Free television adaptation of the work of the same name by Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) written by Tom Stoppard, directed by Stephen Frears and featuring Tim Curry, Michael Palin and Stephen Moore, in the main roles.
A frankly interesting curiosity, not only because it reports on a boat trip on the Thames, from Kingston to Oxford, by three young men, at the end of the 19th century, but also because it features several notable talents, in front of and behind the camera, destined for fame and success.
Palin was already a star in 1975, due to his participation in the Monthy Python series, and Curry debuted, that same year, his most famous role, that of Transvestite, Transylvanian Transsexual, in the cult musical comedy, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Moore would have a long career in film and television, notably in the series Rock Follies or the war classic, A Bridge Too Far. Frears would be one of the most important British directors of his generation, nominated twice for an Oscar for best director (The Grifters and The Queen), winning an Emmy and three BAFTAs. Finally, screenwriter Tom Stoppard also had a hugely successful career, winning an Oscar in 1999 (The Passion of Shakespeare) and nominated for another (Brazil, by Terry Gilliam, another former Python).
With so many stars, this obscure work, made in 1975 for the BBC, gains increased and deserved interest.
The ironic and critical tone of British imperial high society, so Monty Python-like, dominates. But there is also the flavor of travel chronicles, of which Palin would be an excellent maker, through the series he made for the BBC, in which he traveled almost the entire world.
It is not a humor film, in the strictest sense, it is an ironic, critical, fun and elegant chronicle of an era, a culture, a civilization, decadent but brilliant.
A pleasant surprise.
