Customer Reviews

Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember watching this as a 10 year old and being absolutely spellbound. Although much of the class structure of those years I obviously didn't understand, the acting of the wonderful, and criminally underrated Lee Remick (sadly no longer with us)in the title role, and the remarkable perforance of Ronald Pickup as Churchill's syphillitic father Randolph were enough.

I remember having a heartbreaking crush on Lee Remick for years after and often looking for the DVD version, which I've only just found out is now available. Thank you Network for finally releasing what I believe to be the finest costume drama of the 70s.

Also, this is beautifully scored by Andre Previn. Bravo all round!

I remember seeing this when it first came out...on a tiny black and white portable set. In the typical Masterpiece Theatre way, it was exquisite...almost fairytale in style. I was entranced by Lee Remick...the most beautiful "princess" I'd ever seen. A woman with brains as well as beauty, combined with cunning and attitude. It was also a joy to see an American woman navigating the shoals of British politics as if she'd been born to it.

I was so upset when it seemed to disappear after the initial showing...wondering if it would ever turn up. I also wondered if it would be as grand as I remembered. It was well worth the wait.

One final thing: If any viewers ever get to London, head to the American Embassy. You will see a statue of Sir Winston Churchill on the grounds.

I think Sir Winston's mother Jennie would be proud...don't you?

Historical PLUS a look a strong woman behind successful men. Jennie pushes two prominent British politicians. Jennie was Sir Winston Churchill's mother. Jennie's DVD bio explains where Sir Winston got his own spunk and tenacity. The teenager-to-death lead role is a magnificent performance by a young Lee Remick. She was a star before she played Lady Randolph, but this is quite a tribute to her ability. She is the only cast member to be in all 7 episodes of "Jennie", thus almost single-handed pulling off the series' accolades, including winning BAFTA Best Actress.

A young Winston Churchill is played by Warren Clarke so well, you can see and hear the real Churchill, though the time span for this biography does not take Winston to his world prominence of WWII.

For Historical Drama, this DVD 2-disc series ranks a solid 5 stars. If you're after just romance, Victorian drama, and sordid aristocratic lives, then this might disappoint. Even so, 'Jennie' is a strong 4 stars for that type of entertainment too. There is a good bit of British politics involved in the Churchill family, of course, and it's included in this series along with the private life side. My wife declared this worthy of 5 stars only part-way into episode 2. Perhaps it's best described as a documentary-drama that's very hard to wait for between episodes. Originally airing late 1974, this period series is timeless, educational, romantic, entertaining, Victorian, award-winning costumes, performance perfection, and beautifully costumed Lee Remick through it all.

Subtitles ARE available. 371 minutes series total plus some bonus stuff.

Episode details:
1 JENNIE JEROME-Paris, 1873. American Jennie lives in Paris but holiday's in Cowes, England, meets young Randolph Churchill, and we know from history they say 'I DO.' Intimate details are quite enlightening.

2 LADY RANDOLPH-Entering the Churchill estate, Blenheim Palace, via a poem recollection, Jennie must try to settle into this aristocratic life including bearing a future generation and political scandal.

3 RECOVERY-Jennie encourages husband Randolph to speak up for Irish needs and make himself noticed. Jennie becomes quite powerful through guiding Randolph.

4 TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY-Randolph resigns his political position plus the Churchill home front less than solid. Jennie is confused about Randolph but flirts on.

5 A PERFECT DARLING-Lady Randolph is now alone, Winston off in the military, and Jack in school. Winston wants parliament. What should Jennie do now?

6 HIS BORROWED PLUMES-Mr. & Mrs (Jennie) West see the Churchill boys succeed and even wed. Jennie continues to struggle for financial security.

7 A PAST AND A FUTURE-Lady Randolph 'Churchill' name is used again after a life change. WWI is underway & the boys are off to the front to Jennie's dismay.

Lee Remick was one of the finest American actresses to emerge in the late 50s and 60s, and this well-known 70s seven-part miniseries based on the life of Jennie Jerome Churchill, the heiress wife of Lord Randolph and the mother to Winston, at first really promises to give her enough elbow room to show her abilities at their best. The first few episodes, where the mercurial Jennie is rapidly courted by the Byronic Lord Randolph and then has to cope with his strange family at Blenheim Palace, are terrific, and show you what a superb actress Remick really could be, especially when paired with an actor as fine as Ronald Pickup (later so memorable in the 80s miniseries FORTUNES OF WAR). The other actors that surround Remick are superlative, particularly Warren Clarke who seems to nail Jennie's eldest son Winston both physically and vocally; it's the screenplay by Julian Mitchell that really lets her down.

