Les chroniques de San Francisco

Why do current versions of this original series look bad? It looks like it was sourced from VHS tapes. I know the series was shot on16mm film. This format still wouldn't produce the poor quality we see now. If the original 16mm was used as the source, the quality would be much better than what we are now being offered.

This 1993 mini-series is a delightful translation of Armistead Maupin's book. A window into a more carefree time and place - 1976 San Francisco, when love was free and life was much simpler.

The cast is appropriately attractive, especially the deliciously sleazy Beauchamp Day (Thomas Gibson, pre-"Dharma & Greg") and the charming Dr. Jon Fielden (Billy Campbell, pre-"Once and Again"). The then-unknown Laura Linney is perfect as the innocent MaryAnn Singleton, and Chloe Webb is outstanding as the spacy ad exec, Mona Ramsey. And, of course, Olympia Dukakis is marvelous as the "mother of us all", Anna Madrigal.

This is must-see television. The sequel was made in 1998, and the third book is filming now in Vancouver for a 2001 release.

These actors were so well cast. I had read the book long before the mini-series came along. But this cast was almost exactly what I had imagined as I read the chapters. What an amazingly interesting and fun story of life. Not just life in San Fran in the '70's, but of human emotions and interaction anywhere and anytime. Very well acted and directed. If you like this, then by all means, pick up all of Armistad's books - you'll love them!

One is always concerned when a great work of written fiction is dressed up for the screen, but you can have no worries about the integrity of this production. We all paint pictures of characters when reading a book, and these images remain locked in our minds.

More often than not, when these characters appear in the flesh on the TV, we are a little disappointed. Not in this case! Maupin's wonderfully colourful feast about San Francisco in the seventies transfers vividly to the screen. The emotion and pace of the written original is dutifully kept in this production, with sterling performances all round. Dukakis exudes mystery, D'Amico portrays the endearing 'Mouse' with style, and Linney is sublime.

Expect to be experiencing all the human emotions in this delightful mini series. Perfect.

Please. This film deserves a good review because it addresses a pastiche of events, occurring in a diverse neighborhood. A reviewer panned this film because the characters do not "link together". That is the point.

Does everyone "link together" with their neighbors?. The characters are well presented, and Laura Linney was very good in this, one of her earlier roles. Chloe Webb also deserves mention. Olympia Dukakis is also very believable, given the surprise role she is playing.

Donald Moffat is a repressed ad guru (quite a common character, these days, it seems) and Dukakis and he develop a relationship. The beach scenes are diverse and romantic; like any city; it is complex, and everything has good and bad aspects.

For anyone with an open mind, this is a noteworthy film. San Francisco is a beautiful backdrop, and the happenings in human relationships remind us that romance is never predictable, never empirical. This is a lovely film about the caprices of human nature. 9/10.