Now over 40 years later since it was made, I still regard Brideshead Revisited as the best drama ever made. Everything about it - the music, the acting, the photography, the atmosphere , the narration - is absolute perfection and could not have been bettered. It will be very difficult indeed for any drama now or in the future to surpass the quality of Brideshead Revisited, a wonderful triumph for the British television industry.
T'was inderdaad goed, al hate mijn vader het ,ik bleef kijken! Maar de Engelse televisie was voor mij kwalitatief veel beter dan al de rest toen, mijn favoriete was " Tinker ,Taylor, en door een reis naar Oostenrijk had ik de laatste 2: episodes gemist!! En op rerun's moest ik niet op rekenen!! toendertijd in '79. Pas in 2010 , online Kompleet gezien, en het was geen teleurstelling!cast , setting, muziek, het kwam perfect samen zoals,"Brideshead "
Best thing I ever saw back in its time. To this day the theme tune thrills me and I truly wish I hade been around back in those days of affluent wine and roses....
I still get goosebumps when I hear this music... makes me very nostalgic for the days of such quality broadcasting, instead of inane reality shows and "talent" contests. Such a beautiful TV series and the best TV adaptation of a book I've ever seen (with the exception of Flambards). Poor Sebastian!
Without a shadow of a doubt the greatest TV drama of all time. Faithful to Waugh's masterpiece, wonderful cast and just a pleasure to see this story evolve and as for Laurence Olivier's acting in the death bed scene, just amazing. Geoffrey Burgon's theme music so evocative.
I'm so glad they used an original score. All parties came to the party on this epic classic production.Its probably the best drama of a classic novel ever made.Bravo. It's brilliance is everlasting & I'm sure Evelyn Waugh would have approve.
This is what drew me to Brideshead after many years - the beautiful theme which remained with me since the series was shown, somewhere in the back of my mind.
Watched with my mother on PBS every Monday when my dad and brother went to their Cub Scout meeting. One of the fondest memories I have spending time with my mother.
I am nearly overcome with melancholy whenever I hear this theme. It reminds one of those times when nothing made much sense but what the hey, we were young, and thought we'd remain so forever.
Brideshead Revisited is in my opinion still the finest drama ever made. From the acting to the music to the photography and The atmosphere of the series, it has set a standard so high I believe it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for it ever to Be bettered. The theme music captures the nostalgia perfectly, as do the other pieces of music. Brideshead Revisited Was a great triumph for British Drama and Grenada, and it is as compelling to watch now in 2018 as it was when it was First broadcast over 35 years ago.
I was eleven when the original programme was shown and remember the theme. It is in C major and there are seven major sixth chords in the piece - this is the best aspect of the theme!
Thanks for posting this! Brideshead Revisited is simply a masterpiece. I watched it when I was at University myself when it first came out. As Antony Blanche would say, "I-it was a-absolu-tely d-delicious! ;-)
A beautiful score to what is the best television drama series ever made. Why do programme makers find it impossible these days to faithfully translate the written word into film?
Weren't we all so beautiful when we were young? Until the wider world corrupted us with broken hope and disappointment. My (catholic) god this was marvellous.
To me, 'Brideshead', along with the other great TV miniseries of the 1980s such as 'The Jewel In The Crown' and 'The Far Pavilions' represent the pinnacle of British televisual achievement. The writing, acting and production values reached a peak which have never been surpassed, thanks mainly to the spreading of budgets over a greater number of channels, but also the creeping rot of political correctness and national self-hatred which the generation of 1968 brought us.
Exquisito tema para una obra magistral, y para una adaptación magnífica de Granada Televisión, con las maravillosas actuaciones de J. Irons y Anthony Andrews. Simplemente te envuelve en un ensueño que te eleva a la Arcadia de tus sentimientos, y te remonta a días y mundos ya idos con una nostalgia inaudita y dulce.. . Gracias.
