Wednesday, August 06, 2008

On Brideshead Revisited Revisited

A nice piece from Slate on the old series, in the wake of the new film. It recommends the old series and I'm taking it with me to FL.

I watched it when I was 15 and the experience was one that permeated my pours. Like many, I then began an anglophile, fell in perpetual love with Anthony Andrews (and became easy prey to anyone with the same eyes), and even bought a teddy bear at Vassar whom I named Aloysius too.

In 1988, I made a pilgrimage to Oxford and to Castle Howard. What I remember about the former was mowing down a pedestration when I was on my bike (that wrong side of the street thing) and of the latter, the expansive lawn with expansive peacocks.

When I worked at PBS for 4 years (also probably can chalked up to Brideshead), I learned that no one still knows how much that series cost.

But thank goodness it was made. It's part of who I am.

And, yeah, I'll probably still see the new film, if only for the sights and sounds of England and Venice in that period between the wars.

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