The American (Masterpiece Theatre) 4/4
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- The era when upstart America challenged the ancient privileges of Europe is portrayed in The American, an adaptation of Henry James's darkly romantic novel.
Set in 1868, the story follows the fortunes of Christopher Newman (Matthew Modine), a 19th-century new man who has amassed a fortune in California and heads to Europe to learn its ways and find a wife. After arriving in Paris, naïvely receptive to all its charms and mysteries, he becomes enchanted with Claire de Cintré (Aisling O'Sullivan), a young Parisian widow whose beauty and enigmatic background ignite obsessive desire in the handsome American. But his overtures are discouraged in no uncertain terms by Claire's imperious mother, Madame de Bellegarde (Emmy award winner Diana Rigg), a descendant of ancient nobility who stops at nothing to arrange coldhearted aristocratic matches for her children. Featuring Diana Rigg and Matthew Modine in a classic from Henry James.
http:--www.pbs.org-wgbh-masterpiece-americancollection-american-index.html
What a masterpiece, engaging watch from start to finish, stellar cast, meszmerising cinematography... one of my favorite novels marvellous executed in every way. Bravo 👏👏👏👏 THANK YOU for uploading ❤
I watched this for an assignment for a literature course I'm currently taking at my university in order to give an insight on the book's author, Henry James and his literary style. I have read the comments here and I must say that I'm perplexed at the negative reviews. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I'm not even someone who typically enjoys books/movies such as this. I loved Valentine as a character and the main actress (Ainsley O'Sullivan) is extraordinarily beautiful!
A very compact version. I think a lot was lost.
Thanks for posting. Henry James was so dark. A great production. I miss Masterpiece!
Thank you for uploading this wonderful series plus doing it in 4 parts. As I read numerous posts I was surprised to find so many viewers who may have not read many novels or seen plays and opera. If we only had happy endings we would not be able to feel a full range of human emotions.
This masterpiece theatre movie predictably turns into a tragedy! However, it is an engaging watch from start to finish if you love the traditions and emotions of that era and believe in the "high love" that individuals can experience! Both Diana Rigg and Mathew Modine give extraordinary preformances and the girl is extremely graceful and beautiful! Give yourself a break from totally predictable modern day romances and spend a couple of hours watching something that makes you believe in "true love" again!
Really a masterpiece! Beautifull actors and direction as well!
Terrific production. I can't understand people complaining about the ending; it was inevitable.
Inevitable?just for coward stupid women like her. Most women havent an opportunity like this in their entire life and this stupid prejudiced woman and coward demonstrated was that a stupid nothing else
I know this was put together rather shoddily but it was worth it to get to see Matthew Modine. He's always been great.
The most boring and thrown together thing I've ever seen on Masterpiece. Boo.
In the trash it goes!!!
yep
Thank you. It's a great movie, but the ending is very sad.
The only half happy ending James ever wrote was his last book, the Ambassadors. Still, I'd hoped M.T. might have taken some liberties ..
I do not understand how he trust the mother and ( simply ) he give her the letter?? I think he must have keep the letter with him at least till they get married ... incase she broke her promise!!
In other side, i can see the most successful stories when there is a ( happy end ), if you do not want to make it happy end, at least make a ( point ) in the end !!!
Thanks
Ohhh. A few of the most exquisitely crafted paragraphs written in English to end a novel ended "the American" -- and the film makers ignored it all and changed the ending. What a travesty. How do you have it in you to alter an artwork?
I thought so.
Dear Diana Rigg, we still love you. This was not your fault. I do not think there is an actor on the planet who could have saved this turkey. This screenplay is an insult to the author.
I echo the sentiments of an earlier commenter... BOO! Masterpiece WTH???? This totally SUCKED!
agreed
Do not understand why it had to end like this. But good acting. She should have started her life new and no longer let her mother and that horrible husband drag her down anymore. Being happy could have been her revenge.
Because the woman was stupid big mistake of him fall in love with a coward woman big mistake
Henry James is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism. As it turns out those ideas in the middle remain a mystery and impossible to understand, a puzzle with no final answer.
I know. The first half of the video is amazing and romantic and the rest is just so dark and unfulfilling.
I am so happy to be American right now. Forever hopeful, unbound.
Mr James is muttering long, elegant sentences while rolling in his grave.
Regrettably a waste of time................