An awesome miniseries. The sound track was exquisite. My favorite musical score is when (in Venice) Cara and Charles leave the hotel to meet Sebastian and his dad on the beach. While watching this movie, it's better if you don't chat on the phone, read, or write letters. Patient attentiveness will be richly rewarded. This movie doesn't have a trite plot. Not recommended for action/adventure/special effects lovers.
My stomach does a somersault each time I hear this theme tune, it is beyond good it is incomparable, as was the television series, Brideshead Revisited set the standard and not many if any other television series have come close.
I was still in my teens when I saw this the first time. I didn't get all the nuances then-but I understand it all much better now. one thing I DID get then was that the musical score is superb. far too good for a TV series-it deserves to be a symphony of its own. magnificent orchestration. I loved Charles and Sebastian, and always thought it was a rip-off that Sebastian disappeared. but I've read the novel by Evelyn Waugh, and surprisingly, this is almost true to it word for word. amazing.
ah...Aloysius, the Teddy Bear...symbolyic of so many things here....., but mostly his sweat and trusted companion.....love, love Aloysius...Sebastian could tell Aloysius his intermost secrets ....and Aloysius would never tell...........love this novel
The programme was/is wonderful, that's a given. But I love the ambiguous quality of this theme tune: it sounds optimistic in the early days but so very despondent in the last few episodes.
Thanks so much for the video! I love the Granada TV serial. The best novel of Evelyn Waugh. The music is sweet with a baroque touch! Antonio Augusto from Brazil
and please do not forget, that it is not Britain, but it is England. England is the land Rule Brittania! I admire England for what they were, are and will be. Without England we never would be what we are in Europe right now. "BBC Worldservice, this, is London!" - just terrific. The Empire is still alive!
Interesting to see the picture of Sebastian and Charles in front of the stairway at Christ Church, decades before Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed it to be sorted into their houses.
@shykaizen The teddy bear belongs to Sebastian (Anthony Andrew's character) and he takes it with him to Oxford when he goes there to study. I assume it's supposed to emphasise Sebastian's eccentricity, maybe also childishness. It's called Aloysius btw.
The film was rather pointless in my view. How can your improve in 90 minutes upon eleven hours of the caliber and cast the series had? Oh my god, the cast....
i was so sorry to hear of the great composer's death last week - i hope perhaps to compose something in his memory, with a wistful oboe to carry the melody of course
David Cameron may not have the class of the aristocracy of old, but he is just as remote from the concerns of the ordinary people and still clearly aspires to the social status of the ancient landed families. It's true that the Windsors are the descendants of some enterprising Germans who were in the right place (and the right church) at the right time, but at least some of the women of that family are good at the job of monarchy, even if many of the men (such as Edward VIII) have been lousy.
If you like this music you'll love: the second movement of Thomaso Albinoni's Concerto for Oboe op.9 in D Minor. Or the 3rd. Movement of Mozart's Serenade for Wind K.361. It is worth seeking them out.
There was nothing "secret" about it; wherever you've had a middle class and visually prominent upper class, the middle classes have wanted to be the upper class. That's where they came from originally: burgeoning merchant classes who started to imitate the nobility, which is where phrases like "nouveau riche" come from. For an interesting discussion of a class society vs. a (relatively) class-less one, read de Tocqueville's Democracy in America.
Jeremy Irons is a wonderful actor but this IMHO is his greatest achievement. I always expect to be diasappointed when a great book is translated to the screen but not here. ITV's adaptation of Waugh's masterpiece is up there in the 3 greatest drama series ever to be shown on British TV.
This is, of course, the theme to the tv series, not the film (which you say you've seen). I can't bring myself to see the film because the reviews have been so bad, but I have the tv series on DVD and have read the book. I would recommend reading the book, then watching the tv series. Do both at least once and you will understand what Waugh was writing about in what is a flawed but fascinating work.
