The Barchester Chronicles (1982)

A hilarious story that can be viewed over and over and still be amusing and delightful.

I am presently viewing The Barchester Chronicles for the 3rd time and enjoying it immensely. The characters are dead-on portrayals of villagers, clergymen and their wives and daughters with all their human foibles. Money, power and ego are fought for here behind all the facades of righteousness. Never depressing though; it's very funny and humor rules the day.
The role of the mild-mannered warden of the hospital is played very well by Donald Pleasance. Nigel Hawthorne is the Arch Deacon who can barely keep his temper under any circumstances, but finds it especially difficult when dealing with Bishop Proudy's shrew of a wife, played brilliantly by Geraldine McEwan (she's absolutely scary). Alan Rickman, as Mr. Slope, takes away top honors in his outstanding portrayal of the Bishop's chaplain. His slimy, smarmy persona counterbalances the witchy ways of Mrs. Proudy and together they manage to give the Bishop many of his "sick headaches."
Take the ride to Barchester, it's well worth the trip! August 10, 2008

Brilliant comic acting

For those who enjoy seeing great British actors at the peak of their form, this is a feast. Alan Rickman, Donald Pleasance, Nigel Hawthorne and Geraldine McEwan are brilliant, and funny, funny, funny. Don't miss it. July 1, 2008

The Barchester Chronicles

Worth seeing. Good, not great, but some very interesting characters. Alan Rickman is superb! June 4, 2008

Quite good, really

(I'm just trying to sound 19th-century British and failing - it's FABULOUS!)
This is one of the best shows of its type I've ever seen - maybe THE best. As others have noted, all the actors give great performances, and the humor is kick-your-heels riotous. Alan Rickman as Obadiah Slop(e) (hubby and I love the places where ladies say that Mr. Sleope's behaviuh is eodious) is enough to make the series great, but there is so much more!
Even the little baby in the piece is a good actor. Trollope was a comic genius and the makers of this series have done him full honor. I find myself nearly speechless in trying to describe the beauty of the scenes, the humor of the exchanges, the glory of the costumes...
We Americans, or a certain subset of us, have a strange nostalgia for an older England even if our mongrel ancestry is mostly German or something else. I'm certainly in the nostalgic group. The churches, cathedral scenes, old buildings, and so forth will make you yearn to be there, to walk beneath Gothic arches and hear a boy-choir sing its high, breathy anthem.
That said, I did get the feeling that too much was squeezed into the last episode, as though more had been filmed but time constraints had required it to be cut. In particular, the events of a certain garden party are only described by the actors, and we'd have LOVED to have seen them ourselves! There are even a couple of character motives which are not explained, as in the case of a lady who rather favored a certain wooer but has turned against him....and others. But the series is STILL GREAT ANYWAY! May 21, 2008

One of the Greats

First of all, you should read Trollope: The Warden and Barchester Towers. They are fabulously wonderful and entertaining books.

Then you should buy this film. It is a true masterpiece, which faithfully and effectively condenses the stories.

The acting is superb. Donald Pleasance was born to play Septimus Harding; he is magnificent as the cello-playing, kindly old warden. Nigel Hawthorne as the archdeacon is a scream: sputtering, constantly outraged, a wily, politically savvy climber who is at heart a solid and good man. Angela Pleasance plays his wife, who respectfully calls him "Archdeacon" at all times, even in bed. Clive Swift (Keeping Up Appearances) plays the weak and ineffectual bishop, while Geraldine McEwan plays his wife, Mrs. Proudy, who calls all the shots. But a new performer makes a huge impression, the one and only Alan Rickman, playing a reptilian subdeacon who is all about backstabbing and grabbing power.
This is a MUST SEE for all lovers of Brit period stuff. January 14, 2008

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