Parade's End

I loved this series - and it gets even better with repeat viewings. If anyone were to delete this from my DVR between now and the time the Region 1 Discs ship I WOULD kill them.Rebecca Hall is a force, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. Yes it's a bit uneven at times but just go with it - it's worth the ride. This is not a comfy "sit back and be spoon fed" piece by any means. The characters are so layered and complex that you really feel you know them.After watching Parade's End I saw Benedict in Star Trek - and he was no where NEAR as impressive/appealing without Ford/Stoppards beautiful words and clear motivations. True - he's an actor who can make just about anything he says sound good - but why should he have to? Parade's End is in a word - DELICIOUS!!The physical changes in Cumberbatch's character over the 10 years of this are at times a bit jarring, but it is 10 years, and he is playing a fat, clumsy, ugly, blond Yorkshireman - if you can imagine. (He does get "prettier" as it goes on - if that's important to you).After I watched this - I picked up the audio of all 4 of Ford's books (42 hours). The detail, stream of consciousness content, backstory, and follow up are whip cream with a cherry. I highly recommend it! Tom Stoppard did a masterful job of capturing the books in his script - as I could NEVER have figured out what was going on in the books had I not seen this first. Talk about jumping around...Personally, Parade's End is my clear #2 (for Cumberbatch) - right behind 2004 BBC's Hawking - with the dazzling Sherlock at #3. It really is that good.Also note - that the 6 negative reviews right now are all technical/operator problems that have nothing to do with the content. This should have more stars.

What a fantastic story! This dramatization of Ford Maddox Ford's "Parade's End" captures the cataclysmic changes wrought on individuals and society by the First World War, as seen through the lives of Christopher Tietjens, a young nobleman, his wife Sylvia, and the young suffragette Valentine. Their lives will repeatedly intertwine between 1912 and 1918, in a subtle ways that captures the changing tides in society.Tietjans, a civil servant in Whitehall, will rub elbows with a variety of thinly disguised historical figures, while raising a son who might or might not be his, with a wife who may or may not be faithful to him. Along the way, he meets a young suffragette who makes a lasting impression on him. When the war comes, everything he thinks he knows about the world will be challenged, at home and in the trenches...The series is superbly cast, with Benedict Cumberbach as Tietjens, Rebecca Hall as Sylvia, and Adelaide Clemens as Valentine, supported by a small mob of excellent British talent. The storyline unfolds slowly over five episodes, but those engrossed in the storyline may find it too short. The period setting is meticulously recreated, along with the subtle pain and humor of a society going through changes. Very highly recommended as excellent entertainment for those willing to take the story on its own terms.

I anxiously awaited the movie I had ordered from Amazon.on line. Anticipating the highly advertised PARADES END because my favorite actor was assuming a comedic role in the film , something very unusual for him to do. I had seen many screen clips of his performances and they were very amusing. He was to appear in several scenes according to the advertisements. To my dismay the film I received only had a three second appearance in one scene. Not at all what was in the ads. This is just a bare bones synopsis of the movie, Parades End takes place at the end of World War 1, creating, in this story, a London populated by aristocrats and high society. The plot is very intricate and involved, it moves slowly and can be confusing at times. We are introduced to a shrewish wife who has been unfaithful and her husband who finds himself amazingly attracted to a vivacious young woman. Sub-plots involving supporting players adds depth to the movie. I recommend PARADES END to those who prefer long , intricate and slightly opaque films full of a variety of interesting charactes. I can only say I missed the reverend so very much!

After seeing this miniseries, I started reading the novels by Ford Madox Ford on which it is based. You can see what a challenge it was to transform these novels, which go back and forth in time and keep changing narrative perspective, into a linear script. I think they did a great job with that transformation, and I loved the performances by the three lead actors (Cumberbatch, Hall, Clemons). But even though it has been made more or less linear, the story line is sometimes hard to follow. And the motivations of the characters, which in the books mostly are seen in interior monologues, are quite often hard to decipher on screen (partly because the status implications in Edwardian England of something like a refused check are not immediately obvious to us). The film is not super easy to watch but I do think the rewards are commensurate with the effort.

