Benefit
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2002
- Messages
- 5,193
All The King's Men, produced by the BBC in 1999 for Masterpiece Theatre, is a fantastic historical drama.
It is set in 1915 and tells the true story of the Royal British Army's Sandringham Company, a battalion composed entirely of workers and servants drawn from the Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, a private retreat for the Royal Family. They were led by Frank Beck, the frumpy Estate Manager, and were deployed in the disastrous Dardanelles campaign. According to legend, as the Sandringham Company advanced on the Turkish line, a mist descended from the sky and enveloped the company. They were never seen again. No official explanation was ever given.
What really happened, of course, is that the entire company was massacred. Due to poor military intelligence, tactical reconnaissance and just all around bad military leadership, the assault had no chance of victory. Most of the company was lost in the initial battle. The Turkish Army, infamous for not taking prisoners, captured the stragglers and summarily executed every one of them. The bodies were never recovered.
All The King's Men is a terrific rendering of this forgotten story. It is carried along by wonderful performances (particularly impressive is Maggie Smith's portrayal of Queen Alexandra) and a complex narrative structure that offers an extremely subtle and penetrating analysis of English culture; the relationship between Sovereign and Servant is right on the nose. Whether it is on the battle field or the carefully manicured grounds of the estate, restrained affection and abject loyalty swirl around on another, with an occasional smattering of raw human emotion thrown in for good measure.
There's some definite patriotic John Bull drum beating going on here, and historical liberties were taken for the purpose of heroic glorification. Nonetheless, the heart of the story is a moving and richly layered exploration of English society in the early 20th century. This is not a war movie; it is a movie about England and I loved it.
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.
It is set in 1915 and tells the true story of the Royal British Army's Sandringham Company, a battalion composed entirely of workers and servants drawn from the Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, a private retreat for the Royal Family. They were led by Frank Beck, the frumpy Estate Manager, and were deployed in the disastrous Dardanelles campaign. According to legend, as the Sandringham Company advanced on the Turkish line, a mist descended from the sky and enveloped the company. They were never seen again. No official explanation was ever given.
What really happened, of course, is that the entire company was massacred. Due to poor military intelligence, tactical reconnaissance and just all around bad military leadership, the assault had no chance of victory. Most of the company was lost in the initial battle. The Turkish Army, infamous for not taking prisoners, captured the stragglers and summarily executed every one of them. The bodies were never recovered.
All The King's Men is a terrific rendering of this forgotten story. It is carried along by wonderful performances (particularly impressive is Maggie Smith's portrayal of Queen Alexandra) and a complex narrative structure that offers an extremely subtle and penetrating analysis of English culture; the relationship between Sovereign and Servant is right on the nose. Whether it is on the battle field or the carefully manicured grounds of the estate, restrained affection and abject loyalty swirl around on another, with an occasional smattering of raw human emotion thrown in for good measure.
There's some definite patriotic John Bull drum beating going on here, and historical liberties were taken for the purpose of heroic glorification. Nonetheless, the heart of the story is a moving and richly layered exploration of English society in the early 20th century. This is not a war movie; it is a movie about England and I loved it.
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.