Dear God young man, you really have made up my mind. I only want for the movie version because I wish to see the house and Venice in the best light. I could not imagine the story shortened or condensed. I will avoid the Movie Version for the that reason alone. A friend told me long ago " if you watch the series, you've read the book" he said, "It was as true to the book as possible". Thank you for this researched review.
Difficult to top the Granada TV series with all the heavy weight actors such as Olivier and John Guielgud, Jeremy Irons, Jane Asher, Claire Bloom.. all the performances where stellar..
The tv series is divine and made me want to visit the house. Its just as divine in person as it was in the show. I especially loved seeing the room where Charles painted the walls!
Anthony Blanche is a very important character in the book, less for his comedic scenes than his exposition on the characters of Sebastian and Charles. For me, the film's main problem was Ben Whishaw's casting as Sebastian. He's a fantastic actor in the right part but lacked the charm which is a definitive aspect of Sebastian's character (note Blanche's exposition on this). Anthony Andrews nailed it.
I read this book at school and loved it. I have re-read it numerous times since, always finding new depths and nuances. Its reference to the Tenebrae service eventually led to my discovery of the traditional Latin liturgy. The TV series was perfection. The film, which I eagerly raced to see on its release, was appallingly bad.
I love the book and the serial . I have the DVDs and every so often I go back . I am reading the book and in my head I am hearing the music (of the serial)and the beautifully wistful tones of Jeremy Irons monologue. Et In ARCAIDA EGO indeed!!
I have been such a Brideshead fan since the beginning of the Granada one that I couldnt even look at the bits with someone else playing Sebastian Flyte.
Fine review - agree. I like the book and the serial. I could not bring myself to watch the film - my feeling is that it is not possible to condense this book into 120 min. So yes I think this review is right.
At the time, TV series were much more paced. We had more patience then! See The Thornbirds, and Shogun for similar long format series from the same era.
Thank you for this video. I never saw the film version. After reading the book and watching the TV series several times, plus seeing your video, I'm glad that I never did. My thought of why watch a movie after viewing perfection on the television at the time I now know was correct.
There have been several documentaries on the making of the Granada series including commentary from both directors (Lindsey-Hogg and Sturridge) and the producers in which they dwelt extensively on how it was impossible to do right by the book in the limited time frame of a feature film and only the extended format of a series would do the material justice.
A good rundown. Very few books or shows have managed to be as emotionally compelling as this. But the pacing takes a long while to get there. I too don't fault the movie too harshly as what's one to do with 127 minutes! Elements you fault in the series--faith, politics and fawning over the aristocracy--were all integral to the story. Faith--to fail to understand just what an authentically human thing faith is is to almost turn oneself into Rex Mottram and to fix yourself narrowly as a 21st century Brit. Rex is a man who just doesn't get it and for that he is less than a man. For the aristocracy, the book and miniseries invite us to mourn the loss of the aristocratic world as if something beautiful has disappeared from the earth. (Apart from very select pockets where through lucky investments or by owning half of London, it has hung on) The Aristocracy is so much more than raw wealth as Rex Mottram demonstrates by counterpoint. (Say what we will about unearned privilege, but if you think for one minute that entrenched privilege no longer exists in Britain, or over here in the US, or that the loss of this world has in any way improved the condition of the common man then you are gravely mistaken). Brideshead Revisited is a one of a very small number of works who's existence make the world a better place
I've just axcquired the book, the revised edition from 1950's though, and I was once again reminded why Roberto Bolaño said "read only those classics which have not ben put on film yet!": I still had Jeremy Irons in my mind, but luckily it's been almost 40 years since I watched the BBC series and I remembered almost nothing, or literally nothing except Jeremy Irons as a chain smoker, and Sebastian's (I don't remember the name of the actor) bare ass on the roof. Jeremy, as I vaguely remember, did nothing but smoked throughout the series, as Charles Dance did in Jewels of the Crown. (I am surprised neither of them has died of lung cancer yet.) So I could still enjoy the book, in its incredible style, and now I know why Waugh had said "I am interested in language itself, not psychology or development of characters". I have just got Waugh's "Scoop", and after first 3 chapters I am fascinated again by prose alone. So, I still have to catch up with the movie (I can now tell only that I'm a fan of both Gambon and Mrs. Thompson and that I can make educated guess who they acted in the film. I consider this video an excellent prelude to my (finally) watching the movie.
