Any film that boasts Diana Rigg, Pamela Brown (my god, those eyes!), Gwen Watford, and Denis Quilley can't be all bad, but "In This House of Brede" seems to make a great effort to be just that.
I recall watching it on PBS here in New York when it first came out and enjoying it. Later, I read the book. I just reread the book and found the film on line so I could compare the two while the book was fresh in my mind. Yes, it's hard to distill a book into a 90-minute film and yes, you probably have to leave out bits and pieces to do it but these people made a real hash of the job. They muddled the plot in a big way, inventing relationships that didn't exist and leaving out crucial characters and background. For instance, the scene between Joanna and David makes no sense whatever because the writers eliminated all of the background that would have explained it.
The relationship between Dame Philippa and Dame Agnes is threaded throughout the entire book and makes sense of Agnes's coldness toward Philippa. In the film, I suppose Joanna's behavior to Philippa may explain it but since this never existed in the book we really don't know. Sir Richard barely existed in the book while another friend from Philippa's office is a larger and more welcome presence there but was completely eliminated from the film.
I suppose I am just disappointed by the way the writers treated the book. It is so rich in character and rich in the Catholic and Benedictine philosophy and none of that comes out in the film. It's like they pulled bits and pieces from the book at random and few of them relate to each other.
Still, by all means watch the film if you can find it (I found it on YouTube), those actors would be worth watching in a flea circus, but please, do yourself a favor and read Rumer Godden's book, it is marvelous.
.
I recall watching it on PBS here in New York when it first came out and enjoying it. Later, I read the book. I just reread the book and found the film on line so I could compare the two while the book was fresh in my mind. Yes, it's hard to distill a book into a 90-minute film and yes, you probably have to leave out bits and pieces to do it but these people made a real hash of the job. They muddled the plot in a big way, inventing relationships that didn't exist and leaving out crucial characters and background. For instance, the scene between Joanna and David makes no sense whatever because the writers eliminated all of the background that would have explained it.
The relationship between Dame Philippa and Dame Agnes is threaded throughout the entire book and makes sense of Agnes's coldness toward Philippa. In the film, I suppose Joanna's behavior to Philippa may explain it but since this never existed in the book we really don't know. Sir Richard barely existed in the book while another friend from Philippa's office is a larger and more welcome presence there but was completely eliminated from the film.
I suppose I am just disappointed by the way the writers treated the book. It is so rich in character and rich in the Catholic and Benedictine philosophy and none of that comes out in the film. It's like they pulled bits and pieces from the book at random and few of them relate to each other.
Still, by all means watch the film if you can find it (I found it on YouTube), those actors would be worth watching in a flea circus, but please, do yourself a favor and read Rumer Godden's book, it is marvelous.
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