In Joan of Arc's rose garden the Everblooming Climbing Cecile Brunner still lives across from Concorde Grapes and on the west side situates Constance Spry who has never bloomed for as long as this Joan of Arc has viewed this particularly planted rose...and it lives with green leaves during its deciduous season.
you dare mention Harry Potter???? In this context? He's from another universe, my friend, this here is the most brilliant piece of literature I ever read PLUS the TV adaptation is the best ever, thank God they haven't asked Stephen Polliakoff to do another one yet;)) (they probably will at some point, but he writes his own sh....stuff I mean, so will most likely decline the offer...) I could drown myself in the music and the acting and the beauty.....
Actually, I think 'Dave' is - de facto - a 'toff' - however, Dave has made - is making - a sincere effort to be an 'ordinary' person and in touch with the general concerns of ordinary people. Obviously, whether he can bring the rest of his party with him or navigate coalition politics successfully is another matter. In short: I don't blame Dave for our ills.
Which four wankers didn't like this, was it One Direction?!? I'm the most left wing person I know and I absolutely love Brideshead Revisited, and the theme tune is extraordinary. If you disliked this song reverse the decision immediately!
Why can't I find the piano sheet music to this anywhere? It's so beautiful. I watched it for the first time in England and couldn't wait to see each episode!
Zephirine Drouihn is the name of the rose which still grows in the Westmore Community Rose Garden as it was named by Phil Krastman and planted by a local Joan of Arc....
![Geoffrey Burgon: Piano Concerto (1997) [Brown]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pnKAlT4wUtk/mqdefault.jpg)
Now over 40 years later since it was made, I still regard Brideshead Revisited as the best drama ever made. Everything about it - the music, the acting, the photography, the atmosphere , the narration - is absolute perfection and could not have been bettered. It will be very difficult indeed for any drama now or in the future to surpass the quality of Brideshead Revisited, a wonderful triumph for the British television industry.
T'was inderdaad goed, al hate mijn vader het ,ik bleef kijken!
Maar de Engelse televisie was voor mij kwalitatief veel beter dan al de rest toen, mijn favoriete was " Tinker ,Taylor, en door een reis naar Oostenrijk had ik de laatste 2: episodes gemist!!
En op rerun's moest ik niet op rekenen!! toendertijd in '79.
Pas in 2010 , online Kompleet gezien, en het was geen teleurstelling!cast , setting, muziek, het kwam perfect samen zoals,"Brideshead "
I couldn’t possibly agree more with you!.
Best thing I ever saw back in its time. To this day the theme tune thrills me and I truly wish I hade been around back in those days of affluent wine and roses....
I still get goosebumps when I hear this music... makes me very nostalgic for the days of such quality broadcasting, instead of inane reality shows and "talent" contests. Such a beautiful TV series and the best TV adaptation of a book I've ever seen (with the exception of Flambards). Poor Sebastian!
Without a shadow of a doubt the greatest TV drama of all time. Faithful to Waugh's masterpiece, wonderful cast and just a pleasure to see this story evolve and as for Laurence Olivier's acting in the death bed scene, just amazing.
Geoffrey Burgon's theme music so evocative.
Brideshead Revisited is one of my fondest childhood memories.The Beauty, the marvelous text, the actors... a rare excellence.
What a great piece of music to accompany ITV's superb adaptation of Waugh's epic novel. Haunting and evocative, just perfect in every way.
Second to none. By far the most beautiful piece of music made for television. Ever!
I'm so glad they used an original score. All parties came to the party on this epic classic production.Its probably the best drama of a classic novel ever made.Bravo. It's brilliance is everlasting & I'm sure Evelyn Waugh would have approve.
This must be among the most beautyful melodies ever made. Sends shivers down my spine :-) Music like this is magic.
This is what drew me to Brideshead after many years - the beautiful theme which remained with me since the series was shown, somewhere in the back of my mind.
Even the music for the series was perfect. What a nice selection of pictures. Brings back a lot of memories.
Best serie ever, from characters thru music, just perfection
Watched with my mother on PBS every Monday when my dad and brother went to their Cub Scout meeting. One of the fondest memories I have spending time with my mother.
it makes me happy and sad at the same time
I adore this story, I love the book, this series and the also the film. I have a special interest in it because I'm going to Oxford myself in October.
Did you take teddy up to Oxford too?
