Saturday 10 September 2011

Period Drama Week Tag Question- Part 2




Here is the 2nd (and last) Part of the Period Drama Week Tag. For those of you who haven't heard yet Miss Elizabeth over at her blog Elegance of Fashion has been running Period Drama Week. One way to join in the fun was to participate in this tag, you can also check out her blog for some great posts including a trivia challenge.




11. Which period drama which you haven't seen yet do you most want to watch?

There is actually quite a few but I really want to see these three: Cranford (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008) and Jane Eyre (2006)

NOTE: I typed this up 2 days ago since then  I bought Sense and Sensibility (2008)! I hope to start watching it tonight :)

12. Which period drama has the prettiest soundtrack or background music?
I love the background music in North & South and Downton Abbey.  I also love the music in Tristan & Isolde (note: my version of the film is edited of the inappropriate scenes), I own the soundtrack and I play it constantly in my room. It has a beautiful Irish sound to it that I love. 


13. Which period drama has your favourite screenplay/script? Why? (e.g if it is similar to the original text, if there is one, or if it has been improved in some ways)
This question is a little hard because there are so many great ones. A few I love include The Young Victoria, The Abduction Club, Ever After and Bright Star. But my favourite would have to be Lost in Austen, simply because before I began watching it I was absolutely convinced I would hate it. I'm not a big fan of modern Austen adaptations or anything that strays too far from the novels but I loved it. It was funny, original and completely separate from Jane Austen's work so I felt I could love it without feeling I had somehow wronged Jane and her work. There were a few things I didn't like about it but largely I thought the script was great.



14. Do you like having multiple versions of some period dramas? Do some period dramas need a newer version?
I definitely love having multiple versions, I find I love them all for different reasons. I do think some of them need a newer (longer) version, but it doesn't entirely bother me right now I'm pretty much content. Oh come to think of it a new mini-series Persuasion would be nice though.


15. What is the longest period drama you've seen?

I am not entirely sure, just thinking off the top of my head I think it may be Middlemarch (1994) However if TV series' are included I am sure I have seen plenty that run longer than Middlemarch. Namely Robin Hood (BBC 2006) with its 39 episodes long at around 45 minutes each.


17. Do you prefer watching a regular-length movie or a more in-depth mini-series? Why?
A mini-series without a doubt. I think as an audience we are able to connect more with the story and the characters.


18. What period drama has one of your favorite actors/actresses in it?



One of my very favourite actors is Heath Ledger, he was my favourite actor (before I knew of Harry Lloyd) and when I was growing up A Knights Tale was my all time favourite movie, I thought Heath's performance in it was wonderful. It is definitely my favourite performance in a period film. Unfortunately I haven't seen the film in a long time because the day Heath passed away was my 18th birthday, I was so upset I made sort of like a vow to never watch A Knights Tale again. But recently my Mum brought me home a magazine all about A Knights Tale and I was able to look at it without crying (see its all about baby steps) so maybe soon I will try and watch the film again. Anyway not only does this film have Heath Ledger but also has some of my other favourite actors including James Purefoy, Paul Bettany and the amazing and awesomely talented Rufus Sewell.


19. Which heroine from which movie was your least favorite? Why?
Definitely Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights, she is my least favourite simply because I don't think she is a good role model or character. I don't like to sound too negative or put people into boxes but for me personally she doesn't fit my ideal of a good heroine.  


20. Which three period dramas are your least favorite?
I'm not sure whether I am supposed to list my 3 least favourite period drama films I have seen or the ones I don't want to see. So I'm just going to list the ones I have seen:


1. Jane Eyre (1983)
The one huge reason I hated this mini-series was Timothy Dalton's Rochester. Okay so I disliked Rochester in the book, but seriously that was nothing compared with the Rochester in this film. I watched the entire thing through something i would never do ever again- I would rather stick pins in my eyes!

2. Persuasion (2007)
It wasn't that this film was particularly bad, but the chemistry was off I didn't believe in the whole Anne and Wentworth relationship. I really disliked Sally Hawkins' portrayal of Anne, but I actually think she is a great actress she just didn't suit the character of Anne. And the I can't stand the end scene where Anne runs all around the world only to run all the way back again! Seriously!

3. Northanger Abbey (1986)
Thankfully I had read the novel and seen the 2007 adaptation before this one because if watching this film was my first introduction to Northanger Abbey I would never ever consider reading the novel or going anywhere near Henry Tilney (now that's a bad thought!). Needless to say I really didn't like this adaptation, it was creepy, freaky and way too Gothic. Catherine annoyed me, Henry creeped me out and I didn't like anything about it at all.


16. Who are your favourite actors/actresses from period drama?
You may have noticed that I skipped this question before, I wanted to end on a more positive note so I left this one till last. I found this question so hard because I love so many of the actors/actresses that are in period dramas. Anyway it was a painful process but I narrowed it down to my favourite 5 actors/actresses from period dramas.


1. Harry Lloyd [Robin Hood (BBC), Jane Eyre (2011) and in anticipation of The Iron Lady and Great Expectations (TV Series)]
2. Justine Waddell (Wives and Daughters, Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles)
3. Richard Armitage [North & South, Robin Hood (BBC)]
4. Rufus Sewell (Middlemarch, Tristan & Isolde, Amazing Grace)
5. Dame Maggie Smith (Washington Square, Becoming Jane, Downton Abbey)

and I couldn't help it, I had to give a special mention to Hugh Bonneville, Julia Ormond and Jonathan Firth.



I hope you enjoyed reading my answers,

Love Mel

1 comment:

Melody said...

Hope you enjoy S&S! I like that version-minus the first scene-in many ways; mainly because it includes the whole story without leaving out things (and characters) like the 1995 one did. There are some things I dislike about it too, but better to mention the ones I do like. Oh and Edward! I really like the Edward.

Persuasion definitely needs a mini-series...did you read my ideas for one at the end of the Persuasion movies post?

I'm glad most people answer 'mini-series' in question 17!

That Jane Eyre was pretty much my introduction to the story...which I am actually glad about, because it has the whole story - most the other ones leave a whole bunch of stuff out. But I didn't like that Rochester either. And would he PLEASE stop messing up Jane's hair?!

I actually liked the couple on Persuasion 2007 way better than the 1995 one...although Sally Hawkins portrayal annoyed me a bit, it's mostly because of her unattractive hairstyle...during...the...entire...thing.

And that NA is extremely repellent. I didn't even watch the whole thing. Ugh. Well...I'll vent more about that in a couple weeks on my blog. :P

I loved Maggie Smith in David Copperfield...she's a very funny Betsey Trotwood. Have you ever seen that?