The American (Masterpiece Theatre) 1/4
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- Опубликовано: 27 май 2012
- 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.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/a... 
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Thank you for puting this movie. Back here in Romania it was shown only once a few years ago.I couldn't find it anywhere. Thank you again. Great performance for Matthew Modine.
Thank you for this posting. I'm a long time fan of Masterpiece Theater, and really enjoy seeing some of the earlier productions!
It sometimes seems that one of the golden rules of adapting a novel to a movie is not to respect the novel´s plot but to change as much of it as you can. This is the case here. The people in charge of the script probably think they can write better than James.
Owwww Diana Rigg steal the Scene
Love her in every episodes
Bring back memories
Wow! All Henry James's subtlety, his sparkling ironical wit, his trenchant social observation - all the delicate psychological insight - all the careful plot development -- thrown in the rubbish bin. Instead we get a farcical bodice-ripper. It's unrecognizable as the same story and, even on its own terms, it's overblown and hopelessly melodramatic. Just ghastly.
Lol I love both reviews.
Are you kidding? This was so close to the book!
@@cruisepaige Within the first five minutes, fairly important details were changed. Newman is supposed to know of Tristram before their reunion in Paris, and the encounter with Noémie Nioche in the museum gallery is supposed to be painfully hard, because Newman cannot communicate effectively without the aide of M. Nioche’s modest help. In the opening scene, Marquis Henri de Bellegarde is supposed to write his last words of warning against his wife’s plot to murder him in French, which Miss Bread cannot read. In this version, he tells Bread about it, rather than leave his last words a partial mystery that Newman must decipher with his acquired French language skill by the end of the novel.
@@cruisepaige Are YOU kidding? This is one of the worst book to movies I've ever seen. Henry James must be rolling over in his grave!
I don't know the original story so just enjoying it as it's presented.
Seven hells! Lady Olenna is arranging another marriage.... lol!
Strange premise. The English nobility laid hands on any rich American heiress they could find to maintain their castles when their fortunes wained.
+Neil Whatmough This is about a French family, that's why it takes place in Paris. It's confusing because it's in English but it's like Frida in English when it should have been in Spanish.
+Neil Whatmough American heiress- yes. American men- no matter how rich- no. And, yeah, this is set in France, anyway.
I am almost positive they took American sons as well--and not just in England, but throughout Europe. The estates would already be entailed to a long line of male heirs of the family--so there would be no danger that the crass American family could ever lay claim to the European aristocratic land/home/tenants/history. But, it would still bolster the family to have daughters married off well--to son-in-laws whom their family could tap for money to keep their estates and family name/reputation in good tick. And the American family would have the advantage of being legitimized, through marrying into the aristocracy.
that is the truth. without the rich american heiresses,no mansions,castles would exist,falling into disrepair,ruin.just lucky that they were able to maintain thier lifestyle,and not have to live like the rest of the population did..
@@iLoveLadyDiana The Dowager Marquise is an Englishwoman in the novel. She is the daiughter of the Earl of St Dunstan's. This fact is used in the book to explain how she and her children speak such good English.
You're welcome! I'm glad you like this film.
Set in 1877, originally broadcast in 1998.
No, set in 1868. In the book, it is clear that the Civil War has recently ended and that Emperor Napoleon III is in power (though the Bellegarde family does not accept his legitimacy). By 1877, when the story was first serialized in The Atlantic, France was again a republic. The story was a backward glance to a vanished moment in history.
It is the direction, its horrible. Sad that this is associated with Henry James.
I've written my own version of this adaptation from the book. Looking forward to seeing how this compares with mine. ;)
io sono italiana ed adoro questi movie, vorrei averli tutti sottotitolati in italiano
se lo vorrete fare molto grazie da vittoria - siracusa sicilia
Brava! Many thanks for this fine offering.
How I wish we could all wear those gorgeous hats....both male and female....we would have to clean up our dress act considerably though.
+Sue Harvey Someday... surely someday the t-shirt will die! Or go back under real clothes, where it belongs.
Imagine Henry James wearing a shirt with... with words printed on it...
Sue Harvey
I like this movie
I still wear hats .... grew up doing do and obviously when I had lives in France ... Sue, begin NOW !!!
Unbearable. I had to stop watching, Like the script says, I'd be safer in Milwaukee.
In my humble opinion, the Costumes and the settings were the only interesting part of this slow, disappointing plot for a TV Movie.
An absolutely dreadful and vulgar adaptation with almost no fidelity to the original novel. The script is truly appalling, as is almost everything else about this cheap production. Nevertheless, I'm glad I had the opportunity to see just how terrible it is. Thanks for uploading.
Beautiful
The music shunts back and forth from period music to new age, very jarring. Whoever wrote the screenplay for this considers soft porn the very zenith of culture. The main character hops into bed with an implausible lack of preamble. The girl he spurns is far prettier than the lady on his pedestal. I watched because I admire Diana Rigg. I'm glad she found more worthy roles later in her career. The character Valentin brings from refreshing comedy relief. I am reassured from other comments this adaptation is entirely unfaithful to the author.
Interesting. Not my favorite of Henry James´but palatable. In the end of the day, the US is seing itself on the mirror of a mirror. And you know hat happens in Optics then - a mirror of a mirror is an unfinite, endless series of mirrors...
A great masterpiece of the greatest novelist of the 19th century, in which henry james criticizes the American and European societies of that era
.....None of which survives in this horrible, cheap, vulgar production.
I thought he was wonderful in this movie, as were all the actors. Sorry you feel that way.
The American Masterpiece Theatre just means good British television fare.
That British widow is not attractive at all.
Not in this movie. It's garbage.
This version is censored, The young woman is raped by the bald man on the orders of her father at the start of the film and the rest of the story unfolds from that, Take out that scene and the rest makes no sense, I saw the original when it was first shown, this is a butchered version.
That most certainly is NOT in the book...
Whether censored or not, this adaptation is still complete crap.
Never saw the uncensored version but this version seems like the dad does not want her to marry bald guy and the mom does. This version it seems the mom would want that to happen more then the dad.