Customer Reviews

Fortunes of War

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was so pleased when "Fortunes of War" was released on DVD! When I first saw this splendid BBC television series, I rushed to the nearest bookstore (in Rome at the time) and bought Olivia Manning's mammoth Balkan and Levant trilogies, which I have since devoured at least three times (so much so that the paperback editions are falling apart). Reading, however, in no way lessens, but, instead, enhances one's enjoyment of "Fortunes of War," which preserves the essence of Manning's novels. Visually stunning, the film recreates Bucharest and Athens on the brink of World War II, and then Cairo and Alexandria, as well as Damascus and Jerusalem, the outposts of the British Empire in the Levant. One step ahead of the advancing Nazi armies, Guy and Harriet Pringle, the film's central characters, are constantly uprooted and forced to be on the move.

Guy, acted with affable understatement by Kenneth Brannagh, epitomizes the type of academic who constantly puts the wants of his students first. Friend to all the world, Guy Pringle remains totally oblivious to the needs of his newly-married bride. Harriet, played with a dry and subtle irony by Emma Thompson, must cope with setting up house, first, in a city that is about to fall to the juggernaut of the Third Reich; next, in a series of hotel rooms, each more seedy than the last; and finally, sharing digs in Cairo with an odd assortment of British expatriates (and their even odder friends and acquaintances who continually drift in and out of the premises). Guy simply cannot understand that Harriet might be miffed at his heedlessness. For example, after Guy offers her the female title role in Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida," she suddenly discovers that he has taken the part away without telling her and has given it to Sophie, a Rumanian professional student and troublemaker who resents Harriet's presence, both in Bucharest and in Guy's life. It is not that Guy Pringle does not love his "little monkey's paws," Harriet; he simply takes her for granted.

Among the outstanding ensemble cast, two performances are memorable: those of Ronald Pickup and Alan Bennett.

Pickup plays the incorrigible Prince Yakimov, a displaced Anglo-Russian aristocrat, long-since fallen on hard times. Pickup's performance is so poignantly nuanced that the viewer is moved from loathing, to laughing--first at him and then with him--and finally to loving him. "Poor Yaki" resembles a spoiled but irrepressibly sweet and helpless child. Not even the much-imposed-upon Harriet can remain angry at a man who appears before her wearing one brown and one black shoe and then explains that he has another pair just like them at home.

Alan Bennett plays the insufferably fussy Cambridge don, Professor Lord Pinkrose, who is always on the verge of giving his renowned lecture on Byron but who, for one reason or another, is always prevented from doing so. Bennett's performance does not make one love Pinkrose (nor should it); it does, however, make one recognize him (He often sits on dissertation committees!). With his smarmy herd of acolytes (including the odious Toby Lush and the insidious Dubidat), Pinkrose, who always darts a baneful glance in Harriet's direction, causes Guy so much trouble that the viewer is tempted to cheer when the Lord Professor finally gets his just desserts. Every film ought to have a character that one loves to hate, and Alan Bennett plays this one to perfection.

The viewer seeking the wartime thrills of dogfighting Messerschmidts, exploding bombs, and action packed battle sequences should go watch "Saving Private Ryan" or a John Wayne movie. Even though the conflict in "Fortunes of War" is omnipresent, it is always just over the horizon. It nevertheless exerts a profound impact on the characters, both major and minor. It exerts an equally profound impact on the audience. For the discerning viewer, who appreciates exceptional acting and remarkable characterization, "Fortunes of War" represents the epitome of cinematic storytelling.

For Kenneth Brannagh and Emma Thompson, who acted together for the first time, this film represented "the start of a beautiful friendship," both on film and in real life. Unfortunately, it was not to last, but "Fortunes of War" at least allows us to glimpse the brilliant start, and to be glad that their joint venture in film lasted as long as it did!

This is one of the most underappreciated films which delves successfully into the personal side of life during wartime. Life, business, and education goes on even though the world is trying to kill itself. Love is found and lost, jobs come and go, and life goes on-even as the bombs fall. Branagh and Thomson are as always endearing as much for their flaws as for their charms. The scenery and cinematography is simply spectacular. This is in many way reminiscent of The English Patient, while not as powerful or brilliant, still very enjoyable, and highly recomended.

I have watched Fortunes of War a score of times. I just can't seem to get enough of the characters and they live on in my imagination long after viewing has ended. I have recommended this film successfully to a broad variety of friends, who have all loved it as well. It has appeal on many levels, the music, the scenery (Romania, Greece, Egypt) and outstanding dramatic work by the principals. I find this work haunts me and I have seen different aspects of it upon repeated viewing--once focusing completely on Guy Pringle, the next time taking a closer look at Harriet's character, and so on. It really is wonderful.

The very young Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, struggling on many levels across wartorn Europe and Cairo.Incredible cast of unforgettable characters, taut story line throughout about a young married couple escaping the enemy but not themselves. The acting couple were married at the time of the filming. This series represents the best of Masterpiece Theater.

