Amazon.com

The BBC has raised the mini-series to an astonishing creative peak. A prime example is the 1994 production of Middlemarch, based on the classic novel by George Eliot, which juxtaposes morals and money, grand ambitions with petty jealousies, and pursuits of the mind with bodily needs. A handsome young doctor named Lydgate (Douglas Hodge, Vanity Fair) comes to the provincial town of Middlemarch to start a new hospital; a headstrong young woman named Dorothea (Juliet Aubrey, The Mayor of Casterbridge) yearns to contribute to the greater good of the world. These idealists enter into marriages that derail all their intentions and lead them into lives they never imagined. The network of characters in this six-episode program, ranging up and down the societal ladder, create an intricate and utterly engrossing narrative as well as a magnificent recreation of life on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution.The cast, from the largest to the smallest roles, is impeccable. When a scene turns to a character you've only glimpsed before, the precision of the writing (by miniseries master Andrew Davies, Pride and Prejudice) and the vivid performances suck you into the life of this person who seemed like mere background scenery only moments before. The cumulative impact of Eliot's story will leave you gasping at its brilliant balance of romance and reality. Performers include creepy Patrick Malahide (The Singing Detective) and sexy Rufus Sewell (Dark City) among the familiar faces of dozens of inspired character actors. Don't let the literary pedigree of Middlemarch scare you off--the plot is as juicy as a soap opera, with a psychological fullness that makes every dramatic turn all the more gripping. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Alas....
Both my wife and I watched this production with hopes, but were disappointed at the conclusion. The film, while attempting to be comprehensive in its picture of connections in an 18th century British town, loses its focus, allowing its characters to drift and wander in and out of the story. If there is a main character, it is Dr. Lydgate, who does maintain some interest as he struggles with his disillusionment. The relationship of Dorothea and Mr.Ladislaw was just not believable. Perhaps better casting of the two would have helped make it work, but I am unsure.They never really seemed compatible, and their love story just did not work for us, given their characters. While there is a palette of interesting characters, none are held onto or followed long enough to really understand them.We tried to maintain some interest in the film, but by the end, it was just curiosity as to the outcome that kept us viewing. The ending, by the way, was unbelievable too--too contrived and too neat, in our way of thinking,for the 6 hours that preceded it.My recommendation: if you're curious and have some time to burn,watch it.Otherwise, watch Pride and Prejudice or Our Mutual Friend, they are superb examples of what can be done.

Where's The CD?
I rented Middlemarch from the library a few days ago and have already watched it twice! This movie is beautiful in every way imaginable. The actors and actresses to a superb job, the scenery is gorgeous and the score matches what is going on in the scenes beautifully! So how come the score isn't avalible on CD? I've looked for it numerous places and can't find it.

I highly encourage period movie lovers to watch this movie! You'll love it!

This film is simply glorious!
I had never been a George Eliot fan until I found this film in my library, and could not WAIT to get my hands on all SIX installments (the old video version originally came out on six tapes).There are NO flawed performances in this film - EVERY actor gives a magnificent performance, from Patrick Malahide's exquisite Mr. Casaubon, to Juliet Aubrey's wonderful Dorothea (why she isn't getting more work in Hollywood God only knows - her performance is extremely moving!), Robert Hardy's perfect Uncle Brook, Douglas Hodge's memorable Dr. Lydgate, Rufus Sewell's glorious Will Ladislaw - the list goes on and on.Someone said here that this film could be used in a number of college level courses on any number of subjects which is the absolute truth.It is romantic, yet challenging to the soul on so many levels.It will make you want to read the novel.Two more actors should also be mentioned - the gal who plays Rosamond Vincy was perfection in that part, and also Sir Michael Hordern as the uncle who is supposed to leave his money to Jonathan Firth's Fred Vincy (also another wonderful performance by Firth) was fabulous.

Bug the BBC to put this one out on DVD.Our VHS copies will only last so long!

