England in the Movies, continued…

From Victoria…

In my last list were some great films. In this list, some of them were television series and all come from classic English novels.  Let me warn that I am not including any of the Jane Austen adaptations, because I intend to write about them in another post. Later.

Thomas Hardy was a great Victorian novelist whose long, dark novels can be the bane of English literature students. But he is also a brilliant prose artist, and he wrote many passages in Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) which are absolutely poetic. My favorite film version is Tess by director Roman Polanski (1980) which captures the poetic quality of the countryside and in the personality of Tess, played by Nastassia Kinski.  Subsequent versions are not as well done, in my opinion.

George Elliot (aka Mary Ann Evans 1819-1880) wrote several novels I passed up for many years because I had to read Silas Marner in 7th grade. I hated it.  But when I finally discovered her Middlemarch (1871), I loved the book. The BBC version screenplay was written by Andrew Davies, one of Britain’s premier adapters of great novels for the screen.  I saw it first on Masterpiece Theatre in 1994, starring Juliet Aubrey and Rufus Sewell.

If you want to try Silas Marner or Mill on the Floss or other Eliot stories, you might be interested in this collection from BBC Video. Personally, I like Middlemarch the best by far.

My favorite of the celebrated films of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory is Room With a View (1985), from the novel of the same name written by E. M. Forster which appeared in 1908. Starring Maggie Smith and Helena Bonham Carter, the film is lyrical and compelling, both at the same time.  The trio of Merchant as producer and Ivory as director with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as screen writer is also responsible for two more favorites of mine: Howard’s End (1992), also based on a Forster novel, and Remains of the Day (1993), based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray has been filmed or on television in at least six versions.  I can’t pretend to have seen all of them, but the last several I have watched and my choice among them is the miniseries from the BBC from 1998 starring Natasha Little as Becky Sharp, one of literature’s most fascinating non-heroines. Thackeray called Vanity Fair a novel without a hero and so it is. The screenplay for the 1998 version was written by Andrew Davies and the extended length allows the whole story to unfold. See an excerpt here. The music is not from the film but the thought is correct!

Cold Comfort Farm is humourous novel by Stella Gibbons, published in 1932 which parodies many novels comparing urban and rural life. The 1995 film starred Kate Beckinsale as Flora, Eileen Atkins as Judith Starkadder, and Rufus Sewell as Seth.  It is very funny and worth watching several times.

If you think I am obsessed with the films of Rufus Sewell in these two movie posts, just wait until I do a post just about him. Sigh. 

Can’t wait, can you?

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire – Part One

Blenheim Palace is one of England’s most famous buildings, a sprawling edifice of honey-colored stone surrounded by spacious parks. Residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, the palace is located in the village of Woodstock, near Oxford. Despite its beauty and idyllic grounds, I found an air of melancholy permeated the property.

Blenheim Palace was a gift from the British nation and a grateful Queen Anne to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, after his 1704 victory over the forces of Louis XIV. When Anne died before the house was finished, the royal purse closed. The Duke and his descendants have been paying for the Palace ever since. Blenheim was a nightmare to build and is a monstrosity to maintain. Take a look at this statement from the Blenheim education page: “The 11th Duke has devoted his life to the preservation of the Palace. He has had a difficult task of balancing the needs of the modern day visitor with the necessity of maintaining a World Heritage site. He said that ‘Although the Battle of Blenheim was won in 1704 the Battle for Blenheim continues in the unceasing struggle to maintain the structure of the building and to obtain the finance for the future.’”

Sarah, the first duchess, fought with architects John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor from the very beginning. She wanted a comfortable residence. They, after creating the baroque magnificence of Castle Howard, wanted a splendid national monument on the order of Versailles. The subsequent story of Blenheim is an indiscriminate mix of the acquisition and dispersal of great art, the antics of peculiar family members, the real and imagined obligations of the aristocracy, and curiosity of the public.

Though Sarah bore the duke six children, both sons and one daughter did not live to adulthood. The eldest of the three remaining daughters, Henrietta, became the 2nd Duchess of Marlborough in her own right. Sadly, her son did not survive her and the 3rd Duke of Marlborough was the son of her sister, Anne, wife of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland. This is the connection to the Spencer family, ancestors of the late Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.

above, tomb of the Duke and Duchess

and their sons

 


The fourth duke, who succeeded to the title in 1758 at age 19, was actually the first to make Blenheim his family’s principle residence. He found the place cold, forbidding and rundown, never properly completed. He assumed the great honor and burden of rejuvenating its grandeur and surrounding it with an appropriately sublime setting, a park designed by Lancelot “Capability” Brown. George III, on a visit in 1786, is reported to have said, “We have nothing to equal this!”

