Customer Reviews

The Golden Bowl (1972) (3pc) [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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Henry James' last novel, "The Golden Bowl," is a long work in which very little overt action occurs. The plot is basically as follows. After a long and intense love affair is over between a penniless Prince Amerigo and the beautiful Charlotte, they meet again just as he is ready to marry the American millionairess Maggie Verver. Maggie and her father Adam are very close knit; and as marriage will not seem to separate them for long, Charlotte gets Adam to propose. And so begins one of the most interesting menage a quatre in fiction. Published in 1904, the theme of adultery had to be handled with kid gloves; and this is where James is a master. When in 1972 it was dramatized and taped for the BBC (and then over here as a "Masterpiece Theater" presentation), the subtlety and ambiguity of the original had to be retained. So now that it has been made available by Acorn Media as a boxed set, we do not get to see as much as bare leg, let alone what some of the recent film versions would have offered by way of nudity. Indeed by never showing any of the amorous goings on between Amerigo and Charlotte, one can even begin to wonder if Maggie's suspicions--so long in being aroused--are actually justified. To replace the omniscient narrator of the novel, this adaptation gives us the urbane Bob Assingham (Cyril Cusack) who starts and ends each episode looking into the camera and telling us the story as he knows it. But what he knows is only what his wife Fanny (Kathleen Byron) tells him has happened. Of course, one might wonder, then, how he could know every word of dialogue that took place in Fanny's absence--but let us not quibble over technicalities. As the narrator tells us right off, this is a story not of what was said but of what was not said. At no time in the 6 episodes that make up this taped version does any character say what is really important until Maggie (Jill Townsend) finally confronts her husband and winds up simply stalemated. "No one must know" is the motto of the times and of the class of people with whom we are dealing. The acting is superb. Barry Morse (whom you might remember was the remorseless policeman pursuing The Fugitive many years ago on television) is a sympathetic Mr. Verver, too good to suspect the truth or to show he knows it when he finally does. Daniel Massey's Prince shows just the right balance between continental mores and those of the uptight upperclasses of England and America. Jill Townsend looks just fragile enough while she suffers immensely without batting an eyelash except for two moments of release during the 270 minutes of this dramatization. Gayle Hunnicut gives us a Charlotte who is not evil, who suffers ultimately more than any of the others, but who is simply in love and will not compromise. Kathleen Byron's Fanny never is reduced to caricature. Feeling responsible for introducing Maggie to the Prince, she tries to make amends by interfering and then lying about what she thinks. I am sure many of us can relate to her motivation and she emerges as a more sympathetic character, in a way, than do any of the others. And Cyril Cusack is just a joy, both as narrator and as something of a Richard Bucket to his socially motivated wife. I have to leave to my betters to find how closely this follows the original novel; but on its own terms this Acorn Media release is compelling drama and quite a treat for those who would appreciate some intelligent "adult treatment of adult themes" without the adolescent soft porn which that phrase usually implies. The three tapes hold two episodes each and are neatly boxed. Just the sort of thing you will want to see once a year to clear the mind and perhaps see yourself more objectively afterward.

This is a riveting and brilliant production on all levels, for those who enjoy good drama, eloquent dialogue and the great acting skills found in British theater.

By contrast, the recent Merchant Ivory film is revealed as banal, vulgar, and dumbed down. The BBC's Charlotte is a great heroine. Uma Thurman's is a boring, neurotic wretch. She makes you wonder what all the fuss is about.

THIS IS A GREAT BRITISH DRAMA

I WAS VERY HAPPY WITH MY SELLER'S QUICK ACTIONS IN GETTING IT TO ME ALSO.

I am really glad I took this out on my public library card instead of buying it. My husband and I made it all the way through the 6 episodes over 3 nights but the pace of this work verged on the leaden. Henry James' work can easily be adapted in this fashion but we prefer the more modern adaptations done recently for the screen, such as "Wings Of The Dove" with Helena Bonham-Carter and Linus Roache. That film was outstanding, gripping and fast paced. There are 2 married couples in "Golden Bowl". A father is part of one marriage and his daughter is part of the second marriage. Their respective spouses "knew" one another before these marriages, unbeknownst to father and daughter, and now are carrying on together behind the father's and daughter's backs. This whole scenario is very much a piece of its time period as a more modern person would prefer going to divorce court than enduring either of these marriages as a partner. James was an expert of the psychological though so this is nonetheless a very intelligent rendering of this subject matter. It was all right to see it once. I had no need to own the series though as I would never watch it again.