The TV series is glorious. I regularly play it as I’m falling asleep to lull me to this beautiful place I wouldn’t dream of seeing the film. One thing I don’t understand about the story is why Julia can’t marry Charles. When she married Rex it was in a Protestant church, same for a Charles. Thus the RC. Church would not recognize them as having been married before. Also, at 3:56 you mention that the intimacy between Sebastien and Charles is never specified, I seem to remember while in the halcyon days of summer, in narration Charles said that they had been engaging in actions quite high on the sins list. I paraphrase of course but it was an acknowledgment of their physical relationship in my opinion. Thanks for the good review
Jeremy Irons was asked about the relationship between Sebastian and Charles and he definitively said it WAS a homosexual one! He ought to know as he starred in Brideshead!
Lindsay Ellis did a little video on that a while ago, the subject of a book being better than a film. The answer was simple, filmmakers can never compete with the human imagination, because you are your own casting director, SFX tech and location manager, you make the movie in your head according to your own preferences. The thing that is so impressive about the TV show in this case is how much they cared to stay loyal to the book. That is why it is 11 episodes long, they wanted people to relive the same experience they had with the book, the dialogue, the narration, the action, all of it is there. This kind of thing would almost never happen now, because some big wig would always step in and say 'nobody is going to watch it', studio's generally aren't really interested in whether or not fans care, just whether or not they can rake in as many viewers as possible.
You were reasonably complimentary of Emma Thompson's interpretation of Lady Marchmain, but - and I have to put my hand up to prejudice, having watched the TV adaptation over and over again - the performance by Claire Bloom was so much more subtle, and thereby more sinister. By contrast Thompson reminded me a little too much of Nanny McPhee. There was also something quite strange about the scene where, during a lavish party at Brideshead, Sebastian was taken into a side room by his mother as if for some religious ritual. If you haven't seen the TV series, try watching it with the book open on your lap. It's amazing!
The 2008 movie adaption was trash! *Nothing* can touch the GRANADA series. Also. "Sebastian" was, "The forerunner" to "Julia". You are -quite- correct stating that Castle Howard is also 'a character' in the Series.
This was so interesting. I have just watched the TV series again for the first time in a decade. I agree with you about matthew Goode, but the film didn't really work for me.
For pure perfection listen to Jeremy irons reading btideshead revisited all 11 hours of it and listen to his being all the different characters- you believe and revel in them all.
I just watched the 08 movie after listneing to Irons masterfully read the novel on audiobook. While the film is condensed and loses some elements of the novel, I was surprised at how much they kept the Catholicism and even the final sequence in the chapel mainly in tact. For a modern film that grossly rushes the story, it was not half bad!
The movie is an act of cultural desecration on par with someone trying to touch up the Mona Lisa..or add a few brushstrokes to a Rembrandt…your know, just to make it more relevant. The people who made the movie exhibit no understanding of either the book or the miniseries.
Interesting you admit you analyze this through an agnostic’s lens. I now want to hear a Catholic critics take on this story. I am a practicing Catholic and you miss much. Brideshead itself means Christ. Catholic Church is the Bride- spouse of Christ - head- Jesus Christ is head of the Catholic Church. Ryder in the end converts. This Catholic story falls under the “Hound of Heaven” motif. God (Jesus) is always pursuing us like a patient hound. I agree with you the movie really is inferior to the series. Also the end it seems or it is very vague whether Ryder converts. He almost puts out the flame but doesn’t. One wonders if the writers changed Waugh’s ending either because they don’t understand Catholic theology or they deliberately want to suppress Jesus Christ and cannot handle the fact that Ryder will finally repent. Which brings to mind the theme of redemption too. So many layers of this from a Catholic perspective.
Thank you, I love insights like these on our videos. I think my knowledge of Waugh's Catholicism (or lack thereof) definitely infringes on my overall analysis of his work.
I don't know if I agree that a modern audience doesn't have the patience for the Granada series. There are LOTS of Netflix and HBO series. The main difference is they have "wham, bang, thank you ma'am". Their storylines, if such can be found, are boring and without merit. If one stops to think, our daily lives are a continuous stream of slow-burning, only punctuated by moments of passion and emotion.
