The Roads to Freedom

The BBC's adaptation of Sartre's trilogy was a work of art (not a label I would often attach to a TV series). It was repeated in 1976/77, which is when I saw it . A long time ago, but hardly ancient history in TV terms - for example, I saw that 'Elizabeth R', which was first broadcast around the same time as The Roads to Freedom, is currently getting a re-run on one of the digital channels.

So where are the tapes? What has the BBC done with them? Why has the best TV drama ever made not been seen for nearly 30 years? I think we should be told.

If anyone, anywhere, managed to tape the series, they should make a fortune, as there are so many people I know who are desperate to see it again, having been powerfully affected by it in their youth.

Would it have dated if shown again now? I don't think so. Quality lasts. And think of the subject matter - commitment versus freedom, abortion, homosexuality, politics, sex, nightlife, the passions and preoccupations of individuals overshadowed by a looming war. How dated is that?

If anyone knows anything about what happened to the tapes of this series, or would be interested in joining me in forcing the BBC to give us some sensible answers, please email me.

Memory plays tricks! The title of the song is in fact "La route est dure" - based on a song of the French Resistance (So ignore my previous nonsense). I came across a copy on 7" vinyl. The performance by Georgia Brown is every bit as vivid as I had remembered, raw and impassioned, and way ahead of it's time as TV theme music.

Like all the other commenters, I would love to see this - I found it gripping, one of the consistently best dramatisations I've seen on television, and as one person said, it followed the books very closely. Acting, atmosphere, pace, costumes and settings were all superb. I thought Michael Bryant in the lead role was particularly good - he had the right air of worried intelligence. Rosemary Leach, too was good - earthy and vulnerable, and Daniel Massey - tortured and irritable. I've heard the BBC deleted a lot of their old television tapes so unless a private individual has recorded it we're all doomed.

The Roads to Freedom was one of those few television series which had a profound effect upon me when I watched them as a teenager on my grandfather's television. I had never heard of Sartre and it was only later that I realised how closely the series followed the books. The atmosphere set was gripping, a nervous world with the threat of war and a world over which they had no control echoed in the lives of the characters. Michael Bryant was magnificent as Mathieu, but there was Ivich (I forget the name of the actress) too. Another writer has mentioned Daniel Massey. In particular, the death of Mathieu haunts me to this day.

This and "Man of Straw" with Derek Jacobi which I believe has been deleted by the BBC I believe to be two of the finest series the BBC has ever shown and I am greatly saddened that I will never see them again.

In response to another's comment - the theme song, "La route est Dur" I am sure was not unaccompanied but had at least a cello accompaniment and maybe an oboe too. I haven't heard it since the last episode of the series (alas, no video recorders in those days!) but would love to find a copy.

Update July 2007 A copy of Georgia Brown singing "La Route est Dur" is available here:

http://www.olimu.com/Readings/LaRouteEstDure.htm

Now we just need to find the lost tapes of the series itself!

it's pretty strange reading these remarks, something of an 'I thought it was just me' moment.

I saw the series as a teenager, had never even heard of Sartre, but the series just captivated me.

I still sing the theme music to myself and remember little snippets of action and dialogue - the knife through the hand, the wrestling match between a man and his teenage lover.

anyhow, the BFI definitely have a copy in their archive goodness only knows how that helps

maybe we should try to lobby BBC4 or something