A different way of telling a story

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The Barchester Chronicles (1982) was directed by David Giles. Anthony Trollope was a genius. The question was whether Director Giles was capable enough to to trust Trollope's plot, and find the actors capable of portraying Trollope's characters. Giles carried it off with skill and finesse.The movie has the usual excellent production values we have come to expect from the BBC. The fictional cathedral town of Barchester is reproduced in Peterborough. Donald Pleasence plays Rev. Septimus Harding. Harding is a kind and gentle man, but he has a backbone when that's what's needed.Donald Pleasence is often cast as a villain. Here, he is anything but a villain. His acting skills were amazing.Geraldine McEwan is outstanding in the role of Mrs. Proudie, the wife of the new bishop.This was Alan Rickman's first major role. He portrays Obadiah Slope, chaplain to the Bishop. He's sly, well spoken, clever, and unprincipled. Rickman was made for this role, and her performs it perfectly.Even if you don't like Victorian novels, this is a movie worth seeing. I highly recommend it. P.S. Angela Pleasence is the daughter of Donald Pleasence. She plays the role of his daughter in the series. It's clear that she inherited her father's acting skills.

This sort of story is easy to overlook because it is so low-key and so very wholesome. But for what it is I found it gripping; everyone needs something purely wholesome from time to time. Although, there is much more sexual tension than one would expect from a series about the Anglican clergy. Other reviews on this page seem to agree that Obadiah Slope steals the show in this regard. Yes, I would have chosen him over Mr. Arabin as well, but at least we can infer that Slope found some other lucky lady. It's not fair, though, to let Rickman dominate analysis of this series. The rest of the cast give performances which are just as mesmerizing, particularly Susan Hampshire as Madeline. But watching this, you can tell why Alan went on to become the biggest name of the entire cast. Sidenote: Give me Madeline's wardrobe YESTERDAY. Like any good period piece, this is gorgeous to look at. I found myself very worried about what would happen to Eleanor. I mean, being slut-shamed for RECEIVING a letter? That is COLD. I also liked that she had such a good relationship with her father; that he always had her back. It makes me teary-eyed just thinking about it. Recommended. Would watch again.

Anthony Trollope was a much underrated writer and storyteller. "The Warden" and "Barchester Towers" upon which "Barchester Chronicles" is based were great reads. More times than not literary classics are not easily adaptable to movies or TV, but BC is a rare exception.First, the acting is absolutely stellar. Particularly first-rate are Donald Pleasance as the kindly Septimus Harding, Nigel Hawthorne as the often exasperated Archbishop Grantly and Alan Rickman as the slyly clever passive-aggressive Obadiah Slope, and certainly last but not least Geraldine McEwan as the domineering Mrs. Prouty. The production design, scenery, directing and music combine to produce a wonderful mini-series that despite its 10-hour, 8-part length, is riveting and entertaining. It is also very funny as well as trenchant in its dissecting the hypocrisies of its time.I highly recommend BC to all who appreciate great Victorian literature. Kudos to the entire cast and crew, as well as the producers and directors for mounting such a splendid piece of theater.

That any miniseries as exquisite as this, dating from 1982, would be long unavailable in the U.S., and then appeal only to a small audience, while American rather than British TV and cinema from all reports take the world by storm and set the standard, is cause for amazement if not alarm. Need anyone look further to sympathize with the conservatives in this story, who are wont to feel, in Mr. Arabin's words, that all virtue is disappearing in the wake of modern "progress"? On the other hand, the author Anthony Trollope's star has risen recently among critics and academics; and, even if you have yet to read him, this adaptation will at least afford you a breath of relief that something is therefore going right.As the only (and minor) negative already noted by others, the character of Arabin is underdeveloped and perhaps miscast, or at least not well conceived and made up. We can even imagine that a scene or two written to this end were dropped at the last minute to save running time. Eleanor's eventual attraction to him surprises us, along with others in the story, almost enough to have _deus ex machina_ written all over it. While we must remember that a filmmaker cannot as easily as a novelist take a detour to acquaint us with an important character entering late, a problem remains for the audience here and something should have been done to solve it.Now back to the positives. The script is full of quotable lines worthy of the IMDb database. I'll work on it. I also admire this production as a celebration of music. Several times we glimpse Mr. Harding conducting or training one of the finest choirs in the world. Although I doubt that a cathedral precentor even in the 19th century would be directly responsible for this work, it is peculiar that anyone who is, precentor or not, would be consigned to poverty: but, as we know, such is often the way of things. Mr. Harding's musicianship is nevertheless a great source of joy to himself and others. As he tells his daughter brightly when they must move to humbler quarters, "But we shall take the music with us!" We must recognize in the cast, as Miss Thorne, the daughter of a great composer: Ursula Howells's father Herbert was the dean of cathedral music for two generations, leaving us a cornucopia of liturgical repertoire radiant with a distinctively Anglican mysticism. All concerned must have regarded her part in this production as a mutual honor and privilege. Along with the closing credits rolls a setting of the Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100) almost worthy of his pen, distinguished by a wistful violoncello part evoking the roles of all our Mr. Hardings.