Women in Love - finally an airdate!
And that airdate is TOMORROW! The BBC two-part adaptation of DH Lawrence's Women in Love and The Rainbow starts tomorrow, Thursday 24 March 2011 at 9 pm / 21:00 on BBC Four and concludes Thursday 31 March.
The adaptation was filmed in South Africa as opposed to in Nottinghamshire, where the book is actually set, for "budgetary constraints". Last time I remember seeing outdoors South Africa trying to pose as outdoors England was in Merlin: The Return, and the least said about that film the better. (Scenery was just one of many things that let thatpiece of sh production down.) It looked nothing like England, let's put it that way.
I'm curious about this production. I've managed to claw my way through Women in Love so that I'm now about half-way through chapter 29, leaving only two more chapters to go. Largely thanks to the commendable recording courtesy of Ruth Golding (LibriVox), which has allowed me to listen to it in the car or while making dinner, because the actual novel itself has laid largely untouched on the side in the bathroom. I've just found it tremendously difficult to get into and have found the characters to be dislikeable to varying degrees and it just hasn't grabbed me or my attention very well, not to mention the too-sudden changes in people's reactions that confuse me. (Will get to that when I finish the darn thing and actually review it.)
The Rainbow is part of the same omnibus (a big, orange thing from the early 1980s) that contains Women in Love and three short story/novellas, and if the first novel of that thing is hard to get into and I don't even like the characters, how the hell am I supposed to get through The Rainbow? Maybe Debra Lynn (LibriVox) can be of assistance. :)
In any case, watching the two books in two parts on the telly will do the job pretty well, I reckon. I hope so, anyway. What's a few more short hours with Gudrun and Ursula when I've endured so many already? Maybe the adaptation can even make the story palatable and make The Rainbow appear interesting enough to start reading. Although not just yet. Picked up another collection of DH Lawrence's short stories from a charity shop recently, and that, shall we say, tempts me a whole lot more at the moment. But we'll see.
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| Ursula (Rachael Stirling) and Gudrun (Rosamund Pike) |
The adaptation was filmed in South Africa as opposed to in Nottinghamshire, where the book is actually set, for "budgetary constraints". Last time I remember seeing outdoors South Africa trying to pose as outdoors England was in Merlin: The Return, and the least said about that film the better. (Scenery was just one of many things that let that
I'm curious about this production. I've managed to claw my way through Women in Love so that I'm now about half-way through chapter 29, leaving only two more chapters to go. Largely thanks to the commendable recording courtesy of Ruth Golding (LibriVox), which has allowed me to listen to it in the car or while making dinner, because the actual novel itself has laid largely untouched on the side in the bathroom. I've just found it tremendously difficult to get into and have found the characters to be dislikeable to varying degrees and it just hasn't grabbed me or my attention very well, not to mention the too-sudden changes in people's reactions that confuse me. (Will get to that when I finish the darn thing and actually review it.)
The Rainbow is part of the same omnibus (a big, orange thing from the early 1980s) that contains Women in Love and three short story/novellas, and if the first novel of that thing is hard to get into and I don't even like the characters, how the hell am I supposed to get through The Rainbow? Maybe Debra Lynn (LibriVox) can be of assistance. :)
In any case, watching the two books in two parts on the telly will do the job pretty well, I reckon. I hope so, anyway. What's a few more short hours with Gudrun and Ursula when I've endured so many already? Maybe the adaptation can even make the story palatable and make The Rainbow appear interesting enough to start reading. Although not just yet. Picked up another collection of DH Lawrence's short stories from a charity shop recently, and that, shall we say, tempts me a whole lot more at the moment. But we'll see.
You've got to wonder why travelling for Africa is cheaper for the BBC than filming IN BRITAIN.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't get that one 'round me head either! They said on the radio this morning that it was also down to not being able to film in Eastwood itself, due to "wherever you point a camera in Eastwood, there's IKEA" ... which is true. But there's no IKEA in Kimberley or Nuthall or Ilkeston or any other places nearby. Also, Nottingham is a cheaper place to live than London, so yeah, still doesn't make sense.
ReplyDeleteI tried to watch it on the computer and it is "unavailable in my area." Can't download it either. UGH. Had a good laugh at myself when I sat down to watch it right before 9 pm...Eastern Standard Time!!!
ReplyDeleteThe current advertising blitz over here is for Kate Winslet in "Mildred Pierce" on HBO (which I don't get). I'm going to invite myself over to my sister-in-law's house to watch the first episode (of FIVE). There was a good write-up in the New Yorker this week, and there was also an article about Joan Crawford / Mildred Pierce a few months ago, so it has been on my mind for a while. Yet another thing for my to-do list: read the book, watch the 1945 version, watch the 2011 version.
Ohh haha, yes, it was GMT, although I would've thought saying it was on BBC Four would've given it away! :) Been gathering a few reviews from UK newspapers, so will make a post a bit later. Didn't actually watch it last night (recorded it, might watch tonight) as we were watching a DVD instead, so still have it to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of Mildred Pierce, but Kate Winslet is great, so I'll be sure to keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the tip! :)
Yeah, I know BBC Four is GMT, but my brain plays tricks on me like that. I have learned to play along and laugh it off.
ReplyDelete