Customer Reviews

Lost Empires

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Granada Television's 1986 "Lost Empires" is a series that proves that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Starring a sullen young Colin Firth, this eight-hour, three DVD set has held a place in my heart for the last 16 years. It was with much anticipation then that I opened this package and watched it anew with my family. Would it stand the test of time? Was it as great as I recalled?

Based on the novel by JB Priestley, LE chronicles the adventures of young Richard Herncastle (Firth), an aspiring landscape painter, who in 1913 accepts an offer from his hard-nosed Uncle Nick (John Castle II) to join his magic act and tour the great `empire halls' on England.

Uncle Nick promises "I'll show you the world lad!" In the process young Richard gets more than he bargained for in the way of life adventures. . Firth's Herncastle finds himself thrown together with magicians, dwarfs, sad-sack comedians, flirty torch-song singers, suffragettes and aging Sir Lawrence Olivier. And he also quickly becomes the lightning rod that somehow touches all their lives.

The first half of LE, featuring Sir Lawrence Olivier as pathetic comedian Harry Barrard, Carmen du Sautoy as sultry Julie Blaine, John Castle's riveting Uncle Nick and Beattie Edney as love interest Nancy Ellis is where Lost Empires shines! We feel the whole world opening up for Richard as he is torn between Nancy and Julie. Every night this travelling company performs authentic song and dance numbers as we see World War I looming in the background.

Of special note is John Castle. Playing master illusionist "Ganga Dun" Castle's Nick Ollanton creates a character so vivid and steely that he virtually steals the DVD.

The second half of LE slows down a bit after young Richard has learned a few life lessons the hard way. The vibrant personalities of first half give way to more outrageous, less believable ones.

The DVD transfer is what you'd expect from most Granada product of the 80's: film grain is a bit much, but the colors are good, and I quickly "saw beyond" the grain of film. The sound is actually quite clear and vibrant with a large dynamic range. I frequently was "riding" the volume control to back off the volume when the director cut from quiet dialog scenes to the Empire performance scenes. There is no info booklet to speak of with the three discs which was a bit of a letdown (Brideshead Revisited ships with a rather informative booklet by contrast.) ...

If however you are looking for a group of clearly drawn characters desperate to hold onto a way of living, performing and loving as "The New World" is about to crush them under war and the onset of "talking movies" then LE is for you. If you've got the dough to spare, get it. If you're unsure, pick up Brideshead Revisited instead.

Me, I'm happy now that my "Masterpiece Theater" DVD shelf contains the three things I've always wanted: Brideshead, Prime Suspect and now Lost Empires.

What a pleasure to watch these dvds. The story flows and moves gracefully through each chapter. Firth is magnificent. Awards should have been given for this production. All the actors put so much into their performances. And to have Colin Firth narrating the entire story was music to my ears. We need more Colin Firth.

Colin Firth's first memorable TV role - and doesn't he look young! This series links the beginning of the decline of the British Empire with beginning of the decline of the British Music Hall - the former with the First World war and the latter with the advent of cinema. The script is superb and Colin Firth and John Castle's performances are excellant. There is a cameo role in the first episode from Sir Laurence Olivier but it is obvious that his skill is in decline.
The main story is Colin's (Richard Herncastle's) coming of age - as he certainly learns about life in the music halls before he is shipped out to the horrors of the War. He loses his love but miraculously regains it in the trenches when fate decrees that she turns up to entertain the troops, Colin gets wounded and she saves him.
It is a wonderful story to get lost in on a cold winter's night and I greatly recommend it.

This one ranks up there with "Pride and Prejudice" for the true Firth fan! You must have it in your collection. Colin Firth is young in this one..but there are definite signs of the smoldering Darcy we all know and love. Best of all, he is in almost every scene...hours and hours of hot, hetero FIRTH! (By the way, when is somebody going to realize this guy sells movies to woman of all ages? Get him some good roles!!)

I originally saw Lost Empires on public broadcasting and it became one of my favorites, right up there with I Claudius and The Duchess of Duke Street. The cast is exceptional especially John Castle as Uncle Nick (why oh why do we see so little of this wonderful, sexy actor?). The entire production is glorious, taking the viewer right back to the days of pre WWI.

This mini series taken from the book by J.B. Priestly is a superb recreation of the end of an era - the music hall way of life and the British Empire. Not since Topsy Turvy have I enjoyed a film about the theatre so much.

It is hard for those who were not around before television and the cinema to understand what a major business and way of life the music hall was. The entertainers, booking agents, theatre staff and others who made their living from the travelling performers who moved from town to dreary town bringing a little cheer and entertainment to the lives of workers in hard dull occupations.

