Beloved Eleanor

I’ve been making this list for a while, and it is neither exaustive nor finished at the moment.  I feel that it is ready to begin to share and gather comments.  I should also point out that I have included ones that have a slight fantasy element to them also, if they mainly appear historical.

How about adding your favourite historic films and tv dramas to the list?

Films:

• The Company of Wolves (1984) Fantasic Neil Jordan film, fantasy and fairytale.  Based on the short story from the collection ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter which should also be read, it’s brilliant.
• Ladyhawke (1985) Great film, though the soundtrack has dated somewhat!  Matthew Broderick as the loveable thief and Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer as the starcrossed lovers.
• Lady Jane (1986) I love this film, based on the short period of Lady Jane Grey’s life leading up to her coronation and ultimate execution.  Beautifully made and acted, starring Helena Bonham Carter.
• Shadowlands (1993) Covering the period of time when C.S Lewis met and fell in love with Joy Gresham.  Beautiful and moving.
• Sense and Sensibility (1995) It’s an engaging version of the story, and I’m always pleased to see Margaret Dashwood included.  I do not, and will never approve of Emma Thompson playing Elinor however.
• Twelfth Night (1996) I love Shakespeare, and this is one of my favourites.  Has great moments of comedy and tragedy.  Plus I love Toby Stephens.
• Elizabeth (1998) Oh, what a stunning and epic film!  Cate Blanchett blows everyone else out of the water as Elizabeth I.  The follow up isn’t bad either.
• Gladiator (2000) If you haven’t seen this, are you dead?  Russell Crowe as Roman General turned gladiator, ’nuff said.
• Moulin Rouge (2001) People have said to me, you either love it or hate it.  I love it, Nicole Kidman as the courtesan and Ewan Macgregor the writer, musical-tastic!
• Possession (2002) A beautiful Victorian love story, with some unexpected twists.  Parallels with modern day London.  Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Ehle.  You should also read the fabulous book by A.S. Byatt.
• The Abduction Club (2002) A funny and engaging romp set in 18th Century Ireland.  Great cast, feelgood story.
• King Arthur (2004) I love this film, but many didn’t give it a chance.  A new take on the legend, bloody, sexy and enjoyable starring Clive Owen.

TV Dramas:

• Sherlock Holmes Memoirs/Return (1984-1988) Arthur Conan Doyle
  
• The House of Eliott (1991-1994) Two sisters, fashion and the roaring twenties.
  
• Cadfael (1994-1998) Ellis Peters
  
• The Glass Virgin (1995) An adaptation of a Catherine Cookson novel.  My fave one.
• Pride and Prejudice (1995) Jane Austen
  
• The Bucaneers (1995) Edith Wharton
  
• Persuasion (1995) and (2007) Jane Austen
  
• The Aristocrats (1999) From a biography by Stella Tillyard, read it, it’s fantastic.
  
• Wives and Daughters (1999) Elizabeth Gaskell
• The Murder Rooms – The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2000) Inspired by the life of Arthur Conan Doyle.
  
• Lorna Doone (2000) R.D. Blackmore
  
• Foyle’s War (2002-2008) A detective, in 1940s war-torn England.
  
• North and South (2004) Elizabeth Gaskell
  
• Bleak House (2005) Charles Dickens
  
• Jane Eyre (2006) Charlotte Bronte
  
• Northanger Abbey (2007) Jane Austen
  
• Cranford (2007) Elizabeth Gaskell
  
• Lark Rise to Candleford (2007-) Flora Thompson
  
• Little Dorrit (2008) Charles Dickens

More to follow when I have time!

I know I’m not the only one finding this BBC2 series really addictive.

Many reality type shows are just embarassing or plain dull, but this is a breath of fresh air being more of a documentary.  Plus you learn so many interesting things.  I feel almost tempted to try Victorian cooking, though I’m not volunteering to either kill, pluck or skin any animals thanks.

3 (2 men, 1 woman) historians and archaelogists have moved to a farm in Shropshire for a year to run and work in a Victorian Farm.  They literally had to restore a tumbledown cottage, set up all the equipment and furniture, restore or build barns and get all the animals – this is along with learning how to use the machinery, look after the animals and then actually doing it.

