Now all roads lead to France and heavy is the tread
Of the living; but the dead returning lightly dance.
Edward Thomas, Roads

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Coming Soon in America [I hope]: 37 Days

My correspondents in the UK have sent word that an excellent three-part docudrama on the July Crisis of 1914 has been presented on BBC2.  Titled 37 Days [28 June – 4 August 1914], it covers the period from the assassination of the Archduke to Britain's entry into the war. As one reviewer described it, "Judging by the unshowy casting, 37 Days isn't supposed to be the flagship drama of the BBC's centenary season, but it's terrifically well written, all the same. The dialogue, in particular, does an excellent job of conveying both the prevalent political mood and any diplomatic subtleties that might otherwise be lost on modern viewers."

Naturally, I'm unable to find any plans to show the series in the U.S. — I've checked the "usual suspects", PBS and BBC America, but have not seen any announcement yet. Please let me know if you see something about its broadcast in the States and I will pass it on to the readers. Here are some stills from the series. The casting might have been "unshowy", as the reviewer put it, but — as is almost invariably the case in UK productions — the actors look perfect for their roles. [Except Churchill, middle photo far right,  looks a little too lean. Maybe he sounds Churchillian.] 

[Regular Contributor Steve Miller has pointed out that they got the seating positions incorrect here. Sophie was on the right side in all photos of the day. Good catch Steve.]




8 comments:

  1. Worth watching if you get a chance too

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  2. Based on pictures of Churchill that I've seen of him during the period of his service as First Lord of the Admiralty, it looks to me like the casting director got that one right as well. He apparently didn't take on his portly composition until later on in his career.

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  3. Will keep watching the listings! Guy playing the Kaiser looks just fabulous.

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  5. Scott is right, google pictures of Churchill in 1914. https://www.google.com/search?q=winston+churchill+1914 Details of episodes and full casting here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/37_Days_(TV_series) Ian McDairmid (Emperor in Star Wars) plays Edward Grey.

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  6. I have seen this on DVD. It's excellent.

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    1. Amazon.com is listing the DVD as available for purchase on 19 August.

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  7. Great show 2nd episode due to start on ABC TV (Australia) in 20 minutes. Tomorrow Saturday ABC radio national have five hours on WWI starting 12 Noon EST. Second 5 hours on Sunday. It will stream on the net and also be available as podcasts. See the press release:
    http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/linkableblob/5530288/data/ww1-media-release-data.pdf

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