Jennie Jerome was the original for Lizzie Elmsworth in Edith Wharton's unfinished THE BUCCANEERS; her beauty and wealth made her acceptable to marry into one of England's most famous ducal families, the Spenser-Churchills, and her intelligence and wit made her a terrific political hostess, the champion of both her husband's and son's distinguished political careers. But Mitchell's screenplay doesn't really shape her life adequately to make it consistently interesting. The early episodes, showcasing her volatile first marriage to Lord Randolph, are the best; yet even here Mitchell often does not adequately explain why she so wholeheartedly supports her husband when he makes dreadful mistakes (such as blackmailing the Prince of Wales about his extramarital affairs through his wife. Then things take a further downturn after Lord Randolph dies of syphilis and Jennie marries a handsome vapid boytoy (Christopher Cazenove) the same age as her eldest son: when the latter and his brother constantly complain to one another about what a drip their new stepfather is, you can't help but echo their feelings. Things pick up when Jennie marries an even younger--and much smarter--third husband in the last episode, but by this point Remick is so weighed down by aging makeup and prosthetics that her performance seems muffled, and her character seems to have turned into a caricature of a fun-loving forever-young Auntie Mame. These later episodes so slow things down that you're not left with the kind of memory of Remick's abilites that she deserves. She misses entering into the pantheon of the really great performances from the golden age of the British miniseries (e.g. Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I, Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Susan Hampshire as Lady Glencora Palliser). This production remains of interest if only because the then-current Duke of Marlborough gave Thames television use of Blenheim Palace for the scenes set there, which is a vast improvement over the pokier sets used in THE PALLISERS, which also detailed the political/high society doings of late 19th-century Britain.

Acorn Media has provided the DVD with english subtitles which are helpful not only to people who have hearing impediments but to foreigners (specially when politician explain very quickly intricate schemes, with names of men we know nothing about). The story is very interesting from an historical point of view. It begins with Napoleon III being dismissed and ends some times after the Second World War is over. Politics are not seen from Sirius, but through magnifying glasses: dayly and often cynical calculations, fights against political ennemies or so-called friends. Randolph's every days life is a sort of thrilling gambling. For instance, he resigns his charge, thinking the government will become aware it can't do without him; in case it doesn't Randolph will found a new Tory group, modern, kenner on social issues, and overcome the old Tory party. We see how times are changing: at the beginning of the story, upper classes are extremely conservative, préjudiced with birth, wealth, morals, etc and at the end, one of Jennie's niece, an artist, goes to Russia on her own to see what communism is like.Lady Churchill is a fascinating woman! Clever, brave, ambitious, free, quite different from the other women of her time. With such "political beasts" as his father and mother were, we understand why Winston Churchill (remarkably played by Warren Clark) was so outstanding a stateman. Love stories don't lack in the movie; I found particularly moving the love affair between Jennie and the long-suffering Count Kinsky (embodied by the wonderful Jeremy Brett; if you like him, look at "posthumous Bafta for Jeremy Brett" on facebook).Though many tragic events occur (Randolph illness and demise, wars...), the dialogues, always brilliant, are often amusing: clever, cynical, sparkling with wit. People of the high society are depicted in a satirical way. Everything is beautiful: houses, costumes, music, actors: Lee Remick, Jeremy Brett...I find 361 minutes were hardly enough.

I have always loved Lee Remick as well as Barbara Parkins (whose career was much too short). I knew of the book JENNIE and that she was the American mother of Winston Churchhill, but never got around to reading it. So when I saw this mini-series, I ordered it right away.

The DVD was in excellent condition and came to me in quick time. I enjoyed this British play very much and keeping it in my movie collection. I would recommend it to anyone who loves historical drama.

I viewed this series when I was 10 years old and was mesmerized. The performances are awesome and the costumes and sets are beautiful. I was so impressed with the story that I traveled to Bladon and Blenheim to celebrate my thirtieth birthday.

I just saw this movie & was really enjoying it until I did an google search for "Jennie". This movie is fiction according to the relatives of the Churchills and her "personal" history. She & Randolph had numerous affairs and wasn't the faithful loving wife portrayed in the movie. She also cheated her sons out of 860 pounds left to them by their father, who she said didn't love them. Not a very nice or sweet "lady".

This was a gift for my husband who enjoys studying the era during and around WWII. He enjoyed the series very much, so I at least know it is historically accurate.

I absolutely love English period pieces and this one sounded like a gem especially since there isn't much film on Winston Churchill's mother. I couldn't wait for the June 10th release and was able to get a copy reformatted so I could play it in the U.S. Big potential. Remick did win the Bafta award for this role. I wonder what she was up against. You can see she's acting. Not in the same league as Sense and Sensiblity, Duchess of Duke Street, Six Wives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Poldark, North and South, Wives and Daughters, Howards End, Emma, etc. Course Remick is no competition for Emma Thompson, Gwyneth Paltrow or Glenda Jackson. And Ronald Pickup as Lord Randolph - at least a half dozen spots you wonder how unreal his behavior was for an educated Lord. Hard to describe the way he portrayed getting his way at times. Do wonder where the glowing reviews come from - distributors? Better to spend your money on one of the ones I listed above. If not you HAVE BEEN WARNED.