Customer Reviews

Byron

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lavish, lovely-to-look at, perfectly cast all-around with people who look very much like their historic counterparts and play their roles flawlessly (except for Shelley), magnificently scored, with a wonderfully nuanced performance by Jonny Lee Miller in the title role, atmospheric, authentic in detail....this BBC Production had everything going for it - except for Time. If only there were an extra hour to cover the sorely overlooked Byronic summer with the Shelley party....and to probe a bit more thoroughly the poetical side of Byron...his relationship with his Last Attachment....his involvement in both Italian and Greek rebellion...the incredible impact of his death on the British conscience...if only...if only instead of Two Parts, this production had been done in Three(or more actually)! This film had EVERYTHING going for it - except Time. The first part is leisurely; the second seems hurried. One other matter: If no one knows of Byron's life, the film will most likely be somewhat confusing. For students of Byron, the film is rich in detail, both period and personal - even down to his nail-biting! Despite its flaws (basically it not being long enough) this is a wonderful look into the life of the man who was "mad, bad and dangerous to know." Highly recommended! And the score should be on CD!!!

This is not a biography of Byron's life, or any kind of documentary. It is a very powerful portrayal of Byron's personality and, possibly, of how life felt to him. Although some details are incorrect and there are important omissions (notably, Byron's stay at the Villa Diodati with the Shelley menage), it is a noteworthy film.

An excellent intro to the life of Byron. Not an in-depth exploration nor commentary/interpretation. This will give you a good outline of Byron's life to construct your own understanding from further reading.

Byron DVD was awesome. Biographical, straightforward, honest and realistic. Acting was superb. Jonny Lee Miller is always great!

After watching Jonny Lee Miller's excellent portrayal of Mr. Knightley in Emma (2009), I looked up his body of work, and came across this production. I have to say this is a beautifully-filmed story of Byron, and Miller is amazing in the title role. He delivers a finely nuanced performance, and with his matching good looks, embodies Byron perfectly. After two years in Greece, Byron returns to England in 1811, disappointed that his lack of fortune has necessitated his return. Upon his mother's death, he returns to his ancestral home and finds himself attaining fame as a writer, though he is still deeply in debt. This story focuses on three romantic interests (well one not so romantic) of Byron's. There's the wild aristocratic child-woman Lady Caroline Lamb (Camilla Power) who initially arouses Byron's interest and ardor but who soon grows obsessed with him causing him to lose interest. Then there's the secret love of Byron's life - his half-sister Augusta Leigh (Natasha Little in an incredibly compelling performance), the only woman whom Byron feels he can truly love without inhibitions. Unfortunately, this is a relationship that is doomed from the beginning, given its' taboo and illicit nature. Out of desperation (given his dire financial straits) and Augusta's insistence, Byron proposes marriage to an heiress, Annabella Milbanke (Julie Cox), a woman determined to change Byron and 'cure' his corrupted nature through discovering God. Predictably enough, this marriage suffocates Byron and is also doomed.

Percy Bysshe Shelley is also introduced in this production, though Oliver Dimsdale's portrayal seems rather lackluster. The supporting cast do a commendable job, such as the butler William Fletcher (Philip Glenister), Byron's aristocratic confidante, Lady Melbourne (Vanessa Redgrave), and many more (including Sally Hawkins as Mary Shelley, recently seen in Persuasion). The major flaw of this production is the lack of sufficient time to truly explore the various facets of Byron's character such as his maturation as a poet. Some of the major events of his life are left out, the most glaring being the summer he spent with the Shelley's. There's also not much time spent on exploring his affair with a young Contessa (played by Branka Katic, recently seen in "Big Love")It almost seems like a hurried production ,especially the second half. It is best to read about Lord Byron before actually watching this so that one can mentally fill in the gaps (otherwise it gets rather muddled), and I'd recommend Byron in Love: A Short Daring Life and Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame (Vintage). Btw, the opening scene reveals Byron's publisher John Murray setting alight a manuscript which was Byron's memoirs. It does set one thinking about the secrets and revelations contained within those pages!

