The Good Soldier

This made-for-TV film gets high marks all around: lucid and intelligent cinematography, breathtaking performances, and visually strong direction. It's a great film, based on great source material.

The film addresses how a man, by re-examining several years in his life, realizes that he was totally clueless regarding what was happening around him, as his wife and friends schemed and had affairs while he thought they were all happy and content. The novel moves back and forth in time, and so does this film: a complex yet totally engrossing narrative that leaves other time-shift ideas such as *Pulp Fiction* in the dust.

Among all the great performances in here, special mention must be made of Susan Fleetwood, whose layered performance is both sensual and calculating.

I've turned on many friends to this film. Definitely one of my desert-island videos.

Highest accolades!!

I had this sat on my dvd shelf for years and decided to give it a go, after five minutes I was captivated, totally drawn in. The story is fantastic, I've not read the book so can't compare, but there are multiple layers, love, betrayal, longing, and a true sense of character. Spellbinding performances all round, although it must be said Jeremy Brett captivates every single time he appears, he is phenominal, so charismatic. I found myself also loving Pauline Moran here, she made Maisie such a tragic character.

Lovely production values, at times it felt like I was watching The Great Sherlock Holmes, it only needed a murder. Fabulous costumes and period detail, it truly is a lavish drama.

Glorious viewing. 9/10

This video (I watched it on YouTube) doesn't come close to developing the central ideas of the novel. In fairness, I don't see how any filmed version could. The story in the book is told from the pov of an enigmatic narrator who doesn't always know the full story, may have reasons for not being 100% square with the reader, and appears emotionally dim and stunted. He has no real intimacy with any of his fellow characters, who succeed in betraying him over the course of years despite their physical proximity. He is bitter, but too phlegmatic to be vengeful. His views on men, women, love, marriage, and human nature are fascinating. The book is terrific and really worth reading, but the film captures only the action and none of the heart. On video, the narrator comes off as some rich clueless slob whose wife and friends do a bunch of random things that inexplicably result in suicide and insanity. Pointless, in my opinion. But Jeremy Brett is handsome, hence a few stars.

Well, where should I start? It's really a sad story. Story about love, convenances and sacrifices. Where romances are kept behind closed doors. And honor is most important issue.

Two pairs of married couples and the girl. Soldier, who love his wife, but keep falling in love with another womens. His wife, who is trying to pretend that she doesn't care about infidelity of her husband. American Quaker, who is unconscious that his wife is unfaithful. His wife, who's pretending to have health problems.

And Nancy. Innocent girl, who turn the life of good soldier, Edward.

I must say, I like this adaptation. That typical for Granada attention for details in every aspect. Cloths, furniture, trains or everyday items.

That makes us feel like part of the story. We could sympathise with those people and their feelings.

And for me it's worth watching. Especially for Jeremy Brett.

Jeremy Brett makes a memorable performance here as the good soldier who is the ideal good man to everyone around him but who has terrible inner conflicts to battle worse than any war. The two couples meet at a German spa and spend a lot of time together associating with other prominent guests as well in an ideal environment with perfectly idyllic music (very much Schubert) and splendid weather, everything is beautiful, but it is all only appearances. The good soldier's wife has some outbursts, and then suddenly there is a drama present. The story and events are not very dramatic, although there are some surprising deaths and two suicides and a case of permanent insanity, but the appearances keep constantly in perfect style, there is no breach of etiquette, the constant politeness keeps dominating all the relationships and their innocent activities in a perfect paradise of idylls, while the tragedy ends up definitely dominating everyone's lives and future, while we naturally must wonder: whatever will the widow finally make of the whole thing?