Gormenghast

Gormenghast is, in my opinion, the best drama the BBc has ever done. The casting is superb, and everyone fits their role to perfection. It's seems anyone who's anyone is in Gormenghast, Stephen Fry, Spike milligan, Eric Sykes, Celia Imrie, Chrisopher Lee, Steve Pemberton, Ian Richardson.. I could go on. It's probably the fisrt time I encountered Johnathan Rhys Myers and you could tell from his showstealing performace that he was going to do many great things to come. (Most recently, of course, appearing as Henry VIII in the BBC's hugely successful drama The Tudors). Myers plays Steerpike, a kitchen boy who works his way up the rankings in the weird kingdom that is ...  Read the complete review

A lot of people have talked a lot of rubbish about this adaptation. The look is too chinese - the book feels more english. Though brilliant, the look is just not right. Peake lived in China, but probably was not influenced to that extent. Ghormengast is a story of class revolt, and I do not think that Peake was in favour of it. The book shows the steady state of society as being grim and tradition-locked. You don't see the ordinary people; everyone's a gargoyle. The writer writes [comparatively] obscure fiction for avid readers - and to them, burning a library is about the worst thing imaginable. We must ask ourselves; is Manservant ...  Read the complete review

Based upon the first two of Mervyn Peake’s supposedly unfilmable trilogy of novels, ‘Titus Groan’ and ‘Gormenghast’, this BBC adaptation attempted to combine Fantasy (of a different tradition than the better-known Tolkien variation of Fantasy, but still Fantasy nonetheless) with the costume drama of which the BBC is so fond, to produce a programme rich in sumptuous visual detail which revelled in its literary heritage and included a large number of British TV and film personalities in its cast to produce something which, whilst not altogether successful, was still worth catching and will probably come to be regarded as the seminal screen ...  Read the complete review

The best thing by far about this production was the beautiful costumes and spectacular scenery. Everything from the dusty corridors, untouched for centuries, to the amazing view from the rooftops was incredibly realistic. Even when the scene was completely computer generated, it still managed to take my breath away. It also boosted a good cast, including well-known stars such as June Brown as Nannie Slagg (also Dot Cotton in Eastenders) and Ian Richardson as Lord Groan. My particular favourite however, was Jonathon Rhys Meyers as the lead. He portrayed Steerpike as a somewhat sympathetic young man, without taking away the horrific nature of his character and ...  Read the complete review

While I realise that this style of drama is not everyone's cup of tea, I found it extremely enjoyable. A brilliant cast, including Christopher Lee, June Brown and Ian Richardson meant that the quality of acting would be hard to fault. A "heavy" drama, I found it easier to tape each episode and watch through at the end. It's one of those productions which is best enjoyed when you can guarantee no interruptions... The plot was riveting - kitchen boy manages to manipulate everyone in his path with his boyish good looks and verbal charms... He manages to rise to a position of dubious respect and destroy all around him, in the hope of ...  Read the complete review