A Treasure!
From BBC comes another timeless classic. Middlemarch is so many things it is impossible to list them all! From love to politics, it keeps you inraptured in the wonderful story written by George Elliot. The story is supurbly played by Juliet Aubrey as Dorothea and handsome dashing Rufus Sewell as Ladislaw. This tale of forbidden love will draw you in... a must see!

boring
the litmus test for a movie adapted from a book is whether it makes you want to read the book. this film fails that test. the book may not be to blame for this - i've seen enough poor adaptations to know this. but the film was, quite frankly, boring. i've never read george eliot, and middlemarch won't change that. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Without becoming didactic, The Missiles of October does an outstanding job of presenting many points of view on the Cuban missile crisis. The film humanizes Kennedy's near impossible task of avoiding war without compromising national security. The earnestness of this 1974 made-for-television dramatization may briefly remind one of social studies class--indeed it is at times difficult to maintain consciousness while the extensive cast of characters is being introduced at the opening. Not to worry, though--soon the power plays begin and The Missiles of October becomes completely gripping. Actual news footage is spliced in with the action, nicely serving as exposition and driving home just how very close the world came to nuclear war. A crew of excellent character actors flesh out the story and reveal the psychological games behind the language of diplomacy. William Devane takes on the difficult task of playing John F. Kennedy. While he doesn't quite capture Kennedy's charisma, he does occupy the role comfortably and effectively conveys the president's deep worry and determination to avoid war. Martin Sheen plays an engaging Robert Kennedy and Michael Lerner, oddly enough, manages to make Pierre Salinger absolutely fascinating. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Finally on DVD!
I've been waiting for The Missiles of October to come out on DVD since I first got my DVD player over a year ago. My VHS copy of Missiles, which is over 15 years old, has degraded greatly in picture and sound quality, so I was hoping that the DVD copy would be an improvement. I was not disappointed. It has an amazingly crisp picture and the sound is excellent.

When the movie Thirteen Days came out I was anxious to compare it to Missiles. Thirteen Days was a good film, but I still prefer The Missiles of October. All the performances are excellent, but William Devane, Martin Sheen and Howard DaSilva top the list. I was barely six years old when the actual event occurred back in 1962 so I don't remember the incident from then. However, I did see the movie when it originally aired in 1974 and was greatly impacted by it then. They did an excellent job in weaving the actual documentary footage together with their dramatization. Watching the thirteen day countdown to possible worldwide nuclear destruction is compelling watching. I highly recommend this movie to anyone with a taste for history, suspense, excellent performances or as an example of how good television can be when given the chance.

Superb historical drama. Worthwhile and powerful.
There is very little to criticize about this dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film mainly focuses on the deliberations on the American side, i.e. President John F. Kennedy and his Ex-Comm group ("Executive Committee of the National Security Council") as they try to force the Soviets to remove the missiles from Cuba while avoiding a nuclear conflict. The film successfully conveys the fears and difficulties faced by JFK and his team, their thoughts and deliberations. The script is fairly close to the actual facts as they are understood today. This is a wonderfully educational production that any parent would do well to watch with his or her children.

Devane is pretty good as JFK. I thought that Martin Sheen absolutely nailed Bobby Kennedy. The supporting actors were uniformly excellent. Good casting throughout.

One of the excellent things about the production is the occasional interjection of period news bulletins of nuclear tests, the escalating conflict, etc. These added a wonderful sense of authenticity even as they entertained.

A few quibbles, all minor. I thought that the movie somewhat (not excessively) idolized the Kennedys. It was a bit much when one member of Ex Comm commented that "Bobby [Kennedy] I confess your moral arguments [against invading Cuba] never occurred to me..." Come on, of course they did. The record shows that Ex Comm debated these issues extensively. Nor was Bobby Kennedy against invading Cuba--the record is pretty clear that both Kennedys had been pushing for removing Castro by various means before the crisis began. Bobby Kennedy's comment that bombing the missiles out of Cuba would be like a "reverse Pearl Harbor" was disdained as amateurish by most of Ex Comm. The movie barely acknowledges that. [Dean Acheson characterizes that analogy to JFK at one point as "false and pejorative..."]. The movie portrays the US Navy as lusting after conflict in a manner I thought was unseemly--this was my only major criticism of the film. ["Thirteen Days" shares this flaw.] Hollywood often cannot pass up a chance to take a swipe at the military.

This is an incredibly worthwhile production that I make a point of watching every year or so. A must for the thoughtful viewer's DVD collection.