It’s well worth your time seeing it, episode 3 was on yesterday, but you can catch up on BBC iplayer.

I used to love watching Ski Sunday on BBC2 as a child, though it’s not so good now (RIP David Vine).  I do try and watch the Hahnenkamm Ski Race every year.

I am still only a fan of the Austrian skiers though!  I’ve been up the mountain many times, and have seen it in the snow,  it’s very special to me in lots of ways.

The races will take place over the 23-25 January, and you can catch the coverage on Ski Sunday, funnily enough, this Sunday at 5pm.

You can visit the race official website here, and if you want to see a legend in action – check out a video I posted of Franz Klammer in 2007 from 1984.

Plus, I’ve come across footage from 1976, which is the race my parents watched Klammer win!

Go Team Austria!

I’m not normally a fan of adverts, I usually try to avoid them.  However, I keep seeing this one for an insurance company and I really love the Meerkats!

Here it is for you to check it out:

Simples!

Apparently there really is a website too.

I love meerkats anyway, does anyone else watch Meerkat Manor and the like?

I’m really getting into Little Dorrit now, and lo and behold, the Autumn TV schedule has provided more delights for us to watch.

Starting last night, Channel 4 has a new drama about the Civil War called The Devil’s Whore.  I am particularly interested in this period of history so I am quite impressed with it so far.  The end of the episode was quite shocking, I watched with my hands over my mouth!  How creepy was Peter Capaldi as Charles I?!

I have also just heard that there is going to be a new drama series, which was entitled The Last Van Helsing, but now appears to be called Demons.  It stars Philip Glenister as a Van Helsing, and was produced by the same people as Hex, which I also loved.  You can see a trailer here.

Has anyone else tried Apparitions starring Martin Shaw?  I’m not sure what to make of it yet.

I’m quite excited about this new series, as I really enjoyed Bleak House several years ago.

Obviously, this is a very different story, but it is being shown, I think, in a broadly similar format.

Anyhow, I have been recording the first few episodes so that I can watch them altogether, and see if I like it enough to continue.  Any fans out there?

Little Dorrit Video

As promised, the trailer is here at last.  Hakeswill!!

A quick note to any Sharpe fans out there.  Sean Bean has completed another drama based on Bernard Cornwell’s books.

Sharpe’s Peril will be showing in the UK on ITV1 in November, with a DVD release set for December.

I will post a video as soon as there are any promos about.

Talking of Autumn/Winter TV drama, there is also going to be a drama showing in November set during the 17 Century Civil War.  I have lost my note of its name, but as before, will post promos when I find them.

Yay, Strictly Come Dancing starts again next Saturday.  I’ve been watching the preview tonight, and it looks like it’s going to be another fun year.

You can always tell when Winter’s coming, when good TV is back on our screens!  I’m really enjoying Who Do You Think You Are?, Lost In Austen, Medium, Ghost Whisperer and The Tudors (believe it or not about The Tudors, I didn’t like the first series much).  Plus, I just heard that there is a new series called Merlin starting next week.  It’s in Robin Hood’s timeslot, so let’s hope it turns out to be better than that.

Now, all I’d like is for Channel 5 to show the latest series of NCIS, as I’ve got confused with which series I’ve seen or not, and for Bones to be back very soon.

Mmmm, cold nights, great books and TV.

I’ve a couple of things to talk about that are coming up for our viewing pleasure.

Most of you will probably have heard that the film ‘The Duchess’ based on the bio by Amanda Foreman about Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire was being made.  It’s actually coming out at the cinema next week.  I’m not that enamoured of the book, or what I’ve seen from the trailer (voiceover has an alarming tendency to call her Georgina, and don’t annoy me with the whole Diana comparison please), but the person herself is interesting and you might want to give it a whirl.

There is also ‘Lost in Austen’.  This begins next Wednesday at 9pm.  From the trailer this looks to be quite amusing.  Let’s face it, how many of us have fantasised about meeting the characters of ‘Pride and Prejudice’?  Just me?  Oh well.