The Pallisers: 40th Anniversary Edition

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

This is a fine adaptation of six of my favorite Trollope novels and I’ve always loved it since it was first broadcast. In addition to an intelligent script it has many outstanding actors, including, just for example, Susan Hampshire and Jeremy Irons, and sumptuous sets. They don’t make television series like this any more. Nobody has the money for it.

I bought the original set of 12 DVD’s many years ago. In recent years my hearing has declined to the point where I can’t always understand what the characters are saying, which makes it hard to enjoy watching them. I was delighted when Acorn Media recently released this new set of DVD’s that includes subtitles, and I ordered it in advance from Amazon.

I’m happy to say that the new set is exactly as advertised. It’s all here; the only difference is the addition of English subtitles that can be turned on or off. The disks include a disclaimer apologizing for any lapses in picture or sound quality which may be caused by the age of the original material. In my opinion the disclaimer is entirely unnecessary; the picture and sound are perfect.

-Richard Partridge

I have read all six of the books in The Palliser series of novels by Anthony Trollope, one of my favorite English writers. This 40th Anniversary Edition has eight discs divided into twenty-six individual chapters. Each filmed chapter corresponds to a book in the six book series. We start with Can You Forgive Her, the weakest novel in the series, in my opinion, but necessary to establish our cast of characters and one ongoing problem that remains alive and well throughout the entire series.

Lady Glencora McCluskey is in love with a ne’er-do-well named Burgo Fitzgerald, a penniless fortune seeker who schemes to elope with the young lady, who is to be married against her will to the wealthy Plantagenet Palliser, the most important and enduring character in the entire series of novels and films. This theme of love’s labor lost will continue until the last novel in the series, The Duke’s Children.

In the second novel, Phineas Finn, the Irish member of Parliament, the story and films become genuinely interesting. Finn is an engaging and energetic young man liked by Lady Glencora and Plantagenet and taken up by them. Finn is loved by some and hated by others. His adventures give the entire series continuity and genuine interest.

Plantagenet Palliser, our most important character and good friend to Finn, is a member of the House of Commons; it is fair to say that the entire series of Palliser novels may be called political in nature as can all the films in the series. Plantagenet is nephew to the Duke of Omnium, an old man and one of the wealthiest people in England. The Duke intends to make Plantagenet his heir and Lady Glencora worries that the Duke’s attachment to one Madame Max Goesler may put those plans in jeopardy. Like Finn, Madam Max becomes an ongoing player in all the novels and discs of the films.

We take a side step with the third novel and discs in the films with The Eustace Diamonds. Some humor is provided in this interlude as Lady Eustace attempts to keep diamonds left to her by her dead husband. More important than the diamonds is the introduction of one of the villains in the series, the Reverend Mr. Emilius. He will figure prominently in the story and films when we begin the next novel and film chapters called Phineas Redux (Latin for again).

Finn is accused of murdering a hated enemy in Parliament, a Mr. Bonteen. The trial of Finn is genuinely interesting from beginning to end. No spoilers here. The reader of this review must read the book or see the films to find out what happens.

Politics takes front and center with the fifth book and series of films with The Prime Minister. Plantagenet becomes Prime Minister of England, the highest office in the land and now Lady Glencora, who has become Duchess of Omnium, is at the center of all the entertainments Plantagent, the newly made Prime Minister and Duke of Omnium, must give to manage the political scene and his constituents.

In the final book and series of films, The Duke’s Children, twenty-five years have passed and now the duke’s children take center stage as we close this engaging and entertaining story of the Pallisers. We have watched the Lady Glencora mature as an individual as she comes to truly know and love her husband, one of the finest men in England. Plantagenet Palliser may be a bit of a stuffed shirt, and he is, but he is a stuffed shirt who is a genuinely hard working, competent man who has the best interest in the people of England in his mind and heart and works tirelessly in their behalf.

This brief summary of almost six thousand pages of reading material and twenty-six evenings of watching each episode of the series gives the readers of this long review, my apologies, a good idea about what to expect if they decide to buy this series, as I did, a good decision on my part, I think.

The filmmakers have lavished time and expense on everything related to this production. We step back in time one hundred and fifty years to the England of Queen Victoria. The sets, the costumes, the physical locations are all meticulously prepared to allow us viewers the feeling that we are actually experiencing what it might be like to live in Victorian England.

As mentioned, the story is often compelling. We are able to take a genuine interest in some of the characters, particularly Phineas Finn, and we have plenty of time to watch as they resolve their many problems. The acting is also excellent in every respect and the cast of characters is large, but never are we confused in any way by what is happening to them over the twenty-five years of the story.

I thought the transfer of film to DVD was competent. The producers of this Anniversary Edition warn us that we will not have the clarity we expect with high definition television, and this is correct. That said, I thought the color, definition, and sound were good enough not to distract me from the ongoing story.

What impresses me most about this Anniversary Edition of The Palliser’s is the faithfulness of the adaptation to Anthony Trollope’s six Palliser novels. Never once did I think that the producers were taking liberties with the story. If anyone reading this review thinks that he/she will not be reading the six thousand pages of the novels but still wants to become acquainted with Trollope’s ongoing story of the Pallisers, this series of films does justice to Trollope’s vision for this major work of English literature. Highly recommended.

– Russell Fanelli

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Susan Hampshire, Philip Latham, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Andrews
Directors: Hugh David, Ronald Wilson
Format: Box set, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 8
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: ACORN MEDIA
DVD Release Date: October 15, 2013
Run Time: 1340 minutes
ASIN: B00DW5ILF6