"MISSILES" IS A BARNBURNER
"The Missiles of October" starred William DeVane as JFK and Martin Sheen as RFK. Both of these actors portrayed the Kennedys better than any actors ever have. This is a patriotic film that depicts how close we came to nuclear combat toe to toe with the Russkies, and how the Kennedys saw us through the crisis. This may have been the beginning of Martin Sheen's political awakening.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM

BEFORE the true story of the Missilie of October...
With the publication of "The Kennedy Tapes" (May and Zelikow 1997) and, more recently, "Averting the Final Failure" (Sheldon Stern 2004), we now know what exactly was said by whom and when in the White House during these heady 13 days known universally as "The Cuban Missile Crisis". What has never really been conveyed (in print or otherwise) is the true "feeling" of what these leaders went through...I'd submit that that the true value of this video is the portrayal of the immediacy and emotion invoked by all participants during the Crisis. This film may lack some historical accuracy, but it more than makes up for it as an emotional target for this period and remains, to this day, an important and believable reference for this seminal period of the Cold War.

William Devane, Martin Sheen and William DaSalva portray a version of the Crisis that is at once believable and accurate as far as the emotional element is concerned, and convey an amazingly accurate "emotional history". This, coupled with the known version of the Crisis in 1974, gives a view of the Kennedy White House inner-workings that has remained somewhat the "standard" for understanding the strategy of the "Best and Brightest" who made up the Kennedy Cabinet. Character development is based on RFK's version of the Crisis in his post-humous work "Thirteen Days", and we know now that this was somewhat contrived...only to the extent that some things were said or believed that were overly amplified for emphasis. The true feeling of these exalted gentlemen has never been questioned and I think that the prospective viewer will be impressed with the detail and emotional content of this work.

So enjoy this movie and take from it the exacting and crucial motivations of a Government under siege and you'll be impressed (as I've continued to be for these 30 years) that "The Missiles of October" portrays the Kennedy government accurately as it struggled through the tortuous 13 days of the Crisis and leaves as it's legacy the true emotions of those heady days. Highly recommended!!

Great Movie
This movie is a very good and historically accurate portrayal of the Cuban Missle Crisis. If you liked "13 Days" then you will like this one, in some ways I like this one over 13 Days. It shows what is happening in both the Kremlin as well as the White House. Missiles is very well acted by a great cast. I would recomend this to any history buff, or anyone simply looking for an entertaining drama. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

absolutely outstanding
This movie, with the acting of Kathleen Quinlan, has got to be, by far, Kathleen's finest performance. Although the scream of Kathleen in "Nightmare in Blood" surpasses none. Kathleen Quinlan has always been a personal favorite of mine. When I saw her in "The Promise" she did me in. She is absolutely beautiful and her roles are varied and showcases her tremendous abilities. I adore her.

Sylvia Sydney should have received an oscar nomination. She protrayed Mrs. Corral the school teacher, coming back to the institution for a re-visit. She's been there before and the rest of the patients love her. When she was being checked in, four attendants had to carry her up the stairs, with Ms. Sidney yelling "cockroaches, Vermin!!!" When the attendants left after placing her in her cell, you see the bed flying out into the hallway (she threw it) yelling "YOU FORGOT TO TUCK ME IN"
That scene alone is worth the DVD.

A Good Movie!
I Never Promised you A Rose Garden is a very good movie, based on a book which I think was based on a true story. This movie stars Kathleen Quinlan as a schizophrenic teenager commited to a mental hospital and the psychiatrist played by Bibi Andersson who is trying to help her. Quinlan and Andersson are great and so is the rest of the cast!

The Film of The Book
Based on the cult book of the same name, this true story manages to capture and convey the atmosphere of the book, and the remarkable relationship bewteen Debbie, a young girl suffering from schizophrenia, living in a world peopled by gods of her own creation, and her psychotherapist, Dr. Fried - alias Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, the wife of Eric Fromm, the famous psychoanalyst.
This truly touching and remarkable tale emphasizes the kernel of human potential and light in Debbie, and the considerable insight and compassion in her therapist, whilst set in the most adverse conditions of a mental hospital.
The acting is highly convincing, the direction thoughtful, while the story and plot-structure complement each another, in masterfully portraying the essential elements of the classic book by Hannah Green.

