tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post438225947427305442..comments2024-03-12T04:14:16.271-05:00Comments on The Rad Trad: Book Review: Brideshead RevisitedThe Rad Tradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00899289024837953345noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348523519788188753.post-44398642866419943842013-11-14T11:21:03.194-06:002013-11-14T11:21:03.194-06:00"possibly the best television program ever ma..."possibly the best television program ever made." Yes. I am so grateful it was made. I hadn’t read the book before seeing it. <br /><br />"BBC miniseries Brideshead Revisited," No! Alas, His Traddiness is mistaken.<br />The BBC did not make this show. It was made by the independent, commercial tv company Granada and shown on ITV. The BBC was not involved, unless it has somehow bought the rights since. Stranger things have happened. <br /><br />But it is the book that is important, not who adapted it. Waugh rather bared his soul in this book, writing about what was important (to himself and generally), where others he wrote were less revealing of himself, rather dry social comedies and commentaries; apart from the Sword of Honour books which have a lot of thinly disguised autobiography about his part in the war which goes into plenty of detail. Brideshead uses that too, but uses less to greater effect. Some may enjoy the Christian themes of the other trilogy too; in some ways, even more challenging. But Brideshead probably is his masterpiece. <br /><br />As you say, "The miniseries takes no liberties". The company played it absolutely straight, realising the book should be allowed to speak for itself. This was before the era of the Andrew Davies versions of historical novels. <br /><br />One assumes it would not have got through 'the corporation's' internal commissioning process unscathed. <br /><br />As it was, no one there tried. It has been said before and it bears repetition, the BBC - an organization that has the right to levy its own poll tax on anyone who owns a television receiver - has not willingly presented the Christian religion in a good light for many years. That might explain the high count of Anglican services still broadcast, including weekly evensong from anglican cathedrals. Was ever anything more pointless? … But you do have to keep an eye on the slot as without any warning it can be vespers and Benediction from the London Oratory. (Audio not tv, sadly).PseudonymousposterJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12026854581183874101noreply@blogger.com