Chevyman

Maybe..... but his posture, mannerisms came across so well

"One appears to have dropped one's monocle in the soufflee"

Why not visit the Festive Fayre section?

MB

I don't know what to say about it really - there is a hint of an almost 'soap' like approach..focusing on family rivalries, infidelity..etc..except that people are also being shot in the head and you have to keep in mind that this is Saddam Hussein they are covering here - central to the most crucial political developments in our own most recent history and still a topic of heated disagreement...

And yet, take out the bombs and the bullets and it could be Dallas.

I'm not quite sure who it is aimed at. It seems to be aiming to show how Saddam's relationship with his family affected his decision making and to show the 'man behind the myth' (nice to his daughters, felt bullied by his mother etc..)

With this first episode, I think anyone without a pretty good grasp on the politics of the time would be confused as to what the hell is going on. I'm always confused as to why so little background information is given in modern political dramas - almost as if they don't want to patronise the audience - I was 8 in 1979 - I know very little about the political situation in Iraq at that time - patronise me!

All in all - it seems ill-advised to me... what concerns me most about dramatisations of recent events are the many levels of decision making..from researchers, to director, to actor etc..something as complex and as sensitive as this could be easily misplayed..it only takes a small nuance of behaviour to convey an entirely different 'truth'...I think they should leave well alone. I don't think we can gain any more from this than we could a documentary - apart from a voyeuristic level of entertainment which is not for me.

SirOllyBolly

Dad's Army Tribute with Jonathan Ross - just awful.

Ross seems to lend a cheapness and coarseness to what ever he presents, but he outdid himself here. This "tribute" was just vehicle for the Ross ego and it had all the cheapness and tackiness along the lines of an ITV production such as Stars in Their Eyes or Who Dares Sings.

Totally unworthy tribute to a much loved comedy.

SirOllyBolly

"What fresh lunacy is this?"

Santonix

Could n't have put it better myself. It was truly bad.

Chevyman

I felt that a lot more footage could have been featured; at the expense of slapstick.

I thought Philip Madoc, who I admire greatly, looked very well

I'm just happy watching individual episodes as and when

"One appears to have dropped one's monocle in the soufflee"

Why not visit the Festive Fayre section?

stevie boy

Ross really is a crude unfunny man.

batman

Of the new bits I only watched the interview with Croft/Perry which was good but spoiled by Ross. The documentaries I hadn't seen before so the fact they were repeats didn't both me and of course the episodes themselves were brilliant. The bit I liked the best was one of the 'behind the scenes on location' clips where you saw John Laurie and Ian Lavender (possibly the oldest and youngest cast members) walking arm in arm through a field and then start laughing and pushing each other like little kids ..... it nearly brought a tear to the Bat's eye.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Steve Crook

Two nice deliveries this morning

The Michael Powell episodes of Espionage
From Network
The Frantick Rebel (1964)
Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (1964)
A Free Agent (1964)

Classic British Thrillers from MPI
Amazon.co.uk
The Phantom Light (1935)
Red Ensign (1934)
The Upturned Glass (1947)

Steve

MovieLover12

Hey lucky you, I'm still waiting on Razamataz!!!

Lord Brett

Funnily enough the subject of Ross came up on Saturday night when we were at sort of a dinner party (the sort where you send out for a not very good curry).

The general opinion was the he's quite a sharp, witty man who'se grown lazy, and is probably bored with what he's doing. His appearence on the Charlotte Church show was an absolute disgrace - two people swearing their heads off and throwing cushions at each other and getting paid for it.

stevie boy

Hi Bats,did you ,or anyone see Reputations which explored the life of Arthur Lowe??? It was shocking to see him at the awards ceremony and also on Pebble Mill at One(just before he died) He seemed very mixed up and unwell. He was apparantly a bit of a cold fish. Very good comedy actor though.

Chevyman

When it came down to timing, he was truly gifted

"One appears to have dropped one's monocle in the soufflee"

Why not visit the Festive Fayre section?

Alec Harvey

I watched The Green Years with Charles Coburn recorded off TCM. An almost forgotten film now, based on AJ Cronin novel. The Scottishness was MGM version but not too awful and the acting was lovely.

dremble wedge

Murder by Decree hopefully, on ITV 3.

dpgmel

One of my favourite films and an excellent lead performance from Christopher Plummer