I am nearly overcome with melancholy whenever I hear this theme. It reminds one of those times when nothing made much sense but what the hey, we were young, and thought we'd remain so forever.
I was young then - eleven and moving from junior to senior school in 1981!
Yup, & now I’m in the Autumn of my life 🍁
@@samanthab1923 Are you older than me, Sam - does 52 come into that category?
@@angelacooper2661 Yes 😉
Best tv drama ever.
And this music.....sublime
Brideshead Revisited is in my opinion still the finest drama ever made. From the acting to the music to the photography and
The atmosphere of the series, it has set a standard so high I believe it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for it ever to
Be bettered. The theme music captures the nostalgia perfectly, as do the other pieces of music. Brideshead Revisited
Was a great triumph for British Drama and Grenada, and it is as compelling to watch now in 2018 as it was when it was
First broadcast over 35 years ago.
Anyone who watched ITV now would never guess they made this. From Evelyn Waugh to Simon Cowell.......
In loving memory of great television
This is a sublime composition. Sheer perfection.
It's in the key of C major. I have perfect pitch!
Simply amazing theme tune, book and TV series.
I was eleven when the original programme was shown and remember the theme. It is in C major and there are seven major sixth chords in the piece - this is the best aspect of the theme!
Thanks for posting this! Brideshead Revisited is simply a masterpiece. I watched it when I was at University myself when it first came out. As Antony Blanche would say, "I-it was a-absolu-tely d-delicious! ;-)
best TV series ever, and best adaptation from a novel. who can read it again without thinking about their faces?
A beautiful score to what is the best television drama series ever made. Why do programme makers find it impossible these days to faithfully translate the written word into film?
+nlondonex They probably try and fail.
Weren't we all so beautiful when we were young? Until the wider world corrupted us with broken hope and disappointment. My (catholic) god this was marvellous.
Habemus ad Dominum
Definitely the best. So moving. Such a quality program, they don't make them like this anymore
To me, 'Brideshead', along with the other great TV miniseries of the 1980s such as 'The Jewel In The Crown' and 'The Far Pavilions' represent the pinnacle of British televisual achievement. The writing, acting and production values reached a peak which have never been surpassed, thanks mainly to the spreading of budgets over a greater number of channels, but also the creeping rot of political correctness and national self-hatred which the generation of 1968 brought us.
Does any theme tune in the history of British television evoke as much wistful nostalgia as this one ...?
Nothing whatsoever my friend..
+fer ark: Thanks for the smile. :-)
No.
Yes. The opening and ending of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. :)
Adore this TV series,its perfection...
It's my book and this is the best filming ever.❤
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! I loved this series and the music was inspired!
One of the best film I saw, I like it.
Exquisito tema para una obra magistral, y para una adaptación magnífica de Granada Televisión, con las maravillosas actuaciones de J. Irons y Anthony Andrews. Simplemente te envuelve en un ensueño que te eleva a la Arcadia de tus sentimientos, y te remonta a días y mundos ya idos con una nostalgia inaudita y dulce.. . Gracias.
I'm in love with this series! Thank you for making such an exquisite video of pure beauty and grace!!
The best that television has to offer. great television and I am so grateful that I saw this great series and bought the DVD.
My teenager favorite serie, great times indeed. See you later my dear Charles!
An awesome miniseries. The sound track was exquisite. My favorite musical score is when (in Venice) Cara and Charles leave the hotel to meet Sebastian and his dad on the beach.
While watching this movie, it's better if you don't chat on the phone, read, or write letters. Patient attentiveness will be richly rewarded. This movie doesn't have a trite plot. Not recommended for action/adventure/special effects lovers.
My stomach does a somersault each time I hear this theme tune, it is beyond good it is incomparable, as was the television series, Brideshead Revisited set the standard and not many if any other television series have come close.
Makes my soul dance every time I hear this! Thank you!!
The television medium used to its full potential for the first and last time.