Just watched the film. Yeah yeah. On the positives - the two lead guys were mesmerically in the moment. Shame the Julia actor was only able to "perform" instead of reveal. Kinda ruined it. That and the screenplay's over emphasis on "Catholicism is repressive"....."Yeah we get it already". And that line in the third act - "You sold me for two paintings? I thought I was worth three". I thought it was a private joke between them. But played for real?? Are you serious? Amazing cinematography.
I have recently watched a video essay on how to write character exemplified by "The Big Country". Granted, that movie's screenplay is incomparable to a novel by a major XX century author. Still, I believe it's a lame excuse for a film story to be underbaked and poorly developed for the sole reason of "source material being too rich and nuanced to fit into 120 minutes of run time". Can't work with a shorter format, yet do the book justice? - don't make this film at all, then.
TV series is outstanding and can't compare with this movie. It was also re edited and did a lot of artistic freedom. I would dissuade anybody to watch the movie. It's totally out of context and emphasized homosexuality. God and Religion is the center as well as grace and redemption. Movie is a very poor adaptation!
Your Homophobia is clouding your judgement.. There was much more Homosexuality in the TV series. Just no kissing. Sebastian was around a lot more and Anthony and Kurt played a much larger role in the series. The movie got Sebastian out of the way quickly and focused on Charles and Julia much faster than the series. So I do agree that the TV series was a better adaptation of the book. But not for the reason you gave.
@@donny1960 disagree. The series captures the ambiguity of sexuality and romantic friendship in men who who went through the British public school system and spent their adolescent years apart from females. There's always been a sort of subspecies of men who are fundamentally heterosexual but form close friendships with other men that can tip into sexual relationships in the right circumstances. Contemporary thought dictates that they *must* be bisexual, but often--usually--the same men will go on to have heterosexual relationships from then on without ever having any sexual interest in another man. It was, as goes the phrase that gay activists hate, just a youthful phase. It doesn't diminish the validity of that relationship but it doesn't signal repression or self-loathing as activists insist it must. Charley had that one relationship with another man and then moved on. It was part of his Oxford experience and not to be repeated, but for Sebastian, it was something he probably tried to recapture with other men and failed. I didn't watch the whole feature film, it was clear from the first 15 minutes they were going for a highlight reel of the book without all the substance of the series, and the overt sexuality--heterosexual and homo-- was anachronistic for the period so it didn't work. I also didn't see any homophobia in the review, unless anything but unqualified cheerleading for all things gay counts as homophobia. He's just as critical of the portrayal the development of Julia and Charles' relationship which was nothing like in the book, and is measured in his consideration of Anthony Blanche.
@@rubewaddell1704 Personally I think that telling the truth about something is "raising" the level. The movie did NOT emphasize Homosexuality. My God, they brought Julia to Venice. Now if you feel better hiding behind not calling out a falsehood. Your call.
@@texasred2702 I disagree with your disagree. I reacted to the statement that it "emphasized homosexuality" It did not. And from my point of view that statement seemed Homophobic. Especially since the next line contained "God and Religion". Sebastian and his lifestyle played less of a role in the movie than the TV series. So when someone zeros in on the Homosexuality and how it was emphasized. It is almost the definition of what homophobia is. ........ From my point of view.
Not quite half way through this Granada production . . . and I am perplexed. Why, oh why is this considered great? Sure, the acting is fine. No fault there. But both main characters seem despicable! I feel no empathy for either and Sebastian, in particular, is a thoroughly revolting human being. That said, I do plan on watching the remaining half. Not sure if I want Sebastian to reform, or just have someone kill the self important S.O.B. Maybe he'll kill himself and save others the trouble.
The 81 series was a masterpiece.
God, I love the book and the tv series so much, I couldn't bring myself to watch the movie...
Absolutely, I couldn’t watch the movies and regretted paying for it.
Me too
Dear God young man, you really have made up my mind. I only want for the movie version because I wish to see the house and Venice in the best light. I could not imagine the story shortened or condensed. I will avoid the Movie Version for the that reason alone. A friend told me long ago " if you watch the series, you've read the book" he said, "It was as true to the book as possible".
Thank you for this researched review.
Difficult to top the Granada TV series with all the heavy weight actors such as Olivier and John Guielgud, Jeremy Irons, Jane Asher, Claire Bloom.. all the performances where stellar..
That magnificent TV cast also includes the wonderful French actress, Stephane Audran. Pretty much everyone was cast perfectly, including the house.
The tv series is divine and made me want to visit the house. Its just as divine in person as it was in the show. I especially loved seeing the room where Charles painted the walls!
