ellis_suzie

I have loved this film (or rather, these films!) since I first saw them as a child in the early eighties. At that point I hadn't read the novels, but, unusually, I think no less of the films now that I have. In their broad, slapstick style of humour, they perhaps reflect the times in which they were made, rather than Dumas, but there is no lack of the original's tragedy in the scenes of Athos' past and D'Artagnan's disillusion. George Macdonald Fraser's script is as fine as you'd expect of the writer of the 'Flashman' novels and the choreography of the fight scenes has been justly praised. The foils were apparently as heavy as their Seventeenth Century counterparts and the actors' agony was increased by filming in the hot Spanish sun....

When I watched these films again a few weeks ago I was also struck by the beautiful cinematography, with the scene in the snow and the climactic fight in the convent particularly well-framed. For me, this is as near-perfect an adaptation of the adventure novel as is possible, combining romance, humour, tragedy and action with wonderful production values and a terrific script. Few other films, and no other version of the 'Musketeers', reaches this standard. Messieurs York, Reed, Finlay, Chamberlain, Heston, Ward, Lee, Milligan and Kinnear, plus Mmes Dunaway, Chaplain and Welch will forever be associated with their characters for me. Brilliant stuff!

Alright, not quite Marple. As the title implies, the setting is firmly in wartime and so far the series has utilized this with some imagination. Every piece of mischief and skulduggery investigated by Christopher Foyle has either a motive or a possible motive connected with the events threatening the English way of life in 1940, which makes for wonderful red herrings.

Alright, not quite Morse either. That's not derisory by any means. There have been inevitable comparisons in the press with the Inspector Morse series and it's fair to say that there are similarities, mostly because of the constraints of the format. Foyle could go the distance in television terms. So far he hasn't the ID tags that accompany Morse, whose love of real ale and opera were so brilliantly portrayed by John Thaw, but as played by Michael Kitchen, Foyle is subtly understated, a man whose forceful integrity is never in doubt despite an unassuming manner. He is supported ably by Anthony Howell and Honeysuckle Weeks as his helpmates, each with their own role to play in the war, and a fairly solid 'guest' cast for each story. If this doesn't lead to more roles for Mr. Howell on the small screen, there's no justice.

One or two things will irritate those who remember or have studied WW2 Britain, or even those, like me, who know Hastings. Did women really exercise some of the freedoms they assume here, even so early in the war? Were children evacuated to Sussex? I know that some were evacuated from Sussex! Horowitz avoids inaccuracies and anachronisms in the main, though, and produces intelligent and credible dialogue. There are probably a finite number of successful episodes to be written around a detective on the Home Front, but that's no bad thing. Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that there will be a second series of four, and I will watch it as comfy-armchair Sunday evening viewing that is a secure notch or three above the 'comedy-drama' format that pervades in the UK.

Dramatic licence has been taken with a capital D (and L) here, despite the consultant on the series being Chris Ryan, formerly of the SAS. It does feel as though the production opted out of reality and instead borrowed heavily from a number of previous action films and series, adding the voguish cliches of multi-ethnic troops, tough-talking female and 'new man' sentiments.

The reviews have almost universally criticised the writing and the on-screen violence. I can't argue with the former, despite being a fan of Rob Heyland since the excellent 'Between the Lines'. Rob: integrate your jokes and make them feasible references for young men in their twenties, please! I'd say the violence is not gratuitously explicit, considering it's a series about the death-or-glory boys, but to show a character able to walk, talk and perform physical tasks after extreme torture is a little unbelievable and, dare I say it, irresponsible.

Notwithstanding, I watched it. As a vehicle for Ross Kemp it is perfect, and the other central cast members are a talented - and yes, very attractive - ensemble of actors. It was also refreshing in a world awash with soaps and so-called relationship dramas to focus on something plot-driven. I've heard a rumour it's been recommissioned, so it would seem that I and a few million others (mostly young men, according to the ratings demographic) aren't wrong. Here's hoping the next series ups the credibility and keeps the pace. After all, Who Dares Wins, eh?