I purchased the video as I am a huge Judy Dench fan. It was very refreshing to see her earlier work in a most interesting and challenging role. A great story of the Edwardian period and the horrors and destinies of those whose fate in WWI was almost certain death. The choice of returning to England in disgrace or going to a front line unit and almost certain death was made without hesitation (or regret). The film was a very revealing look into the moral culture of the times and the absurdity of the significance of relationships which would cause Christopher's father to commit suicide (based only on gossip, rumor, and the evidence of a complete strange, Ruggles). It was surreal at times, but very thought provoking. An excellent story, well done. The quality of the DVD was poor, but the overall excellence of the story totally caused this to be a non issue. It actually enhanced the story as I felt as if I was watching a very rare archival edition of a work of special significance.

Es una hermosa y dramática miniserie, hecha maravillosamente. La recomiendo ampliamente, sobre todo a aquellos que disfrutan de estas historias, melodramáticas pero bien producidas.

イギリス英語の字幕付き。日本語はありません。好きな作品なので、とりあえず保存用に購入。英語？イギリス英語で馴染みのない単語ばっかりです。でも、時代の変化とかフランスやドイツとの関係とかが分かりやすく描かれてるようで（日本人にとってではないですが…）、何度見ても面白いです。日本語字幕を見て内容が分かるので、問題ないです。

第一次大戦中、英国の貴族制度が崩壊していく過渡期に、時代遅れとわかっていながら、18世紀と変わらない信念を貫いた人、クリストファーが主人公の物語。原作のクリストファーは太った人物という設定だったようですが、テレビドラマ化にあたり、ベネディクト・カンバーバッチが演じたことで、ラブストーリーとしての側面が強くなっています。　ベネディクト・カンバーバッチは期待通りだし、女性参政権獲得運動中にクリストファーと知り合ってからクリストファーと互いに惹かれた純粋な女性、ヴァレンタインを演じたアデレイド・クレメンスも新鮮で悪くなかったのですが、個人的にはクリストファーの妻シルヴィアを演じたレベッカ・ホールが最も印象的で、名演と感じました。クリストファーに対して貞節でない、魅力的な悪女としての側面と、自己責任とはいいながら、クリストファーを愛しているのに愛されない寂しい女性としての側面の同居した、複雑な人物像を破綻することなく演じていたと思います。　おそらく原作がしっかりしているのでしょうが、主人公以外の人物もそれぞれに魅力がありました。イングランド田園の映像は美しく、20世紀初期英国の様々な場面がでてきますので、ベネディクト・カンバーバッチのファンでなくても、英国に興味のある人ならお勧めできる作品です。　ＵＫ版のため、ＰＡＬ互換再生で鑑賞しました。英語字幕がついていましたが、文学的表現や当時の俗語的表現も多いようで、細かいニュアンスの理解が困難な個所が多数ありました。もうすぐ出る廉価版ＤＶＤにも英語字幕が付いていないのは大変残念ですが、英語力がかなり高い方や英語に強くこだわる方以外は、国内版ＤＶＤをお勧めします。

I’ve never read the books by Ford Madox Ford on which ‘Parade’s End’ is based but the series itself I’ve watched several times since it’s first broadcast and I always enjoy it.In the years before the First World War, three people (upper class statistician Christopher Teitjens, his socialite wife Sylvia and young suffragette Valentine) are drawn into a (kind of) love triangle, whose tumult’s play out across the years alongside a society and world being profoundly turned inside out and upside down by the conflict.Finely acted, shot and designed, its one of those layered period dramas where you can look into it and draw as much or as little out of it as you want, by focusing on the character relationships, or paying attention to the political and social shifts taking place alongside it. It’s really up to the viewer.On the extras front there’s a 50 (or so) minute behind the scenes/making of style documentary, which is interesting enough in a one time watch way.

Tom Stoppard`s adaptation of three of the four Ford Madox Ford novels – omissions and additions considered – is one of the finest TV historical dramas in recent years.The five-part series follows the relationship triangle involving central character Christopher Tietjens (Cumberbatch), his flighty socialite wife Sylvia (Hall) and the suffragette Valentine (Clemens) from just before and to the end of the Great War.Beautifully filmed and with good attention to period detail, this is an engaging, moving, at times darkly funny tale that is very satisfying and memorable.The set consists of 2 discs with a 47-minute behind the scenes documentary; English subtitles are available.Excellent series.