Anthony Blanche is a very important character in the book, less for his comedic scenes than his exposition on the characters of Sebastian and Charles. For me, the film's main problem was Ben Whishaw's casting as Sebastian. He's a fantastic actor in the right part but lacked the charm which is a definitive aspect of Sebastian's character (note Blanche's exposition on this). Anthony Andrews nailed it.
I read this book at school and loved it. I have re-read it numerous times since, always finding new depths and nuances. Its reference to the Tenebrae service eventually led to my discovery of the traditional Latin liturgy.
The TV series was perfection. The film, which I eagerly raced to see on its release, was appallingly bad.
No surprise really
I love the book and the serial . I have the DVDs and every so often I go back . I am reading the book and in my head I am hearing the music (of the serial)and the beautifully wistful tones of Jeremy Irons monologue. Et In ARCAIDA EGO indeed!!
I have been such a Brideshead fan since the beginning of the Granada one that I couldnt even look at the bits with someone else playing Sebastian Flyte.
Fine review - agree. I like the book and the serial. I could not bring myself to watch the film - my feeling is that it is not possible to condense this book into 120 min. So yes I think this review is right.
At the time, TV series were much more paced. We had more patience then!
See The Thornbirds, and Shogun for similar long format series from the same era.
Thank you for this video. I never saw the film version. After reading the book and watching the TV series several times, plus seeing your video, I'm glad that I never did.
My thought of why watch a movie after viewing perfection on the television at the time I now know was correct.
"Why watch a movie after viewing perfection on the television..." The movie was an aberration!
@@ivorytower99 agree
@@ajperkins288, It's the millennial makeover = A Complete FAILURE!
There have been several documentaries on the making of the Granada series including commentary from both directors (Lindsey-Hogg and Sturridge) and the producers in which they dwelt extensively on how it was impossible to do right by the book in the limited time frame of a feature film and only the extended format of a series would do the material justice.
A good rundown. Very few books or shows have managed to be as emotionally compelling as this. But the pacing takes a long while to get there. I too don't fault the movie too harshly as what's one to do with 127 minutes!
Elements you fault in the series--faith, politics and fawning over the aristocracy--were all integral to the story. Faith--to fail to understand just what an authentically human thing faith is is to almost turn oneself into Rex Mottram and to fix yourself narrowly as a 21st century Brit. Rex is a man who just doesn't get it and for that he is less than a man. For the aristocracy, the book and miniseries invite us to mourn the loss of the aristocratic world as if something beautiful has disappeared from the earth. (Apart from very select pockets where through lucky investments or by owning half of London, it has hung on) The Aristocracy is so much more than raw wealth as Rex Mottram demonstrates by counterpoint.
(Say what we will about unearned privilege, but if you think for one minute that entrenched privilege no longer exists in Britain, or over here in the US, or that the loss of this world has in any way improved the condition of the common man then you are gravely mistaken).
Brideshead Revisited is a one of a very small number of works who's existence make the world a better place
I've just axcquired the book, the revised edition from 1950's though, and I was once again reminded why Roberto Bolaño said "read only those classics which have not ben put on film yet!": I still had Jeremy Irons in my mind, but luckily it's been almost 40 years since I watched the BBC series and I remembered almost nothing, or literally nothing except Jeremy Irons as a chain smoker, and Sebastian's (I don't remember the name of the actor) bare ass on the roof. Jeremy, as I vaguely remember, did nothing but smoked throughout the series, as Charles Dance did in Jewels of the Crown. (I am surprised neither of them has died of lung cancer yet.) So I could still enjoy the book, in its incredible style, and now I know why Waugh had said "I am interested in language itself, not psychology or development of characters". I have just got Waugh's "Scoop", and after first 3 chapters I am fascinated again by prose alone. So, I still have to catch up with the movie (I can now tell only that I'm a fan of both Gambon and Mrs. Thompson and that I can make educated guess who they acted in the film. I consider this video an excellent prelude to my (finally) watching the movie.
