The lost (and found) TV adaptation of Parade's End
04/28/2023
One of our commenters made a mention of a 1964 BBC adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End book series (which has three or four books, depending on how one feels about it).
A careful internet search revealed that such a thing did exist and that a DVD was produced not long ago. I picked one up on ebay for less than $7 (including shipping), which tells you it was not much of a commercial success.
I've touched on the books before (including a lengthy comparison with Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy), and so this review is more of a discussion of the content and quality of the adaptation than a discussion of what's in it.
In terms of the packaging, it's a slapdash production, made in Mexico and featuring generic "wartime" graphics that are actually from World War II and completely inappropriate.
The quality of the transfer is better than I expected, but still flawed. The audio is particularly challenging, no doubt a function of its minimal production quality. There seems to be a single microphone on the set, close to the camera, and as characters move farther back, it becomes difficult to hear them. There is also some distortion rising to static, which gives the sense of actually watching a broadcast with some mild atmospheric interference. I kept wanting to adjust the rabbit ears.
As to the cast, it's excellent. This was apparently a breakthrough role for Judi Densch, who is very good as Valentine Wannop. I didn't recognize anyone else in the cast, but they were all solid in the various roles.
Unlike the HBO production, this gives much more prominence to Christopher Tietjens' time in the trenches, which I liked. Alas, the BBC also did some bizarre graphics, both for the title credits and also to segue into battle which are dated and cringe-worthy.
While I enjoyed it, I can't say as I would recommend it. If it were cleaned up and properly restored (especially the audio), that would make a big difference. As it is, Ford fans will enjoy it, but I can see why they're practically giving these away.
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