GOOD MOVIE - LOUSY DVD
Again a good movie has been issued on a lousy dvd. Not only is the picture quality less than many vhs tapes, but they falsely advertise a full-length commentary by Kathleen Quinlan, the star, which is non-existant. There is an interview with her, separate from the film. This is a movie which deserves better, and this is just the rotten, greedy kind of job which is going to ruin the dvd industry eventually. How the morons who take part in this sort of product can live with themselves is above and beyond me.

When she tried killing herself, it was just the beginning
Director Anthony Page's treatment of the novel by Hannah Green, here adapted by Gavin Lambert and Lewis John Carlino, presents Kathleen Quinlan as a schizophrenic admitted to a female asylum, with only one heartless attendant (male) who is quickly removed. However the focus is more on Quinlan than the other inmates, and when Page presents the inevitable scenes of ward panedomium, the women's personalities have more range than the men in the Milos Forman film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The number of women and this focus on Quinlan, actually precluded me from identifying Diane Varsi and Barbara Steele.
Quinlan's "sickness" is presented by her private world of a tribe enacted by Danny Elfman's Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo Temenos Theatre Group, who seem to be wardrobe-influenced by the American Indian. These demons say Quinlan is "poisonous" and fear her "betrayal", and the sessions with her psychiatrist Bibi Andersson aim towards Quinlan banishing them. However the title of the film is Andersson's qualifier, since if Quinlan chooses to join the real world, it still won't be easy. In spite of the way Quinlan's fantasy world hides her and her fear of betraying her Gods (Andersson is right when she calls them cruel, for they seem to have the power even though Quinlan has created them), no one comments on the remarkeable imagination it has taken to invent them, though I guess this feeds into the genius/madness thin line.
Clearly Quinlan's character is remarkable in herself - she's intelligent, funny, and of course lyrically sensitive. But the thing that Andersson tells Quinlan's parents seems truthful and also ties into the title idea - that she needs something to replace the sickness with. The cause for her condition isn't made clear - there is talk of abandonment by her mother after the death of a second child and some sexual phobia by her father - but Andersson is more intent on enabling Quinlan to feel emotion as a breakthrough. When Quinlan cries, touches Andersson and allows herself to be touched, and especially when Quinlan feels pain from self-inflicted cigarette burns, the music cues us that we are making advances. Of course, any cinematic representation of psychiatric treatment is false, since the chances of cure within 90 minutes are slim, but Page pleasingly suggests in the conclusion that Quinlan's Gods will never totally leave her.
The screenplay has the odd funny line - I liked Sylvia Sidney's "For the last 30 years, I've been analysed, paralysed, shocked, jolted, and revolted", and I was also grateful to lose the idea of Quinlan as the witness of conscience. Although Page wrongly introduces Quinlan to us in a rear view mirror image of her as animal, he does manage to hold back on the general hysteria among patients and also with Danny Elfman's group. I was happy to see the usually impossibly mannered Susan Tyrrell as a former nurse and even Signe Hasso as the resident thug - Hasso gets a laugh when she talks about being a former actress playing Joan of Arc "in Pittsburgh!".
As expected both Quinlan and Andersson are extraordinary. Quinlan looks a little like the young Jodie Foster though much more feminine, and occasionally Andersson's English sounds stilted, which is inexplicable since she has spoken English on screen before this. Watch for Dennis Quaid in a bit part towards the end. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

to all our BURTON fans:
Even as a 7 year old kid whenever I 'heard' my father play a Richard Burton film I knew it was him. His voice always got me before his acting did.
I remember seeing 'Absolution' in my early teen years. I wanna see it again to understand what I could not. But more, why it had got me (?) Was it the suspense with a dark gothic look? Today it stands to be a cult movie, so to speak, (that goes for the movie '1984' too). I believe being told 'Absolution' was banned upon theatrical release in the UK. If it is not true it did do the trick for a young teen kid curious not only to see a R rated movie but a banned one too! But I do know as a suspense, this was good! Richard did give a powerful performance. Then again if you are a Richard Burton fan you smile to be proud of him, even though the Academy awards treated him fine but the Oscars never. So much for the movie 'Becket' - what a great film but the Oscars wished not to go to the right hands.
I can hear Peter O'Toole agree with me.