The TV series was made by Granada not BBC as you state
So many both people and characters smoked then
The TV series is glorious. I regularly play it as I’m falling asleep to lull me to this beautiful place I wouldn’t dream of seeing the film. One thing I don’t understand about the story is why Julia can’t marry Charles. When she married Rex it was in a Protestant church, same for a Charles. Thus the RC. Church would not recognize them as having been married before. Also, at 3:56 you mention that the intimacy between Sebastien and Charles is never specified, I seem to remember while in the halcyon days of summer, in narration Charles said that they had been engaging in actions quite high on the sins list. I paraphrase of course but it was an acknowledgment of their physical relationship in my opinion. Thanks for the good review
I’ve been curious about the TV adaptation, more so now that I know that I know the cast includes both Olivier *and* Dentarthurdent.
The 1981 TV series is faithful to the book. Both are masterpieces.
Jeremy Irons was asked about the relationship between Sebastian and Charles and he definitively said it WAS a homosexual one! He ought to know as he starred in Brideshead!
I really love this well done, I have to say my preference is always the book. But thats how the world changes, great video best yet thank you
Lindsay Ellis did a little video on that a while ago, the subject of a book being better than a film. The answer was simple, filmmakers can never compete with the human imagination, because you are your own casting director, SFX tech and location manager, you make the movie in your head according to your own preferences. The thing that is so impressive about the TV show in this case is how much they cared to stay loyal to the book. That is why it is 11 episodes long, they wanted people to relive the same experience they had with the book, the dialogue, the narration, the action, all of it is there. This kind of thing would almost never happen now, because some big wig would always step in and say 'nobody is going to watch it', studio's generally aren't really interested in whether or not fans care, just whether or not they can rake in as many viewers as possible.
@@FilmsnThat ...As fast as possible.
Fantastic and totally on point 👍
You were reasonably complimentary of Emma Thompson's interpretation of Lady Marchmain, but - and I have to put my hand up to prejudice, having watched the TV adaptation over and over again - the performance by Claire Bloom was so much more subtle, and thereby more sinister. By contrast Thompson reminded me a little too much of Nanny McPhee. There was also something quite strange about the scene where, during a lavish party at Brideshead, Sebastian was taken into a side room by his mother as if for some religious ritual. If you haven't seen the TV series, try watching it with the book open on your lap. It's amazing!
01:48 Epitome is said like "Epitomy", obviously.
You're not too hard on the film. It can't hold a candle to the serial by Granada.
The 2008 movie adaption was trash! *Nothing* can touch the GRANADA series.
Also. "Sebastian" was, "The forerunner" to "Julia".
You are -quite- correct stating that Castle Howard is also 'a character' in the Series.
In the film, Ryder leaves his hat on when he is introduced to people! Anyone over age 60 would now that that would never ever happen.
This was so interesting. I have just watched the TV series again for the first time in a decade. I agree with you about matthew Goode, but the film didn't really work for me.
Out of interest I think Granada made a small fortune out of this fabulous series
That's good to hear that the hard work of everyone involved paid off, it's rare you get something that succeeds artistically and in terms of revenue.
They deserve every penny or is that shilling?
For pure perfection listen to Jeremy irons reading btideshead revisited all 11 hours of it and listen to his being all the different characters- you believe and revel in them all.
I just watched the 08 movie after listneing to Irons masterfully read the novel on audiobook. While the film is condensed and loses some elements of the novel, I was surprised at how much they kept the Catholicism and even the final sequence in the chapel mainly in tact. For a modern film that grossly rushes the story, it was not half bad!
The movie is an act of cultural desecration on par with someone trying to touch up the Mona Lisa..or add a few brushstrokes to a Rembrandt…your know, just to make it more relevant. The people who made the movie exhibit no understanding of either the book or the miniseries.
Interesting you admit you analyze this through an agnostic’s lens. I now want to hear a Catholic critics take on this story. I am a practicing Catholic and you miss much. Brideshead itself means Christ. Catholic Church is the Bride- spouse of Christ - head- Jesus Christ is head of the Catholic Church. Ryder in the end converts. This Catholic story falls under the “Hound of Heaven” motif. God (Jesus) is always pursuing us like a patient hound. I agree with you the movie really is inferior to the series. Also the end it seems or it is very vague whether Ryder converts. He almost puts out the flame but doesn’t. One wonders if the writers changed Waugh’s ending either because they don’t understand Catholic theology or they deliberately want to suppress Jesus Christ and cannot handle the fact that Ryder will finally repent. Which brings to mind the theme of redemption too. So many layers of this from a Catholic perspective.
Thank you, I love insights like these on our videos. I think my knowledge of Waugh's Catholicism (or lack thereof) definitely infringes on my overall analysis of his work.