A very nice entertaining movie. I thought Clare & Christopher will be together in the end but not so. Oh well....maybe in another life time. hehehehe....I loved Diana Rigg when she was a Special Agent. That was a nice TV series too.~~~SHERLOCK
I seem to remember that at the end if the book he realised that the brother and the sister were themselves snobs too.
Anne O'Kelly and and
Totally ingrained
What addiction and co-dependence...
First aired on the BBC in 1998. Totally awesome classic!!! Thanks to 'GBH for this programme.
The movie it self was good for Masterpiece...Nice...
It was dark but romantic, still. I enjoyed it. Thank you, Beautiiful, for posting it.
This film makes no sense whatsoever to the point of the ridiculous. Besides everyone talking in riddles with no clear reasons for what they do. Why a maid runs away in fear then comes back-and says "I cannot tell you what I fear" WHat? Totally unworthy of Masterpiece Theater.
True, the other nonsense thing was when he decided to go get her stuff, knowing how rotten her family is, he couldn't just take her from the monastery, bring to California and buy all that "stuff". Its like grab her and run. Thumbs down for this movie.
EXACTLY, I mean, something going awry was almost predictable at that moment... has the taste of a cheep kid's cartoon "but I was foiled by you rotten kids", HEY MISTER: DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAHHHHHH wake up and smell the English tea , and THEN to let her go at the end... i'da carried my love off and forced her to understand, or lock myself to something refusing to eat until she'd come away with me!!!! what a waste of time, I mean really
i think that it does not match the book....
@@MarileneSawaf did you read the book ?I wanted to read it but after watching this boring movie I changed my mind
Missing in translation something major
An adaptation of the novel is the right description, as it deviates from the edition of the Henry James novel which I read. However, I still enjoyed picking out the various characters and comparing them with my imagined ones.
The acting is really nice...
Yes and sets.
If the hero had that much fight in him, he would have forced Claire to marry him and taken her to live outside of New York where she could ride horses all day.
Very dark and depressing. The actress that played Claire wasn't casted well. She looked homely and haggard. Someone more beautiful and spirited would have made her part more believable. Waste of time.
Yes, makes me wonder what he saw in her. She looks OK but doesn't seem to have any personality.
What's with the orbs at 3:55?
Smoke.
Horrible, sad ending
I wrote an adaptation of my own. More faithful to the book, which still doesn't answer many questions or much sense, than this one. My script balances comedy-of-manners with melodrama, and is far more engaging, if I do say so myself. And yes, Mrs. Bread is in it too! :)
If you are going to post something at least get it right. After watching 3 of the parts, the 4th one is completely out of focus and get be watched.
I know. That didn't make the most sense. If anything, everything of her's should have been left and she could have started her new life with nothing from her past.
really good show, worth watcing
What a depressing bunch. Dark.
The literature it's based on is dark and hopeless. People actually lived that way though. Their happiness and even having love meant nothing. Honor and status and family wealth and connections meant everything...this still takes place in some families...they believe it's better to marry within their own clan/tribe and be used and abused than it is to find love and happiness out in the world.
Who fantasizes about reality? You think when women fantasize about being raped, they think of a frightening, life-threatening ordeal? No, they manipulate themselves into thinking they'll have control of the situation. That's what a fantasy is: a highly unlikely situation but one that's fun to dream about, even if it does give you a false sense of hope.
And no, the US is not THE place for women. Europe and Australia are far more advanced.
What an awful movie.
agreed
And the point was? The second half was boring and pointless.
That is right.."and the point was??" I think the point is...hmm, "it is better to not fall in love," :) .. both men in this story had a sad end just because they fall in love ! Poor both of them !
This book is written by the same writer who wrote The Turn of the Scew and that ending was pointless.
Well that sure was a waste of time!
I couldn’t make head nor tail out of this not my cup of tea. Even though I’m Irish and I seen a few Irish actors in it.
I could write a novella describing this film, but i won't. I will simply state: THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY SUCKY MOVIE. Could have been good, but it was all over the place. The lousiness of it is indescribable.
BRapppppppp! Total turdburger as others have said.
Now I have to read the Henry James novel. I'm guessing it was good.
One stupid senseless movie. Absolute 0
Unreal and stupid ending.
This was awful. Badly made and an utterly ridiculous ending. Nothing of it was cohesive or sensible.
Great cast. Terrible script. Just a waste of time.
What a dumb ending. They ruined the whole movie.