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Gormenghast
A four-episode television serial based on the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake. It was produced and broadcast by the BBC. Gormenghast is an ancient city-state which primarily consists of a rambling and crumbling castle. The narrative, based on the first two of the three Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake, begins with the birth of a son, Titus, to the 76th Earl, Sepulchrave Groan, and Countess Gertrude. This mismatched pair (he'd prefer the melancholy privacy of his library; she'd prefer the company of her menagerie of cats and birds) also have a teenaged daughter, Fuchsia, who resents her new brother but comes to love him dearly. Simultaneously, a young kitchen apprentice, Steerpike, takes advantage of an altercation between head cook Swelter and the Earl's manservant, Mr. Flay, and escapes from the kitchens. Gormenghast is rigidly feudal in structure, but Steerpike has ambitions.
| Release : | 2000 |
| Rating : | 7.2 |
| Studio : | |
| Crew : | Director, Writer, |
| Cast : | Christopher Lee Ian Richardson Jonathan Rhys Meyers Celia Imrie Richard Griffiths |
| Genre : | Fantasy Comedy |
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Reviews
Memorable, crazy movie
Boring
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
I'm an avid reader and found the Gormenghast novels in a friend's book collection and was planning on reading them when I got the chance.He suggested I could also watch the miniseries, which I did not know existed either. So I cannot yet compare the two to each other. I did however like the miniseries. It was well written and very well acted.Christopher Lee was at his usual best. A surprise (probably just to me and maybe not to others) was Rhys Meyers. I was never really impressed by the authenticity he brings to his roles. However in this movie I HATED him, and I mean that in a good way. I really hated his character, he did a fantastic job; I guess now I'll have to watch some more of his work.The sets were incredible.This is one instance where I'm hoping the books will be as good as the movie.
OK, OK, I admit I enjoyed it! Now, that's out of the way. Yet somehow I feel manipulated by someone who put several plot outlines into a computer and came up with this combination of 'Hamlet' meets 'Phantom of the Opera' meets Grimm's Fairy Tales. The actors (being English) are terrific to watch go through the paces. My, we Americans can learn a lot from them. For me, Celia Imrie steals the show with her stone-faced portrayal of Mommie Queen Dearest. Second, are Zoe and Lynsey as the Siamese twins, Clarice and Cora, who are just mesmerizing to watch and fun on top. One has to root for them to the end. Mr. Meyers enjoys his evil a bit too much for me--although, I think such a part would be difficult to not become too hammy with. However, at times, I wanted nothing more than to slap him upside the head for his spoiled brat episodes when he doesn't get his way. It's all grim, grimy and gory darkness wrapped in Christmas colors, so enjoy and I guess forget about being too analytical as I am. I must say, in some ways it echoes the nightly news these days--most upsetting.
Terrible acting, especially from Celia Imrie, who frankly has done some great work in the past. I sat through the whole of this but it wasn't till someway through I realised that she (as in her character) had not changed her expression once, poor acting not hiding the fact that this is really a gentle actress trying to be a tough old boot, and failing miserably. The acting highs are Meyers and Lee, who actually succeed in bringing some class to this peasant of a BBC production.The plot here is fairly simple, but the execution on screen was pure rubbish. It actually started well, the first episode left me eager to see the next, though I was already aware of some of its shortcomings. I was not prepared for the fact that the story had no consistency after this point, and I really felt the need to look at the clock to estimate how much more I had to sit through. I'm sure the book is better, as seldom can the book fair worse than the screenplay, but frankly i'm put off reading it by the thought of sitting through three or four days more of this predictable, clichéd run of the mill, less than mediocre, slapped together screenplay.
I've read Mervyn Peake's books over and over again. To me, the story of Titus Groan, 77'th earl of Gormenghast, is one that can actually compete with Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings".So what do I think about the mini series? Well, obviously no one would dare do what Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema did with the aforementioned movie, so I guess a four part mini series was the next best thing. (Although I would have loved to see this in a cinema!) Good actors and an excitingly stylistic production makes this a worthwhile four hours. Some has been left out, of course, but there's still plenty of material left to build the characters of the story.This is not a fantasy movie. It has no or few classic fantasy elements at all in it. I would rather see it as a fantastic movie, where the laws of the "normal" world aren't broken - just a little bent out of shape...Gormenghast will provide a glimpse into our own world, and even though it's not always pretty, it's always done in beautiful colors.