I’d love to see this serial again and am still bewitched by the haunting theme
I was still in my teens when I saw this the first time. I didn't get all the nuances then-but I understand it all much better now.
one thing I DID get then was that the musical score is superb. far too good for a TV series-it deserves to be a symphony of its own. magnificent orchestration.
I loved Charles and Sebastian, and always thought it was a rip-off that Sebastian disappeared. but I've read the novel by Evelyn Waugh, and surprisingly, this is almost true to it word for word. amazing.
I also thought that Sebastian should've come back to England a few times. Also, I think the ending was a bit forced if beautiful
I thought the same! Where did the lead go?
This is a beautiful piece of music.
It is in C major. I have a very good memory for tunes and possess perfect pitch!
Memories love this show, theme.
i'll always remember this series
Very very beautiful music
ah...Aloysius, the Teddy Bear...symbolyic of so many things here....., but mostly his sweat and trusted companion.....love, love Aloysius...Sebastian could tell Aloysius his intermost secrets ....and Aloysius would never tell...........love this novel
so love this theme music
It,s a highly addictive series!
The programme was/is wonderful, that's a given.
But I love the ambiguous quality of this theme tune: it sounds optimistic in the early days but so very despondent in the last few episodes.
Sublime.
Thanks so much for the video! I love the Granada TV serial. The best novel of Evelyn Waugh. The music is sweet with a baroque touch! Antonio Augusto from Brazil
Thankyou Geoffrey Burgon
A monument of a series!
..
who says we can't return to the past..............
The manor is Castle Howard, it's near York in North Yorkshire. And yes, there are more manors like this but this is one of the grandest.
and please do not forget, that it is not Britain, but it is England. England is the land Rule Brittania! I admire England for what they were, are and will be. Without England we never would be what we are in Europe right now. "BBC Worldservice, this, is London!" - just terrific. The Empire is still alive!
They didn't put a foot wrong in this production. Music, casting, directing and performance. Just hope to see something this good again. Doubt I will.
Interesting to see the picture of Sebastian and Charles in front of the stairway at Christ Church, decades before Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed it to be sorted into their houses.
@shykaizen The teddy bear belongs to Sebastian (Anthony Andrew's character) and he takes it with him to Oxford when he goes there to study. I assume it's supposed to emphasise Sebastian's eccentricity, maybe also childishness. It's called Aloysius btw.
Clearly inspired by Albinonis elegant sweetly sorrowful expression. The oboe is perfect for that.
So sad that Geoffrey Burgon has passed away.
Diana Quick is so lovely in this.
0:56 I wish I could have been that teddybear....;)
Is this tv serie over thirty years old?
I remember it like it was yesterday.
And still love the music, Sebastian and his teddy!
A tragic and moving series, too bad they did not get lucky together. I was very fond of Sebastian too as a child.
arnaud moos yes,i loved this tv series!
And i read the book over and over again.
But i didn't like the film from a few years ago: i missed the music.
Ditte Datte
I still cherish my teddybear ^_^
The film was rather pointless in my view. How can your improve in 90 minutes upon eleven hours of the caliber and cast the series had? Oh my god, the cast....
The same teddy bear was used in the 2008 film too.
Maravillosa serie,nunca la olvidaré ni su bso
i was so sorry to hear of the great composer's death last week - i hope perhaps to compose something in his memory, with a wistful oboe to carry the melody of course
I was 12 when this first aired it was great
I would have been eleven back then and moving from junior to senior school, so a year younger than you.
David Cameron may not have the class of the aristocracy of old, but he is just as remote from the concerns of the ordinary people and still clearly aspires to the social status of the ancient landed families.
It's true that the Windsors are the descendants of some enterprising Germans who were in the right place (and the right church) at the right time, but at least some of the women of that family are good at the job of monarchy, even if many of the men (such as Edward VIII) have been lousy.
If you like this music you'll love: the second movement of Thomaso Albinoni's Concerto for Oboe op.9 in D Minor. Or the 3rd. Movement of Mozart's Serenade for Wind K.361.
It is worth seeking them out.
Yes yes love all of them, same rich, longing, evocative quality in the music.
