"ATONEMENT" (2007) Review

Based upon Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel, "ATONEMENT" told the story about how the lies and misunderstandings of 13-year-old girl from a nouveau-riche English family affected the romance between her older sister and the son of the family’s housekeeper. The movie starred James McAvoy, Keira Knightely and Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan.

Comprised in four parts (like the novel), "ATONEMENT" began with the 13 year-old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), an aspiring novelist with a crush on Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the son of the family’s housekeeper. Robbie, along with...

"THE BLUE AND THE GRAY" (1982) Review

In 1982, CBS televisie aired a three-part miniseries about the experiences of two families during the Civil War. Sounds familiar? It should, for John Jakes had wrote something similar in three novels between 1982 and 1987 – namely the "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy. Jakes’ novels were adapted for televisie in 1985, 1986 and 1994. However this miniseries was produced door Larry White and Lou Reda. And despite the mildly similar theme to the "NORTH AND SOUTH" saga, there are some vast differences.

"THE BLUE AND THE GRAY" had not been based upon any particular...

"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" (1971) Review

For some reason, I still find it hard to believe that until recently, very few people were aware that the first adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel, "Sense and Sensibility", dated as far back as 1971. After all, people have been aware of other Austen adaptations during this same period of earlier. Even the Wikipedia site fails to mention it, except in connection with one of the cast members. What was about this four-part miniseries that eluded so many Austen fans?

In "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY", a wealthy landowner named Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his two...

"BAND OF ANGELS" (1957) Review

I have been a fan of period dramas for a long time. A very long time. This is only natural, considering that I am also a history buff. One of the topics that I love to explore is the U.S. Civil War. When u combined that topic in a period drama, naturally I am bound to get excited over that particular movie of televisie production.

I have seen a good number of televisie and movie productions about the United States' Antebellum period and the Civil War. One of those productions is "BAND OF ANGEL", an adaptation of Robert Warren Penn's 1955 novel set during the...

"INFAMOUS" (2006) Review

I have heard a lot about the two movie biographies based upon Truman Capote’s experiences, while working on his famous 1966 non-fiction novel, "In Cold Blood" – 2005's "CAPOTE" and "INFAMOUS", which hit movie theaters in the following year. But this review is about the seconde film . . . namely "INFAMOUS". Written and directed door Douglas McGrath, the movie starred Toby Jones as Truman Capote.

To be honest, I did not know what to expect of "INFAMOUS". Since it was the seconde Capote movie to be released, it failed to garner any prestigious critic awards of nominations...

"THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" (2000) Review

I never saw "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" in the movie theaters when it was first released years ago. I have a low tolerance of sports films and there are only a few that I consider favorieten of mine. Another reason why I never saw this film in the theaters is that my family simply had no desire to see it.

Based upon Steven Pressfield's 1995 novel and directed door Robert Redford, "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" was a box office flop. Worse, it had received mixed to negative reviews. Among the criticisms directed at the film was the accusation that the Bagger...

Below is my review of the 1979 televisie miniseries called ”THE SACKETTS”:


”THE SACKETTS” (1979) Review

Thirty years ago, CBS aired a two-part miniseries (or televisie movie) based upon two novels written door the late Louis L’Amour. Directed door Robert Totten, ”THE SACKETTS” starred Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck and Jeff Osterhage as the three Sackett brothers.

”THE SACKETTS” told the story of Tell (Elliot), Orrin (Selleck) and Tyrel (Osterhage) Sackett and their efforts to make new lives for themselves in the post-Civil War West. Screenwriter Jim Byrnes took two novels about the...

"HOMEFRONT" RETROSPECT: (1.01) "S.N.A.F.U."

There are only a handful of televisie shows that I am very emotional about. There are only a handful that I consider to be among the best I have ever seen on the small screen. One of them happened to be the 1991-1993 ABC series, "HOMEFRONT". Not only do I view it as one of the few televisie series that turned out to be consistently first-rate from beginning to end, it also has one of the best pilot episodes I have ever seen.

"HOMEFRONT" followed the lives and experiences of a handful of citizens in the fictional town in Ohio, right after the end...

"GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) Review

Several years ago, I had come across an artikel that provided a lijst of old classics that the auteur felt might be overrated. One of those films turned out to be the 1939 Oscar winning film, "GONE WITH THE WIND". Not only did the auteur accuse the movie of being both racist and sexist, he also claimed that the movie had not aged very well over the past seven decades.

Did I agree with the author? Well, let me put it this way. I would say that "GONE WITH THE WIND" has managed to withstand the tests of time . . . to a certain extent. As the auteur had pointed...

"RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" (1994) Review

Many televisie viewers and moviegoers might be surprised to learn that Hollywood had aired a good number of televisie films that featured the topic of U.S. slavery. One of those films proved to be an offshoot of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS". However, another was the 1994 televisie movie called "RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD".