The series shows how some entertainers spent their entire careers on the circuit singing maudlin songs, or performing in unchanging comedy or acrobatic routines - the animal acts, the knockabout comics. As there was no social security or unemployment pay, losing, or not getting a booking, could mean devastating poverty (read Charlie Chaplin's autobiography - his mother losing her voice and with it her singing career ended in the workhouse for the whole family). There was also a hierarchy in the circuits, London being the prize, and the northern and working class districts inferior. A performers status could be judged by where he or she was booked to play.

Although the era of the music hall as a primary form of entertainment ended after WWI, it staggered on until the 1950's as I can remember being taken to the Palace in Halifax, Yorkshire to see variety shows every week, and it lasted even longer in seaside towns headlined by popular TV entertainers.

The only reason for not rating this five stars is the quality of the picture - grainy and by disc 3, blurred. The color is uneven. I don't know whether this is due to the transfer from the British system, or whether TV quality 19 years ago was worse than we realise, but it is distracting. The lack of subtitles or close captions was also disappointing as it was hard to make out what they were saying at times, but as the miniseries was so faithful to the book, it was possible to read the book to find out what the characters had said.

Other than the gripes, the location shooting and recreating of grimy working class towns, the seaside holiday resorts and the music hall is one glorious feast for the eyes. The statuesque contralto bellowing out patriotic songs while draped in the flag - the peppy recruiting songs by the chorus dressed as soldiers - the holidaymakers oblivious of the war to come, are worth the price of the DVD. I would recommend this to anyone interested not just in theatre, but in the way of life pre WWI.

This adaptation is one of the finest moments in television drama. I have also waited many years to see this series once again and it is everything that I remember. The story is set in the restricted pre WW1 North of England middle class society and is strangely exotic. It is full of curiosity, interest and richness. Colin Firth does a wonderful job as the central character, Richard Hearncastle. However John Castle as the strong and enigmatic Nick Ollanton is outstanding, I really can't imagine anyone else in that role.
This is a production of the highest calibre but something of a hidden gem. It deserves much more appreciation and recognition.

I set the video for this before going out, on the 'off chance' it might be something worthwhile. I ended up watching every episode (recording them all at the time -late 1980s) and was spellbound throughout, hanging on for each new installment.

And why? Because this is one of those occasional British productions that, to me, gets it just right. They don't get it right very often, but when they do, nobody else comes close.

All the light, gloom and heart of the theatre, young love, growing up in a hurry, friends, enemies and characters of every shade between, shone through this glittering production.

To those who have already seen it; when was Colin Firth more captivating, John Castle as dark, vain and mysterious, Pamela Stephenson more compelling/repelling and the "oily" Alfred Marks more debauched. Who wouldn't have fallen for the vivacious Beatty Edney and who of you could have resisted the beautiful Carmen de sotoy. And Sir Laurence, the master playing a failed comedian.

The tale is it's characters, their routines on and off the stage, their successes, compromises, intrigues and their failures, and eventually for some of the cast it leads to murder.

There have been few television 'epics' as good, rich or satisfying - perhaps Brideshead Revisited, Pride and Prejudice, The Glittering Prizes, The Norman Conquests, The Naked Civil Servant, I Claudius, and The Camomile Lawn come to mind - but few others.

The settings are unbelievably convincing, the characters true to their time, the musical and dramatic numbers dripping with authenticity, and (glory be) sentimentality has been avoided at all costs. Perhaps because of this the characters have meant so much and what happens to them does matter.

I just can't understand why, in New Zealand in any case, the series has never been replayed.

Although originally a UK TV series it is no longer available in the UK which frankly is a disgrace. Here we see Colin Firth in one of his first major TV roles as naive Richard Herncastle. He plays the nephew of a music hall illusionist, Nasty Nick Ollanton played admirably by John Castle. The story follows Richard as he joins the theatre scene and starts to learn all about the real world and life, a far cry from his poor country upbringing. His run ins with his uncle, his loves and losses, the variety of characters make this series wonderfully colourful. The period (1913 onwards) has been captured really well which is not always the case with TV adaptations. This one being based on the book by JB Priestley. You will find yourself wanting to watch the whole set in one go-its that good! If you like Colin Firth, John Castle, or period dramas then this is an absolute must have.

I so enjoyed Lost Empires that I watched all three DVD's in two days! It was wonderful -- entertaining, marvelous. I cannot say enough. Colin Firth was outstanding! Do yourself a favor and get Lost Empires. It is something to watch over and over again.