The Roads to Freedom

I watched every episode of this wonderful serial (13 weeks) as it was broadcast. It was one of the best dramatizations the BBC ever did, and although the book it was based on was a classic of French literature and political thought(likely to be dull and stuffy and utterly boring I would have guessed), the brilliance of the script, direction and acting brought it to life in a most enthralling manner. I wish they would show it again on one of the cable channels. Superb TV drama.

This film seemed to me to be very close to the atmosphere of the books. The film characters of Mathieu, Daniel, Lola etc all seem practically perfect renditions of the book characters. The wretched TV company says it has no plans to repeat it.

In common with may other posters I remember this series during its original broadcast as being an example of the kind of TV that before home video and time shifting one would stay home to watch and look forward to. I was disappointed when it was over and there was no more. Even the theme tune haunted me and I have been looking for a copy for years. The excellent casting period atmosphere and tone are sustained throughout the series. Contrary to some posters memory this was produced in colour although that is difficult to tell from the opening credits over a shot of Rodin's "Thinker" which lacks colour. I am less pessimistic about the availability of source material for a DVD release than some others but suspect that the difficulty and expense of negotiating the many rights involved in a re-issue would prove prohibitive. Sadly it would be inconceivable for the BBC to produce something with the same scale and ambition today. Not just because of the costs but because it is a work that is a, Foreign and b, about ideas. We can only hope that the new markets for DVD Internet broadcast and niche channels will eventually make it worthwhile remastering this forgotten masterpiece. In the meanwhile and in the absence of the opportunity to see the series I have re-read the books several times over the years always imagining Michael Bryant as Mathieu.

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!

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.