The 1994 televisie movie is a story about the Underground Railroad, a loose network of secret routes and veilig houses occasionally used door willing 19th-century slaves in the United States to escape...

"THE BARCHESTER CHRONICLES" (1982) Review

Back in 1982, the BBC turned to 19th century auteur Anthony Trollope for a seven-part miniseries called ”THE BARCHESTER CHRONICLES”. The miniseries was based upon the author’s first two Barchester novels about the Church of England.

Directed door David Giles and written door Alan Plater, ”THE BARCHESTER CHRONICLES” is an adaptation of ”The Warden” (1855) and ”Barchester Towers” (1857). The novels focused upon the the dealings and social maneuverings of the clergy and gentry literature concern the dealings of the clergy and the gentry that...

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" (2004) Review

My knowledge of 19th century author, Anthony Trollope, can be described as rather skimpy. In fact, I have never read any of his works. But the 2004 BBC adaptation of his 1869 novel, "He Knew He Was Right", caught my interest and I decided to watch the four-part miniseries.

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" told the decline and fall of a wealthy gentleman named Louis Trevelyan (Oliver Dimsdale) and his marriage to the elder daughter of a British Colonial administrator named Sir Marmaduke Rowley (Geoffrey Palmer) during the late 1860s. Louis first met the spirited Emily...

"GEORGE WASHINGTON" (1984) Review

Twenty-four years before the award-winning HBO miniseries "JOHN ADAMS" aired, the CBS network aired a miniseries about the first U.S. President, George Washington. Simply titled "GEORGE WASHINGTON", this three-part miniseries was based upon two biographies written door James Thomas Flexner - 1965's "George Washington, the Forge of Experience, 1732–1775" and 1968's "George Washington in the American Revolution, 1775–1783".

"GEORGE WASHINGTON" spanned at least forty years in the life of the first president - from 1743, when his father Augustine Washington died...

"THE JOURNEY OF AUGUST KING" (1995) Review

When the 1995 adaptation of John Ehle's 1971 novel, "The Journey of August King" hit the theaters, it barely made a flicker in the consciousness of moviegoers. In a way, I could see why.

"THE JOURNEY OF AUGUST KING" begins with widowed farmer August King traveling through the hills of western North Carolina in the spring of 1815, after selling his produce, making a final payment on his land, and purchasing goods at the local markets. During his journey, he learns about a hunt for an escaped slave. August eventually comes across the slave - a 17 year-old...

"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" (2014) Review

When New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers first released the news that Peter Jackson would adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" into three films, I had not been pleased. I thought the novel could have easily been adapted into two films of even a single film. Now that Jackson's third film, "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES", I realized that my feelings had not changed.

I still believe what I had originally stated . . . an adaptation of Tolkien's novel could have easily been limited to a single film. I believe I would have enjoyed...

"THE FOUR FEATHERS" (1939) Review

There have been seven versions of A.E.W. Mason’s 1902 novel, "The Four Feathers". At least three of them were silent films. In 1939, British producer Alexander Korda released the first sound adaptation of the novel. This version was also the first one to be filmed in color. Directed door Korda’s brother, Zoltan Korda, "THE FOUR FEATHERS" starred John Clements, June Duprez, Ralph Richardson and C. Aubrey Smith.

Not only was this version of ”THE FOUR FEATHERS” the first to feature both sound and color, it is regarded door many as the best adaptation of Mason’s...

"THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO" (1934) Review

I have seen only two versions of Alexandre Dumas père's 1845 novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo" in my past - the 1975 televisie version with Richard Chamberlain and the 2002 Disney film with James Cavielzel. While reading a good number of artikels about the movie versions of the novel, I came across numerous praises for the 1934 adaptation that starred Robert Donat. And since I happened to like Dumas' story so much, I decided to see how much I would like this older version.

Set between the last months of the Napoleonic Wars and the 1830s, "THE COUNT...

"BLANCHE FURY" (1948) Review

I suspect that many fans of costume dramas would be fascinated to know about the series of period dramas released door the British film industry during the post-World War II era. A good number of those films were released door a British film studio known as Gainsborough Pictures. But not all of them were released through this particular studio. Some were released through other studios of production companies . . . like the 1948 period drama, "BLANCHE FURY".

Based upon the 1939 novel written door Marjorie Bowen (under the pseudonym of Joseph Stearling), "BLANCHE FURY" told...

"MIDDLEMARCH" (1994) Review

Many years have passed since I first saw "MIDDLEMARCH", the 1994 BBC adaptation of George Eliot's 1871 novel. Many years. I recalled enjoying it . . . somewhat. But it had failed to leave any kind of impression upon me. Let me revise that. At least two performances left an impression upon me. But after watching the miniseries for the seconde time, after so many years, I now realize I should have paid closer attention to the production.

Directed door Anthony Page and adapted for televisie door Andrew Davies, "MIDDLEMARCH" told the story about a fictitious Midlands town...