The film (movie) was utterly crap. The book and series were both sublime.
I don't know if I agree that a modern audience doesn't have the patience for the Granada series. There are LOTS of Netflix and HBO series. The main difference is they have "wham, bang, thank you ma'am". Their storylines, if such can be found, are boring and without merit. If one stops to think, our daily lives are a continuous stream of slow-burning, only punctuated by moments of passion and emotion.
Just watched the film. Yeah yeah. On the positives - the two lead guys were mesmerically in the moment. Shame the Julia actor was only able to "perform" instead of reveal. Kinda ruined it. That and the screenplay's over emphasis on "Catholicism is repressive"....."Yeah we get it already". And that line in the third act - "You sold me for two paintings? I thought I was worth three". I thought it was a private joke between them. But played for real?? Are you serious? Amazing cinematography.
"fawning over the aristocracy"... bit of an understatement. I was fantasizing about guillotines by episode 11. Nice review though -- subbed.
I have recently watched a video essay on how to write character exemplified by "The Big Country". Granted, that movie's screenplay is incomparable to a novel by a major XX century author. Still, I believe it's a lame excuse for a film story to be underbaked and poorly developed for the sole reason of "source material being too rich and nuanced to fit into 120 minutes of run time". Can't work with a shorter format, yet do the book justice? - don't make this film at all, then.
The movie is trash, Grenada is a masterpiece!
TV series is outstanding and can't compare with this movie. It was also re edited and did a lot of artistic freedom. I would dissuade anybody to watch the movie. It's totally out of context and emphasized homosexuality. God and Religion is the center as well as grace and redemption. Movie is a very poor adaptation!
Your Homophobia is clouding your judgement.. There was much more Homosexuality in the TV series. Just no kissing. Sebastian was around a lot more and Anthony and Kurt played a much larger role in the series. The movie got Sebastian out of the way quickly and focused on Charles and Julia much faster than the series. So I do agree that the TV series was a better adaptation of the book. But not for the reason you gave.
@@donny1960 disagree. The series captures the ambiguity of sexuality and romantic friendship in men who who went through the British public school system and spent their adolescent years apart from females. There's always been a sort of subspecies of men who are fundamentally heterosexual but form close friendships with other men that can tip into sexual relationships in the right circumstances. Contemporary thought dictates that they *must* be bisexual, but often--usually--the same men will go on to have heterosexual relationships from then on without ever having any sexual interest in another man. It was, as goes the phrase that gay activists hate, just a youthful phase. It doesn't diminish the validity of that relationship but it doesn't signal repression or self-loathing as activists insist it must. Charley had that one relationship with another man and then moved on. It was part of his Oxford experience and not to be repeated, but for Sebastian, it was something he probably tried to recapture with other men and failed.
I didn't watch the whole feature film, it was clear from the first 15 minutes they were going for a highlight reel of the book without all the substance of the series, and the overt sexuality--heterosexual and homo-- was anachronistic for the period so it didn't work.
I also didn't see any homophobia in the review, unless anything but unqualified cheerleading for all things gay counts as homophobia. He's just as critical of the portrayal the development of Julia and Charles' relationship which was nothing like in the book, and is measured in his consideration of Anthony Blanche.
@@donny1960 homophobia? Really? I'm not saying I agree with his opinion but can you criticise someone without reducing it to this, level?
@@rubewaddell1704 Personally I think that telling the truth about something is "raising" the level. The movie did NOT emphasize Homosexuality. My God, they brought Julia to Venice. Now if you feel better hiding behind not calling out a falsehood. Your call.
@@texasred2702 I disagree with your disagree. I reacted to the statement that it "emphasized homosexuality" It did not. And from my point of view that statement seemed Homophobic. Especially since the next line contained "God and Religion". Sebastian and his lifestyle played less of a role in the movie than the TV series. So when someone zeros in on the Homosexuality and how it was emphasized. It is almost the definition of what homophobia is. ........ From my point of view.
Not quite half way through this Granada production . . . and I am perplexed.
Why, oh why is this considered great? Sure, the acting is fine. No fault there.
But both main characters seem despicable! I feel no empathy for either and Sebastian, in particular, is a thoroughly revolting human being.
That said, I do plan on watching the remaining half. Not sure if I want Sebastian to reform, or just have someone kill the self important S.O.B. Maybe he'll kill himself and save others the trouble.