Saturday, January 10, 2009

Edwardian Movies and Television Shows

Here is a list of Edwardian movies and television shows:

Moulin Rouge: A wonderfully acted and sensitive production about the great Toulouse-Lautrec.

Mary Poppins: A charming, but rather too long musical. Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent is extremely strange!

A Room With A View: This beautiful love story set in gorgeous Italy was one of Merchant-Ivory's best. Why did we need a remake? (Especially one that wasn't much good!)

Titanic This movie is set slightly out of the Edwardian era,(1912), however the fashions and decor are very Edwardian so I'm including it. I enjoyed this although it wasn't regarded as a very good movie and I felt that Kate Winslet looked much older than Leonardo Di Caprio. (He's caught up now!) The anti-English slant of the film, historical errors, and silly ending got on my nerves. I know someone who won't even see it partly because it's anti-English!

Americans may get very upset by this statement and I'm not sure whether it's true. However, I read the other day that more American men survived because the English men were more gentlemanly and were more inclined to let women and children onto the lifeboats first!

The Wings of the Dove This very modern movie based on Henry James's difficult novel tells the story of a journalist who has to choose between two women - one is ambitious and grasping and the other is almost perfect, but very ill. It includes spectacular scenery of Venice. This haunting movie is well-worth seeing.

The Age of Innocence: Everything is perfect in this film - acting, direction, setting and costumes. Based on Edith Wharton's classic novel, it depicts the hypocrisy of Old New York and how convention ruins a great love. I found a moving post about this movie here: Age of Innocence at 32 and 47

Television Shows

Lillie is a well-acted television series with the beautiful Francesca Annis putting her heart into playing the famous 'Jersey Lily'.  It provides a good summary of Lillie's life although some of it isn't historically accurate.
To Be Continued.