I loved The Pallisers because it seemed so real. The acting was never wooden or off beat. Everyone seemed to be what their character suggested. The writing was first rate. The funny thing is that it was Lady Glencora who stole my heart. I liked all the characters in The Pallisers but, for some weird reason Lady Glencora seemed so real she almost popped off the screen. As I watched The Pallisers it was almost as if Lady Glencora became real her character was that deep and rich. Everyone in the The Pallisers seemed real. There was not a lame actor in the bunch.
I must warn you that Jewish people are really badly portrayed in this story. I mean the author seems almost to go out of his way to dredge up the most ugly vicious stereotypes of jewish people I will not repeat here. I do not know if virolent antisemitism as shown in The Pallisers was the scurge of the times or if the author was just plain hateful. I mean the way Jews are protrayed in The Pallisers would almost be worthy of a Nazi film.
That said The Pallisers is an endearing story over all the racist bits not withstanding. It is about politics but is also about the wife of a powerful man in Victorian times. I loved The Pallisers, I adored Lady Glencora and about the portrayal of Jews in the The Pallisers, I AM NOT AMUSED! I would not let the Jewish hate in The Pallisers stop me from buying it because, to look into the face of past evils allows us to revel in its demise and fight against its resurgence! |
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| "Wonderful costume drama" | 2008-09-08 |
| - Reviewed By baysea |
| This series is marvellous viewing for anyone who enjoys the political books of Anthony Trollope and loves costume dramas. Set in mid Victorian England, the story is one of aristocratic Plantaganet Palliser, heir to the Duke of Omnium and Gatherum, who enters into a marriage of convenience with wealthy, beautiful and very young aristocrat, Lady Glencora McCluskey. She assists him to rise in the ranks of the House of Commons as his clever hostess, doing all in her power to help him arrive at the highest eschelons of political power, firstly as Chancellor of the Exchequer and then as Prime Minister. The story then develops over the next 20 years or so with magnificent scenery, palatial country houses and the cream of the London salons. The costuming is magnificent with great attention to details of fashion, jewellery, hair styles and carriages, and is a joy to view. With the story veering between political and personal scandals, murder, high society gossip and starring a superb cast including Susan Hampshire, Derek Jacobi, Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews and Penelope Keith, I would reccommend this set of 26 episodes to everyone. |
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