This DVD "Fortunes of War" has some of Englands greatist actors staring in this epic picture. Also my very favorite actors, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Rupert Graves. Yes, there are other actors and they all did an excellent job. The story is a sweeping story, starting in Bulgaria and ending up in Cairo, Egypt. This story begins at the on set of World War Two. The story is about a young Englishman and his wife as they run from country to country as the German Army advances. The scenery is very well done. You get to see a way of life that existed before the Germans detroyed the world. This is an excellent film, and deserves all that stars that I can give it. This is a must see movie, well worth buying and adding to your library.

I had never heard of this movie (or the novels on which it was based) before running across it in my local video store, but fortunately (no pun intended) it provided two solid evenings of entertainment. While populated by unlikely characters who at times border on caricatures and keep turning up under even more unlikely circumstances, its strength is in the depiction of Mr. and Mrs. Pringle and the evolution of their relationship under the pressures of WWII.

Branagh is perfect for most of the film as the charismatic and socially promiscuous Guy, of whom one aquaintance jokes, "Two men met in a bar. They didn't know each other, but they both knew Guy Pringle." However, his portrayal becomes a bit shaky once the unflappable Brit Lit professor is finally forced to face the prospect of his greatest conceivable loss.

Thompson is simply excellent as the more reserved Harriet, who finds to her dismay that her husband not only preaches socialism and the love of mankind but also lives it, with the result that he has little time or attention left over for her. He assures her when confronted that he loves her, but it appears to Harriet and the audience that what he loves is her unflagging willingness to understand and accomodate him. Happily, by the end we all appreciate Harriet's other qualities: her humor, spirit, courage, and compassion.

Rupert Graves also stands out as the eager young soldier living in the shadow of his elder brother. The scene in which Guy first visits him in the hospital following a devastating injury is probably my favorite in the film.

What great news that this has arrived on DVD! A wonderfully atmospheric and beautifully photographed BBC adaptation of of the Olivia Manning "Balkan" and "Levant" trilogies. And therein lies the only flaw. The second of the trilogies was written decades after the first (which was contemporaneous to the events in that trilogy). As a result, the second half of the mini-series strikes a different (rather idealised, almost mystical) tone compared to the first half, which captures the dramas and foibles of the characters in a more realistic fashion. But having said that, this is a production not to be missed. Branagh, Thompson and especially Ronald Pickup as Prince Yakimov are wonderful. What a treat to see it again!

This is a wonderful story of a complex relationship that evolves agianst some very impressive backdrops (including the Great Pyramids), set in the first days of the Second World War.

The story begins with Guy Pringle returning to a teaching post in Bucharest with his new wife in tow. Harriet is an optimistic character but being in strange places and unable to affect the amicable but distanced relationship with her husband, makes life for her far more difficult. Her attention is almost always upon her husband while Guy's attention is focussed upon his world and everyone in it. The Fascism that slowly creeps into their previously neutral corner of Europe does not help the Pringles' domestic stresses as Guy becomes increasingly inspired to do what he can to promote democracy, in Roumania, in Greece, in Egypt.

This adaption of the books by Olivia Manning is wonderful and its length is a great advantage as the viewer is drawn into the plot and circumstances. It is an account of the war that could not have been told in an hour and thanks to the beautiful photography and subtle portrayals of Manning's chracters, it makes a wonderful historical companion while telling a captivating story.

"Fortunes of War" is the dramatization of six Olivia Manning novels: The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy. The seven parts of the mini-series (6 plus hours in all of viewing) follow the fortunes of a young British Council English teacher, Guy Pringle, and his new wife, Harriet, through World War II. The couple is living in Romania at the beginning of the war and flees to Greece and then Egypt to escape the Nazis.

This is not a tale of fighting men on the front lines, but rather a domestic drama about civilians bearing up through the momentous events of war and the loss of friends and homes. The miniseries takes its time; you may find parts one and two slow moving, but part three and four are edge-of-the-seat tense. Throughout are atmospheric touches and scenic photography -- not least of which are the wonderful eyes of Emma Thompson (Harriet). The series is readily believable: no hyperbole here, phony heroism, or false notes. The novels were auto-biographical and one can believe in the reality of the series.

In the books Guy Pringle is an exasperating, generous, ebullient, near-sighted, Soviet-loving fool of a man. Kenneth Branagh's rendering of him is too restrained. Emma Thompson, however, is superb as his sensible lonely wife who finds marriage exhilarating at times but more often frustrating. The greatest character of the series is the drunken spendthrift Prince Yakimov, wonderfully played by Ronald Pickup. He's a Micawberish-character worthy of Dickens.

It's a good series, not quite great because of the so-so portrayal of Guy Pringle by Branagh, but well worth viewing for a unique look at World War II.

Smallchief

On the brink of World War II, follow a young British academic couple (played by Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh)from Bucharest to Athens to Egypt.
Meet their friends, their refugees, their colleagues, and the locals in each country who are bewildered, befriended, bemused, or betrayed by the Brits.
Learn a lot of history painlessly as the inevitability of the war unfolds.
Become interested enough to go back to the original Olivia Manning novels; for once the film does the book justice. The series has excellent detail in costumes, language, politics, dress, silliness, and seriousness. The plot is complex and compelling, the writing literate, intelligent, and entertaining. Best of all, the acting is superb.