Family of the 4th Duke of Marlborough by Sir Joshua Reynolds

Never plump enough in the pocket, the fourth duke spent millions of pounds on the mansion and grounds. By the 1780’s, he was fading into reclusiveness, his obsession with the house nearing insanity. When Admiral Nelson visited in 1802, with Lord and Lady Hamilton, the duke refused to receive them. Upon the fourth duke’s death in 1817, his son succeeded.

George Charles Spencer-Churchill, formerly the Marquis of Blandford, lived an extravagant life as fifth duke, dissolute yet brilliant and eccentric, qualities that seem to run in the family. He revised Brown’s landscape and sold off non-entailed treasures to finance his high living, even charging visitors by the hour to shoot and fish on the property. The fifth duchess, Susan, daughter of the seventh Earl of Galloway, like her predecessors, sank into the same enslavement to the house. After years of near-bankruptcy, the fifth duke died in 1840, his duchess the next year. When the Duke of Wellington and his friend, diarist Harriet Arbuthnot, visited Blenheim in 1824, Mrs. Arbuthnot wrote, “The family of the great General is, however, gone sadly to decay, and are but a disgrace to the illustrious name of Churchill, which they have chosen this moment to resume. The present Duke is overloaded with debt, is very little better than a common swindler and lets everything about Blenheim. People may shoot and fish at so much per hour and it has required all the authority of a Court of Chancery to prevent his cutting down all the trees in the park.”


Thus, the pattern was established, dukes and duchesses sacrificing themselves and their families to a symbolic vision of Blenheim Palace more important than mere humans. Another famous victim was Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married the 9th duke in 1895, a social coup for her mother, but a lesser triumph for her father, who provided millions to restore and maintain Blenheim. Consuelo later divorced and eventually achieved happiness as Countess Balsan. Right, the 9th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough with their heir and spare, painted by John Singer Sargent in 1907.

The Red Drawing Room
In a future blog, I will take you on a tour of Blenheim and tell more of the story of how a family has had the lives of generations absolutely dominated by the care and maintenance of a home that is also almost a national monument.  Imagine needing a new roof!

England in the Movies

From Victoria…

In writing about the recent films The Young Victoria (see blogpost of April 28) and Bright Star (blog post of March 27), I thought about all the excellent older films about English history and literature I remember from years past.


Two of my favorites were just a couple of years ago.

The Duchess (2008) was based on Amanda Foreman’s biography of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, (1756-1806) starring Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes and many other outstanding actors. See a trailer here.

In my opinion, it was a well-done film, basically accurate, though the events of the screenplay seemed to condense the period of time covered. Ms. Foreman is on record as approving of the film.

Amazing Grace (2007) stars Ioan Gruffudd as William Wilberforce, MP, campaigning for the end of the international slave trade in the early 19th century. Also starring Romola Garai, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Ciaran Hinds, Sylvestra Le Touzel and many other outstanding British actors. Most observers agreed it was an accurate portrayal of the period, the controversy and Wilberforce’s triumph.  See more information and a trailer here.

Who can resist the battles of Henry II and his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, in The Lion in Winter (1968) starring Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn. The screenplay was adapted from his stageplay (1966) by James Goldman. Set in AD 1183, the story gives the stars some outstanding opportunities to spar with one another over the succession after Henry’s death. Here is a trailer

Henry II was played by Peter O’Toole a little earlier in the 1964 film Becket. Based on a play by Jean Anouih, the story of Becket’s martyrdom is brilliantly done. Richard Burton stars as Thomas Becket, one of his finer performances in a career that often served from the heights to the depths and back again. Becket garnered a raft of awards and nominations.


A Man for All Seasons came out 1966 starring Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More.  It originated with the play by Robert Bolt about the controversy over ending Henry VIII’s first marriage.  Orson Welles appear as Cardinal Wolsey and Leo McKern as Thomas Cromwell as they all argue over Henry’s determination to marry Anne Boleyn in the 16th century.

Both of the following links to trailers may require you to watch an ad before the REAL trailer. Here I  and/or here II.  I despise the ads on these trailers — and come to think of it, on some DVDs where you can’t duck them by any means.  Grrrrrrr.  So much for my ranting.

