Middlemarch (TV serial)
Middlemarch is a 1994 television adaptation of the 1871 novel of the same name by George Eliot. Produced by the BBC on BBC2 in six episodes (seven episodes in the worldwide TV series), it is the second such adaptation for television of the novel. It was directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Andrew Davies, and starred Juliet Aubrey, Rufus Sewell, Douglas Hodge and Patrick Malahide.
| Middlemarch | |
|---|---|
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| Written by | George Eliot (novel) Andrew Davies |
| Directed by | Anthony Page |
| Starring | Juliet Aubrey Rufus Sewell Douglas Hodge Patrick Malahide Trevyn McDowell Julian Wadham Robert Hardy Peter Jeffrey Michael Hordern |
| Theme music composer | Stanley Myers |
| Composer(s) | Stanley Myers (episode 1) Christopher Gunning (episode 2–6) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | originally aired as 6, but 7 on the worldwide release |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Michael Wearing Rebecca Eaton |
| Producer(s) | Louis Marks |
| Production location(s) | Stamford, Lincolnshire, England Yeovil, Somerset, England |
| Cinematography | Brian Tufano |
| Editor(s) | Jerry Leon Paul Tothill |
| Running time | 75 minutes (x1) 60 minutes (x5) |
| Production company(s) | WGBH Productions for BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC2 |
| Picture format | 14:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 12 January – 16 February 1994 |
Plot
Dorothea Brooke (Juliet Aubrey) attempts to satisfy her underdeveloped intellect through marriage to the Reverend Edward Casaubon (Patrick Malahide), a man twice her age. The marriage proves unsatisfying and ends with Casaubon's unexpected death. Dorothea eventually meets Will Ladislaw (Rufus Sewell), an event which leads to further complications.
For a full-length summary see: Middlemarch plot summary.
Cast
- Juliet Aubrey as Dorothea Brooke
- Patrick Malahide as Rev. Edward Casaubon
- Rufus Sewell as Will Ladislaw
- Douglas Hodge as Dr Tertius Lydgate
- Robert Hardy as Arthur Brooke
- Caroline Harker as Celia Brooke
- Julian Wadham as Sir James Chettam
- Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Cadwallader
- Jonathan Firth as Fred Vincy
- Trevyn McDowell as Rosamund Vincy
- Michael Hordern as Peter Featherstone
- Rachel Power as Mary Garth
- Peter Jeffrey as Bulstrode
- Judi Dench as George Eliot (voiceover)
Awards
- British Academy Television Awards - Best Actress (Juliet Aubrey), Best Make Up, Best Original Television Music
- Broadcasting Press Guild Awards - Best Actress (Juliet Aubrey)
- Writers' Guild of Great Britain - Best Dramatised Serial
- Television and Radio Industries Club Awards - BBC Programme of the Year
Reactions
In a 28 March 1994 review for The New York Times, Elizabeth Kolbert said the mini-series was a hit in Britain as it "mesmerized millions of viewers here, setting off a mini-craze for Victorian fiction. In its wake there were Middlemarch lectures, Middlemarch comics, even a wave of Middlemarch debates. Authors and columnists argued in the London papers over whether Dorothea would, in fact, live happily ever after, whether Casaubon, if left alone, would have finished his great work and finally whether Will Ladislaw entered his marriage bed a virgin."[1] In an 11 April 1994 review in Time magazine, John Elson also noted this fact, further stating that the series, "was a recent critical and popular success in Britain, leading to lectures and even debates on the novel. As a result of the show, a Penguin paperback of the novel topped best-seller lists for five weeks, and is still doing well. The town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, where exteriors were filmed, is preparing for a summertime influx of tourists."[2]
External links
- AMG listing - New York Times movie section
- Middlemarch at BBC Programmes
- Middlemarch on IMDb
- Middlemarch at TV.com