Fortunes of War

Starring:Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Rupert Graves, Robert Stephens, Ronald Pickup, Vernon Dobtcheff, Ronald Fraser, Greg Hicks, Nickey Margolis, Mark Drewry, Gertan Klauber, Charles Kay, Caroline Langrishe, Leslie Southwick, Clifford Rose, Esmond Knight, Anthony Calf, Snezana Savic, Michael Cochrane, George Savvides, Olivia Manning
Director: James Cellan Jones
Studio: BBC Warner
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

"Wherever we are, that will always be the center of things." So professor Guy Pringle reassures his new wife, Harriet. Unfortunately, where they are is Bucharest in 1939, with the Nazis gathering on the border, and fascism casting longer, darker shadows. Thus begins this epic 1987 miniseries based on Olivia Manning's Balkan and Levant trilogies that was originally broadcast in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre. For most Americans, it was an auspicious first look at England's glamorous former First Thespian couple, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, who, as one character notes of Harriet, "lightens the darkness." Fortunes of War suggests what Casablanca might have been like had it followed Victor and Ilsa instead of Rick, who famously didn't want to stick his neck out for anybody. Not Guy. "I want to do something more dramatic than lecturing," he proclaims. "It is our duty to shine a little light to hope someone notices." His activities are enough to put him on a Nazi death list, forcing Guy and Harriet to Greece and Egypt. "It isn't a lark," Guy tells Harriet early on, "but it is an adventure." Fortunes of War is populated by colorful characters, most notably the pitiable and decidedly untrustworthy Prince Yakimov (Ronald Pickup), and the dashing young soldier Simon Boulderstone (Rupert Graves of The Forsythe Saga and A Room with a View). There is plenty of intrigue, betrayals, domestic melodrama, and emotional separations and reunions to propel this nearly seven-hour production to its powerful conclusion. Readers of Manning's books and Branagh and Thompson fans will find the release of War good fortune indeed. --Donald Liebenson

Description

The Baltics, 1939. British professor Guy Pringle (Kenneth Branagh) arrives in Romania with his new bride, Harriet (Emma Thompson) and becomes enmeshed in the politics of anti-fascism. Despite Harriet's serious misgivings, Guy's social circle soon includes members of the British Secret Service who want to involve him in dangerous missions, and a downtrodden prince who zeroes in on Guy's generous nature and winds up living with the Pringles. Thus the stage is set for this mesmerizing story of marriage tested by accidental betrayal, callous insensitivity, and a world in upheaval. Based upon the autobiographical novels of best-selling author Olivia Manning, and set in places as far-flung as Bucharest, Athens and Cairo, Fortunes of War is majestic in both its scope and its vision.

Customer Reviews:

Choose Carefully.......2007-07-04

Brilliant Series, but unfortunatly , the copy I received was Region 1, and I was unable to play it on my DVD player. No worries on my computer, but the big screen was impossible. But a top show.

Everything I expected - and more!.......2007-06-19

This is a brilliant series with a wonderful cast.

As I'm not one to give away plot and action in any film, I'm going to limit my review to what I've stated already.

This is a five star production from some great actors, Including Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Ronald Pickup. There are a lot of cameo roles from people who acted in great films in the past as well.

This one will have you on the edge of your seat, but set aside some time for it. It's worth every minute on the clock.

A little-known gem of a miniseries.......2007-04-08

On the brink of World War II, follow a young British academic couple (played by Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh)from Bucharest to Athens to Egypt.
Meet their friends, their refugees, their colleagues, and the locals in each country who are bewildered, befriended, bemused, or betrayed by the Brits.
Learn a lot of history painlessly as the inevitability of the war unfolds.
Become interested enough to go back to the original Olivia Manning novels; for once the film does the book justice. The series has excellent detail in costumes, language, politics, dress, silliness, and seriousness. The plot is complex and compelling, the writing literate, intelligent, and entertaining. Best of all, the acting is superb.

Thompson the terrible.......2007-02-13

Why do I dislike Emma Thompson so much as an actress? Aha, I know why -- she can't act. She can read lines and make gestures, but never makes me believe for a second that she's who she's pretending to be. She ruins everything she touches. I have to admit I couldn't watch this in its entirety, purely because of her. For those who haven't seen the show, just look at her picture on the box; she looks like a woman wearing a hat that belongs somewhere, anywhere, else. It's like a pimple on cheese. Apart from her, it was OK, but I don't like Branagh either, another actor afflicted with an unhealthy dose of self-consciousness in his acting, which is fatal.

quick and perfect, thank you very much!.......2007-01-18

I ordered the DVD in the US around the 15th Dez. and it was delivered at Cologne only two weeks later - I think this is a good job.

Fortunes of War [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Average customer rating:

Fortunes of War [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]
Director: Thierry Notz
Manufacturer: Force Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000F8H75I

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), SYNOPSIS: When Canadian diplomat Carl Pimmler (Michael Ironside) sends his friend Peter Kernan (Matt Salinger) and his wife Johanna (Sam Jenkins) deep into the jungles of Cambodia to deliver a truck load of medicine, he fails to tell him about true nature of his business. Peter must use his experience and knowledge of South East Asia to get them out of this dangerous mess. SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access,

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