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Wessex Tales A Tragedy of Two Ambitions (1973– ) Online

Wessex Tales A Tragedy of Two Ambitions (1973– ) Online
Original Title :
A Tragedy of Two Ambitions
Genre :
TV Episode / Drama
Year :
1973–
Directror :
Michael Tuchner
Cast :
John Hurt,David Troughton,Paul Rogers
Writer :
Thomas Hardy,Dennis Potter
Type :
TV Episode
Time :
49min
Rating :
8.4/10
Wessex Tales A Tragedy of Two Ambitions (1973– ) Online

This is the first of Dennis Potter's adaptations from Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). It aired on WESSEX TALES, a BBC2 series devoted to Hardy dramatizations. Hardy was born in Dorsetshire, an area he called Wessex in his writings, including WESSEX POEMS (1898). As in the original short story, two brothers attained respectable positions, but then feel they must do something about their father's lowly status. Five years later, Potter did a BBC2 miniseries adaptation of Hardy's 1886 novel, THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE.
Episode cast overview:
John Hurt John Hurt - Joshua Harlborough
David Troughton David Troughton - Cornelius Harlborough
Paul Rogers Paul Rogers - Mr. Harlborough
Lynne Frederick Lynne Frederick - Rosa Harlborough
Heather Canning Heather Canning - Selimar
Edward Petherbridge Edward Petherbridge - Squire Fellmer
Betty Cooper Betty Cooper - Mrs. Fellmer
Dan Meaden Dan Meaden - Countryman
Andrew McCulloch Andrew McCulloch - Farm Laborer
John Rainer John Rainer - Clergyman
Peter Bennett Peter Bennett - Principal


User reviews

Coiriel

Coiriel

In 1974 or so,I saw three of these hour-adaptations from Hardy's short fictions, broadcast on a Georgia PBS station. I have never heard of them being shown again in this country. What stuck in the mind was the ferocity of their ironies-- the several dooms the series' characters brought upon themselves. I discover now that Dennis Potter supervised the series, wrote some of the scripts-- and the link between these stories and the perversities of PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, written soon after, is a revelation (read "Barbara of the House of Grebe"-- a brutal ghost story like nothing else I've read in Hardy). I would love to have copies of these shows.