Without getting into a lot of detail, this film is a well-acted and accurate bio of BYRON, who I always think of as the prototype of the modern celebrity(mad,bad, and dangerous to know!).Nobody does this kind of thing like the BRITS and I enjoyed it a lot. thanks dennis

I really like this film, it accurately presents the most important facts of Byron's life and all the women he was involved with :)

This film about the literary world's first superstar bad-boy has much going for it. Lord Byron was the highly talented writer and poet who shocked the world with his bisexuality, his multiple affairs with the powerful elite married women of England, his incestuous affair with his half sister Augusta Lee, his scandalous divorce where his wife reveals sexual practices that were capital crimes in England, his affair with the sister-in-law of the poet Shelley, and his charge into the Greco-Turkish war. He was notorious in his day and his legend lives on. This film does a credible job of capturing much of the self-induced chaos and impulsive madness that drove Byron into disaster after disaster. Yet he survives many scandals and survives due to his extreme beauty and literary gifts. Lord Byron is played by Jonny Lee Miller who does a credible job of capturing the romantic madness that propels Byron from mishap to mishap. Lord Byron was served throughout his life by a servant Fletcher, played by Philip Glenister. Fletcher suffers through many misadventures as Byron's fortunes go up and down, but mostly down, and sacrifices his own personal life to serve Byron. Byron was very lucky to have totally loyal friends such as John Cam Hobhouse, played by Stephen Campbell Moore. Hobhouse, or `Hobbie' as he was called by Byron was his loyal school friend who knew of Byron's love affairs with young men during his youth, his wild sexual life with women - including his half sister, and his immense talents. Hobbie burns Byron's Memoirs after Byron's death, an act that he may have committed to protect Byron but would certainly have been an amazing piece of literature if it had survived.

Possibly the most scandalous aspect of Byron's life is his affair with his half-sister Augusta Lee. Lee is played to perfection by the warm beauty, Natasha Little. Byron rationalized the affair since he and Augusta were never reared together an met when they were older, but once the affair became public, he and Augusta were considered scandalous.

Byron's confidant, the immensely wealthy Lady Melbourne, played perfectly by Vanessa Redgrave, is his defender until even Byron goes too far for her to stomach. Camilla Power plays the outlandish Lady Caroline Lamb, daughter-in-law to Lady Melbourne, who falls so in love with Byron that he becomes her obsession and she makes public scene after scene until she finally is able to covert her obsession into pure hatred. Once scorned, she now uses her hatred of Bryon to plot his downfall. Of course Byron gives to every enemy ample ammunition for his wild life reads like an open book.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, played by Oliver Dimsdale and his wife Mary, played by Sally Hawkins, don't play a major role in this film. However the drowning death of Shelley and his cremation on the beach are captured in the story. Byron was approached by Mary Goodwin Shelley's half sister, Claire Clairmont, and had an affair that produced a girl child. Byron and Claire's erotic flame soon cooled but Byron was able to keep the child and sent her to an Italian convent for her education.

Byron's marriage to Annabelle Milbanke, played by Julie Cox, is a highlight of the film. Byron was advised by his sister Augusta to find a respectable wife as a distraction from their incestuous affair and hopefully as a stabilizing force in his life. The marriage to a pious intelligent rich young woman was a disaster of the first order, and the film leaves no doubt that the failure of the marriage was fully the responsibility of Byron. Byron ignored his wife, belittled her, spent her money, and had affairs with other women.

The film is an excellent introduction to Byron but even in a film that is longer than 2 hours much was cut out. Byron's young love affair with John Edleston is never mentioned. Byron's last male lover in Greece is also never mentioned in the film. Thus his bisexuality is only briefly displayed at the beginning of the film. We are also never sure of the relationship between Byron and Shelley. Byron's affair with Claire Clairmont was a brief sexual fling but a continued struggle afterward for the affairs and supervision of their child. This was never developed in the film. Branka Katic plays Italian Countess Teresa Guicioli, the last female lover. She was a highly intelligent and sophisticated woman but the film rushes through his lengthy affair with Teresa.

However the end of the film where Byron is bled to death by incompetent physicians in Greece is vividly captured. The film is highly entertaining and the only reason I do not give it 5 stars is that I am familiar with Byron's life and thus aware of what passages were edited out to crowd a wild adventurous life into a single movie.

I bought this film and really enjoyed it. Jonny Lee Miller's portrayal of Byron is brilliant. I highly recommend this BBC production to fans of Jane Austen and fans of Regency historical romance.

WELL DONE, AS PORTRAYED BY JONNY LEE MILLER. NOW TO CHECK OUT "CHILDE HAROLD" FROM THE LIBRARY TO SEE WHAT THE FUSS IS ABOUT!