Fortunes Of War (Three Discs) (DVD) [1987]

Customer Reviews:

The Consequences of Inconsequence.......2007-09-13

Kenneth Branagh gives a good performance as a professor of English in Bucharest in 1939. He is the sort of well meaning bien pensant who, at that time, would have belonged, probably, to the Left Book Club, supported the (Communist/Socialist/Anarchist) Republican anti-Franco "government" in Civil War Spain and been naively pro-Soviet. His wife, played well by Emma Thompson, is of like mind though less committed. The acting is good throughout, as are the locations in Romania, Athens and then in Egypt. The plot goes slowly, though and ends on a note of tragic inconsequence, with the professor's wife lost at sea, having fled Alexandria as the Afrika Korps advances. My wife and I thought we had lost the last DVD only to find that we had just watched it...

"What Larks!" - The Brits Abroad in WW2.......2007-09-06

This is an excellent production with wonderful scenic views and the expected high BBC standards, however, I am afraid I found the characters so universally irritating I had to knock off a few stars!

Guy Pringle and wife Harriet live in Budapest where he works as an English teacher. When the war comes they flea to Athens and then to Cairo, always managing to somehow stay ahead of any real danger - in fact, Guy (Kenneth Brannagh) is so supremely immune to everything around him - including new wife Harriet (Emma Thompson) - that he could be living on a desert island. Even when Guy starts assisting resistance work in his own way, you feel that the lure of a new book of Byron's works would quickly make him hang up his ideals and settle in a comfy armchair. The group sit in cafes listening to bombs falling and getting nearer and nearer.....Their friends - a mix of Bohemians and diplomats - interact with each other through work and leisure - yet when one of their number is shot dead in front of the others, the response is more "Gosh - bad show" than any heart felt display of grief....

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. No doubt there were groups of "Brits Abroad" for whom WW2 was little more that an irritation which stopped them giving lectures - but this side of the conflict is not one we are used to seeing. Harriet utters the Famous Five line "What larks!" whilst fleeing Cairo in an army truck - adding to the already surreal script.

Nonetheless, this is an enjoyable drama and does portray the lives of people caught up in the war but with no real idea of the danger they are in. There are plenty of familiar faces in the cast and the 7 episodes tell the story at a decent pace. There are many witty lines exchanged between the friends and the period detail is faultless.

Give this a go, you will enjoy it - but afterwards you might feel you need to watch Tenko, Schindlers List or Band of Brothers for a more gritty portrayal of the effects of WW2 on Europe.

Quality drama.......2007-07-24

Another drama of superb quality from the BBC. So many good actors, and so many entertaining characters. There are a lot of witty lines in this as well as scenes of great sadness. I was really moved by some of the scenes, especially at the end.
Guy Pringle thinks everyone is extraordinary. Unfortunately because he wishes to help and befriend everyone, he neglects his wife, who he does actually love. He loathes and despises facism, and refuses to let the war stop his teaching or putting on a play.
I would disagree with another review that states that the Pringles and their friends are not aware of the realities of the war. They do experience the ill fortunes of war in various ways, as follows:
The disappearnce of Sacha Druker and the arrest of his father.
The death of Prince Yakimov.
A boy killed by an unexploded bomb.
The crippling of a young officer.
Aiden Pratt, 'haunted' by the deaths of children he shared a lifeboat with.
The 'separation' of Harriet and Guy.
This is something you can watch more than once. Well worth buying.

Love during WWII.......2007-03-01

Fortunes of War is the collective name given to six novels by Olivia Manning. The novels were adapted for television by the BBC, starring Kenneth Branagh as Guy and Emma Thompson as Harriet. Other stars included Ronald Pickup, Robert Stephens, Alan Bennett and Rupert Graves.

Fortunes of War won five awards including 3 BAFTAs.

Set in War Time Bucharest in 1939, British professor Guy Pringle (Kenneth Branagh) arrives in Romania with his new bride, Harriet (Emma Thompson) and becomes trapped in the politics of anti-fascism. Guys' social circle starts to include members of the British Secret Service who wish to involve him in secret missions against his wife Harriets' wishes and the incorrigible Prince Yakimov who takes advantage of Guy's generous nature and winds up living with the Pringles. Their marriage is soon tested by accidental betrayal, sensitivity and a world in turmoil.

Speical bits include: "Time Shift" - a 38 minute documentary on writer Alan Plater. Appearances by Ron Pickup, James Cellan Jones and Alan Plater on "Open Air" "Breakfast Time" on-location report. Sue Lawley interviews Emma Thompson on "Wogan". Ludivik Kennedy and guests discuss the programme on "Did You See?"

Classic drama - long anticipated.......2006-10-29

I've been waiting for ages for this drama to get DVD'd. Although the rather quickly designed packaging would lead you to think that the story took place solely in Egypt the three disks are an excellent print. This is the ever wonderful Alan Plater's adaptation of Olivia Manning's series of 6 semi-autobiographical books charting World War Two from the civilian angle. Ken and Em star as a newly married couple, the Pringles, learning to fall out of love and back in again on the microscale. (The actors coincidentally married two years after and then fell out again).

Guy Pringle is a myopic English teacher spreading culture to foreign lands, always the centre of attention, and totally engrossed in his work, who soon forgets to pay attention to the strong willed Harriet, his new wife. At the same time the Nazi advance across Europe forces them to abandon their home first in Romania (filmed in Yugoslavia), then Greece ,and finally threatens their life in Egypt. On the way their brilliantly portrayed chance acquaitances veer from irritants to allies as the world around becomes more and more dangerous.

Other long term fans will be happy to note that unlike the pruriently edited versions shown on digital TV that this disk does actually feature the explanation for Bill Castelbar's bucket of cold water by his bedside. The rest of you will have to wait to episode 6. Delicious grown up drama. it's got to be better than reality TV!

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