Memory lane wow trippy 👌🐺🐾💕
pawsome tune calmed this wild bear 💪🐻🐺🐾
The death has been reported of Geoffrey Burgon, who composed the music, (and many other pieces).
There was nothing "secret" about it; wherever you've had a middle class and visually prominent upper class, the middle classes have wanted to be the upper class. That's where they came from originally: burgeoning merchant classes who started to imitate the nobility, which is where phrases like "nouveau riche" come from.
For an interesting discussion of a class society vs. a (relatively) class-less one, read de Tocqueville's Democracy in America.
I still to this day want an Aloysius 🐻
Agreed, but don't forget it was old Labour that set the ball rolling in1945.
To say BR is about class is like saying Citizen Kane is about a sled. You missed the whole meaning of it.
she is gorgeous.
Jeremy Irons is a wonderful actor but this IMHO is his greatest achievement. I always expect to be diasappointed when a great book is translated to the screen but not here. ITV's adaptation of Waugh's masterpiece is up there in the 3 greatest drama series ever to be shown on British TV.
My only criticism of this production of BR is that Irons and Andrews were too old for the parts ... I believe they admitted as much.
I love Brideshead Revisited ! Nice :)
Were did you get the music? :P
Anthony Andrews was the good looking one then, but, Jeremy Irons has aged better.
Ah, Sebastian contra mundum!
I wanted to say bravo John Mortimer for the screenplay, but hesitated when i found that he confessed it was not his adaptation.
This is, of course, the theme to the tv series, not the film (which you say you've seen). I can't bring myself to see the film because the reviews have been so bad, but I have the tv series on DVD and have read the book. I would recommend reading the book, then watching the tv series. Do both at least once and you will understand what Waugh was writing about in what is a flawed but fascinating work.
In Joan of Arc's rose garden the Everblooming Climbing Cecile Brunner still lives across from Concorde Grapes and on the west side situates Constance Spry who has never bloomed for as long as this Joan of Arc has viewed this particularly planted rose...and it lives with green leaves during its deciduous season.
you dare mention Harry Potter???? In this context? He's from another universe, my friend, this here is the most brilliant piece of literature I ever read PLUS the TV adaptation is the best ever, thank God they haven't asked Stephen Polliakoff to do another one yet;)) (they probably will at some point, but he writes his own sh....stuff I mean, so will most likely decline the offer...) I could drown myself in the music and the acting and the beauty.....
Will television ever produce something as good as Brideshead Revisited again ? Will any new show have this kind of music today ?
None whatsoever so far.
South Park was pretty good.
The 1994 BBC production of Middlemarch is top notch and my favorite period drama.
Listen to Vampire Weekend's song "Arrows" and see if you recognize anything ;)
Actually, I think 'Dave' is - de facto - a 'toff' - however, Dave has made - is making - a sincere effort to be an 'ordinary' person and in touch with the general concerns of ordinary people. Obviously, whether he can bring the rest of his party with him or navigate coalition politics successfully is another matter. In short: I don't blame Dave for our ills.
Brideshead isn't in the slightest imperialistic. It's about class, yes, but in a critical way.
Which four wankers didn't like this, was it One Direction?!? I'm the most left wing person I know and I absolutely love Brideshead Revisited, and the theme tune is extraordinary. If you disliked this song reverse the decision immediately!
what's with the teddy bear ?💪🐻🐗🐺🐾 great tune played on classic FM too
@9292Percival Also, what the hell do you know about Oxford anyway? My guess is that you've never bloody been there in the first place.
Why can't I find the piano sheet music to this anywhere? It's so beautiful. I watched it for the first time in England and couldn't wait to see each episode!
It's in the key of C major. I have perfect pitch!
@shykaizen Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons, just no one can their place !
Then how come so many monarchs haven't been able to do it?
Ideal music for reading about David Cameron and friends.
Zephirine Drouihn is the name of the rose which still grows in the
Westmore Community Rose Garden as it was named by Phil Krastman and
planted by a local Joan of Arc....