For my money, Robert Shaw plays a great Henry VIII, far better than Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in the currently running The Tudors on Showtime — who is pretty good, just not up to Shaw. Paul Scofield won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Sir Thomas;  Wendy Hiller portrayed his long-suffering wife.

And now for something entirely different…
Many of us have a long-lasting fascination with the members of the Bloomsbury Group — their Bohemian lifestyles, their experimentation in the arts and in their personal lives and sexual preferences. The story of Dora Carrington, rather a peripheral member of the group, is told in Carrington (1995). The film stars Emma Thompson as Dora Carrington, Jonathan Pryce as Lytton Strachey, part of the Bloomsbury group in the time of WWI. Many more favorites appear and I believe the film was shot at some of the Bloomsbury Group’s favorite haunts. A recent review includes link to the trailer.

I’ll stop for now, but whenever I make a list of favorite films, more come to mind — for another day. Please let us know what your favorite British films are, meaning those about Britain, not necessarily always made in Britain.

The Anniversary of a Short Marriage

On 2 May, 1816, Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in Carlton House, the home of her father, the Prince Regent.

The occasion was full of joy for the British public for the masses loved the Princess and they knew her life had not been easy.
The only legitimate grandchild of George III, Princess Charlotte was second in line to become the monarch of Great Britain. Her mother and father separated shortly after their marriage and never lived together. The Prince Regent was envious of the public interest in Charlotte and he restricted her movements and even her contact with her mother, Caroline, Princess of Wales.
Her wedding dress can be seen in the Royal Collection in various exhibitions. Here is the description of the gown from a regency era periodical, La Belle Assemblee, Vol. 12, no. 84 (May 1816), “Her dress was silver lama on net, over a silver tissue slip, embroidered at the bottom with silver lama in shells and flowers. Body and sleeves to correspond, elegantly trimmed with point Brussels lace. The manteau was of silver tissue lined with white satin, with a border of embroidery to answer that on the dress, and fastened in front with a splendid diamond ornament.”

Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte lived at Claremont, an estate in Surrey. There, just over a year after the wedding, Charlotte died after giving birth to a stillborn son. The people mourned their Princess on an unprecedented level.

Many kinds of memorials were sold throughout the country:


Charlotte was buried in the Royal Chapel at Windsor. A large memorial to her shows her descending into heaven, her infant son held by an angel.
Prince Leopold remained involved in the British Royal Family. He helped the Duke of Kent marry his sister, Victoire, who eventually became the parents of Princess Victoria. He advised his niece before and after her accession to the throne.
And he also facilitated the marriage of his nephew Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg- Gotha to Queen Victoria. In 1831, Leopold became King of the Belgians. He married again and had three children. His daughter was named Charlotte after his first wife.

Right, Princess Charlotte of Wales 1796-1817.                             

Happy Birthday to Our Queen

Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth II,
age 84 today.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Victoria here. As long as I can remember, I’ve looked at pictures of the Queen and her sister Princess Margaret, probably in Life magazines. I was convinced that they were my cousins, though they were much better dressed than the cousins I played with in Illinois and Wisconsin. Funny how I must have been spirited away from my REAL family in the Palace and dropped into the American Midwest.

Well, a writer needs a vivid imagination and I certainly have one! Nevertheless, this perceived connection between Elizabeth R and me has never been driven out of my system. I am sure we are related somehow.
 

The only time I saw the Queen up close and in person was in Toronto in 2002 while she was on her Golden Jubilee tour. There was a small crowd around her hotel when she came out to begin her royal duties for the day. She was wearing a lovely purple (aubergine!) suit with matching hat and shoes. She is TINY.
 
 


The Queen has ruled since 1952, so for most of us, her reign covers our entire lives or darn close to it. She has had more than her share of family problems, hasn’t she? Every time I go to London, I find she has many reasonable excuses for not having her cousins over to tea.

I was almost afraid to see the film The Queen with Helen Mirren a couple of years ago. Luckily. I enjoyed it, because I thought it treated my royal pseudo-relative with dignity and sympathy. In our family, we are not afraid to re-evaluate and change our minds when the situation requires. Or perhaps is it just that I also might be related to Oscar-award winner Helen Mirren?

The official British celebration of the Queen’s birthday will be on Saturday, June 12, 2010, at Trooping the Colour, a traditional pageant at Horse Guards.

Above photos from 2009 Trooping the Colour
The Queen used to review the troops on horseback. Below, a view of her as Princess at Trooping the Colour, an old postcard
         So many happy returns of the day, dear lady. God save the Queen.
The official site of the British Monarchy here.