The Pallisers - The Complete Collection (1977)

26 Episodes You'll Never Forget

There Are Many British Series That I Now Have On DVD And Enjoy/Just To Mention A Few/House Of Cards/Duchess Of Duke Street/The Grand/The Bretts/
House Of Eliott/Upstairs Downstairs/All Just WonderfulAnd I Now Add The Pallisers As One The Best Series That I've Watched//If There Are Young People Who Want To Study Acting Then They Should Watch All Of The Above//
Susan Hampshire-Philip Latham-Barbara Murray Get My Personal Oscar For The
Best Acting You'll Ever See/Derek Jacobi Is Always Superb And A Very Young
Anthony Andrews And Jeremy Irons(Brideshead Revisited)This 26 Episodes Was
So Fantastic That I Felt As If I Was In The Series Myself/No Matter What I Paid For This Series It Wasn't Enough//I Really Got My Moneys Worth//
The Only Bad Feature Was That It Did Not Have Closed Caption(Subtitles)
On The Set That They Sent Me/And Every So Often You Miss A Few Words/Acorn Media Is Famous For Not Adding Closed Caption//They Say That It Has Closed Caption But My Set Does Not//Other Than That The Pallisers Is A Real Treat For Anyone//A Wonderful Story/Great Pacing And Directing///

Stanley Cooper Jupiter Florida
zoundz@bellsouth.net June 7, 2008

Pllasiers-Complete Collection

Wonderful story line. Fascinating use of British political history of the period. Great characters, well developed. Beautiful scenery/photography/costumes of the period. Very well performed by almost all of the actors. Anthony Trollope is an outstanding author. May 17, 2008

Not complete!!

I agree with everything the five-star reviewers say, but I should like to mention something that American viewers may not be in a position to know: this version has been abridged from the original BBC production, which I remember very clearly; and this is nowhere stated!

For instance, to take just the trial of Phineas Finn, the introduction of the Archbishop of Canterbury as a character-witness has been cut, and so has the rôle of Mr Chaffanbrass (Peter Vaughan).

I'm used to this butchery on the part of PBS, but I had hoped that the DVDs at least would give me the whole thing.

The UK edition comes in four volumes, totalling 1260 minutes. The US edition lists 1335 minutes, but this presumably includes the three-part interview with Susan Hampshire.

I don't yet know whether the UK edition includes the missing footage; but if so, those in the US with an international DVD player may care to have the whole thing and sacrifice the interview, interesting though it is. March 18, 2008

Great introduction to Trollope.

I have not read Trollope, despite the British 19th Century novel being one of my favorite genres. I cut my teeth on Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot, etc., but never seemed to have gotten around to Trollope, either because of lack of time or that I subconsciously thought him not as worthwhile to read as the other luminaries from what I've gleaned of critics.

Recently, I checked out this BBC series from the library to get an idea whether his storytelling and treatment of themes and characters would be to my taste, and -- with the proviso, of course, that TV or film adaptations can never do complete justice to works of literature -- have found that they do and will look forward to reading him.

The series is very long (look to invest in at least several weekends and it helps if one has experienced previous long BBC sagas like The Forsytes) and is a bit slow-moving and soap-operatish in the first several episodes, but becomes fairly involving, intelligent, and rewarding as it moves along. It's uniformly well-acted (especially by the actors who played Phineas Finn and Mrs. Goesler) and has sumptuous sets and costumes (the opening scene at the Duke's garden party is a stunner).

Overall, this series gave me a good presentation of Trollope as a writer -- especially how he is much less prone to being sentimental and idealistic than Dickens and presents more shades of grey, certainly virtues in my book. November 27, 2007

A Must for Trollope Fans

This TV-drama from the 1970s still packs a punch,despite its years.Best of all its characterizations fom the novels ring true.The episodes work not from "special effects" but from authentic renderings of the people and issues that Trollope wanted to present to the reader.The producers have brought together a very talented team of actors,so that the stories come to life as real 19th Century types.Susan Hampshire is unforgettable as Lady Glencora and we are introduced to a very young Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrewes.This boxed set is a treasure to be watched over and over.It keeps its value and it continues to offer new insights into life among the movers and shakers of Victorian Britain. November 21, 2007

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