The Cazalets

Why did it stop when US got into it?? The books go all the way till the end of the war! This show won awards! How about making it again, the whole series!! It could be another Downton Abby! Perfect timing! It'll remind people what these countries went through to defend freedom! We need this type of programming to wake people up, especially in US! Make sure it shows in US! PBS could bring a lot of funding your way! We know the Republicans put you in a terrible bind concerning your Government Funding!! I thought they'd say this review was too long! Come to find out when you're done saying something you're not really done. Maybe now!

I really enjoyed this beautifully filmed series. The acting was top notch, but I still felt something was missing. I think it's because I wanted more in depth character development and background. I looked for the books and now realize that his could have been a much longer more in depth depiction. It's still worth watching, but I'm looking forward to reading the 5 books it was based on.

Cazalets is a sensitive portrait of complicated people. The fact that all the main characters belong to the same wealthy family makes their portrayed individuality even more unique. Historically there are some minor blurbs. But love, jealousy, sex, suffering, sorrow, death are unique to all times. Money and name cannot insulate us from the human condition, as the movie thoughtfully expounds. Five Stars !!!!! in my estimation.

Beware if you hope for all four volumes (never mind the later fifth that Elizabeth Jane Howard wrote much later). This adaptation breaks off abruptly. Did they plan more episodes? Did the money run out? Were some of the cast engaged elsewhere?

That said, it's well done, though lacks so much of the detail of the books, and Elizabeth Jane Howard had a gift for detail. There are some fine performances by actors destined for greater things. There is a BBC radio dramatisation which is said to be fuller, though curiously only episodes 3-10 are available through the BBC iPlayer, which is just as unsatisfactory.

...I'm afraid I missed that altogether.

The series has just finished its run on ABC-TV in Australia. I just can't recall what the point or plot of the series was. It drifted through a series of charming 1940s vignettes (far removed from the realities of the war) but never developed any action, any interest, or anything much at all. It sort of fizzled out in about 1942 with a pointless wedding. That bridal dress must have used a ton of coupons.

As pointed out in another review there were some glaring errors. (i) despite having their timber business bombed out by the Germans the Casulets managed to keep on with their luxurious middle class life with nary a blip. Even kept the servants on. Hardly did a lick of work at business, before or after the bombing - obviously one of those wonderful self-managing operations. (ii) Never was the tranquility of their splendiferous rural retreat disturbed by the passage of hundreds of low-flying aircraft overhead. Couldn't have been anywhere in the south. (iii) Always bright sunshine, even in the depths of winter. (iv) The airfield, with a single fighter that taxied back and forth, was a manicured bowling green. A rutted quagmire would have been realistic. The windows were always spotlessly clean and never fogged up.

On the other hand, perhaps this is what WWII was like for those with pots of money -- a bit of a doddle.

Summary: 4 out of 10. A tremendous disappointment. "Dad's Army" is more plausible than "The Cazalets".