A thriller made five years before Burton's death
Absolution, an English psychological thriller with a strong anti-religion subtext (a genre almost single handedly created by the film's screenwriter Anthony Shaffer with his far superior film The Whicker Man), was one of Richard Burton's final films. After decades of heavy drinking and Liz Taylor, Burton, in his declining years, tended to show every sign of his lifestyle. This was often to the detriment of the film's he was involved in and Absolution is no different. In this film, Burton plays a rather niave, obviously repressed priest whose latent feelings for one of his students (Burton's character teaches Latin at a Catholic school) leaves him open to psychological manipulation. However, one look at Burton's tired, blood-shot eyes and his ravaged face and its hard to buy Burton in the role. Which is unfortunate because after years of contributing little to his performances beyond his famous voice, Burton actually does a pretty good job. With the exception of a few over-the-top scenes at the end, Burton brings a subtle sense of anguish to a character that, otherwise, would have been totally unsympathetic. In the film's best scenes, Burton suggests a great humanity underneath the priest's chilly surface and he makes the priest's sexual and later psychological torments quite believable.

The film's twisty plot is pure Shaffer -- a rigid, conservative system is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a liberating, almost pagan force (which, in a typical Shaffer twist, turns out to be as false as the establishment it destroys) and a great deal of senseless violence ensues. In Absolution, that establishment is the Catholic Boys School where Richard Burton teaches and dotes on one student (Dominic Guard) to an uncomfortable degree. That pagan force shows up as a bearded, Scottish drifter and theif (comedian Billy Connolly) who camps out in the countryside outside the school and ends up befriending Guard and leading the youth away from Burton and religion in general. (One of the film's flaws is that Guard's drastic transformation from good Catholic boy to Pagan prankster comes far too quickly.) Eventually, under Connolly's suggestion, Guard starts to tell Burton elaborate stories of sin during confession -- tormenting the priest with information that, as a priest, Burton is not allowed to share with anyone else. Eventually, what started as a joke spirals out of control into a vortex of murder, madness, and a surprise ending that comes out of nowhere but remains a lot of fun nonetheless.

Poorly directed by TV vet Anthony Page, the film's main appeal is to be found in its script and cast. Though not up to Shaffer's best work, Absolution -- especially early on -- displays a good deal of his stringent wit and he does a good enough job of keeping the story moving quickly enough that its not obvious just how ludicrous much of it is. He's helped by strong performances from his principles. Billy Connolly is likeable in a performance that'll surprise Americans who know him only as Howard Hesseman's replacement on Head of the Class. Andrew Kier, the final Prof. Quartermass, is a welcome presence as the school's head master while, as the two most distinctive students, Dominic Guard and David Bradley give nicely nuanced turns that alternate between youthful innocence and enigmatic slyness. Both Guard and Bradley were former child stars and both pretty much vanished from the screen following their performances in this film.

In the end, however, this is Burton's film and, even if miscast, he still gives an admirable performance that provides a much needed anchor to Shaffer's plot. Its a reminder -- after years of appearing in such claptrap as The Klansman and the Exorcist sequel, that Burton truly could be a good actor. This performance and his final turn in 1984 both suggest that, in his later years, Burton was finally ready to start acting again. Its difficult not to regret that he didn't get more chances to remind us of just how good he could be.

1 star due to very poor quality of amazon video
Amazon has duplicated this film on slow speed using very little tape. The result being the quality is so poor, one can barely watch it.

It is disgraceful that Amazon would do something like this. It is almost like a boot-legged video.

Don't BUY this video from Amazon.com

Green peas make green pasta
Not a bad video but has two awful performances with one terrible music score. After watching this I immediately put the tape in the toilet and tried to flush it down but it clogged it up and then it overflowed. That tape has been giving me problems ever since I began using it. Otherwise it is an okay piece not worth $1.50.

Burton's last starring role
A good film, not quite able to break out of TV limitations thanks to a mainly TV director and a script not up to par with Schaffer's prior Sleuth. But the performances and characterisations are excellent, and enough to grip a viewer thinking of England on a rainy afternoon. ... Read more