Gormenghast (2000)
A four-episode television serial based on the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake. It was produced and broadcast by the BBC. Gormenghast is an ancient city-state which primarily consists of a rambling and crumbling castle. The narrative, based on the first two of the three Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake, begins with the birth of a son, Titus, to the 76th Earl, Sepulchrave Groan, and Countess Gertrude. This mismatched pair (he'd prefer the melancholy privacy of his library; she'd prefer the company of her menagerie of cats and birds) also have a teenaged daughter, Fuchsia, who resents her new brother but comes to love him dearly. Simultaneously, a young kitchen apprentice, Steerpike, takes advantage of an altercation between head cook Swelter and the Earl's manservant, Mr. Flay, and escapes from the kitchens. Gormenghast is rigidly feudal in structure, but Steerpike has ambitions.
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Pretty Good
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
I have been enthralled by Peake and the Groan trilogy since the 1960s. When Gormenghast came up in conversation recently I decided to watch this BBC series again after twelve years, to refresh my memory of it and see how it held up.I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, it's flawed, and anyone hoping for a 'faithful' adaptation (is such a thing possible?) will be disappointed. But the stellar cast, superb performances (by most), exhilarating costumes and imaginative hand-made sets (would so hate to see this rendered by state-of-art CGI) make it a very watchable four hours. It's also worth viewing the 'Making of' short if you can.Not having read the books for a while, I found most of the characters lived up to my memory and mental image. Some didn't quite ring true, but on the whole I think was a valiant effort at condensing a three-volume epic into a short TV series.Special praise for Celia Imrie as Gertrude and John Sessions as Prunesquallor - both excellent...but then so was Christopher Lee, Warren Mitchell, June Brown, Stephen Fry, Richard Griffiths, Lynsey Baxter, Zoe Wanamaker...
This was a good dramatisation of the book but was not dark enough in any sense. Gormenghast (the place) was too bright and airy although it looked right otherwise. Also the sinister side of the story, which is most of it, was underplayed. When I read the book I hated Steerpike more than any other character I have read but this did not come out on the screen enough. Perhaps it is the restriction of turning such a long, detailed story into a drama. Nonetheless it looked good and all the performances were excellent. If you haven't done so yet - read the book. It is one of the greatest stories I have read and there are a couple of extras not included in the dramatisation. These are the third book "Titus Alone" which is very different from the first two books, and a separate episode in the life of the young Titus called "Boy in Darkness". Again, different from the first two books and quite surreal.
This is one of the best miniseries I have ever seen. It's like Lord of the Rings, only without the Hobbits. If only they would show us the lovely face of Steerpike again...sigh... They don't make them any better in my book. The acting, the background, the lines: all brilliant!
I don't think there are any spoilers in this but I suppose the bit I say about the main character could be considered one so to be safe I put this warning in so I don't get blacklisted :)Now that taken care of I can't say much more than what the previous person commented since I pretty much agree with her though I haven't read the books (but now knowing there are some I am very much interested in reading them now :) The main character is, in my opinion, gorgeous and the way he plays people off one another I find incredibly fascinating and fun to watch. I was shown this mini by a friend of mine who has an interest in surreality as much as I do. So yea, I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a good surreal fantasy story!