bookish42-814-591787
I first read all the books which are just marvelous and then I saw the TV adaptation. Can't count the number of times I have watched it. Watched the series rebroadcast on local public TV station and then binge watched it all over again.The characters are unforgettable and so very realistic. The line "there's nothing I can do" appears over and over again to portray the impossibility of standing in the way of the change about to come over India.Scott did a superb job of portraying the Raj, the Muslims, the Hindus, the English air of superiority and the class system of the English, all the while depicting the end of the Raj and the beginning of the new India.It is also a feast for the eyes, showing many beautiful locations in India and depicting the railroad travel of the day in a fascinating way.
Mark Christiansen
Not knowing anything about the book, I was expecting this celebrated PBS series to be somewhat like a longer variation of the excellent David Lean movie Passage to India. But I was disappointed by Jewel in the Crown. While it did give me valuable glimpses into the British Raj, the class tensions between the British and the Indians (and between the British themselves), and the history of the period, the overall effect on me when the series ended was depression.And I did not enjoy the portrayals of rape, brutality, torture, insanity, homosexuality, etc. I regret having watched this series. If you would be offended by such content, then I also caution you about this film. PBS has been going downhill in recent years, in my opinion, as far as portraying more and more offensive content. After watching Jewel in the Crown, I now realize the decline had began much earlier - at least as early as 1984, when this series was broadcast.
mjtsmm2027
What can you say about this inimatable piece of work which stunned the UK in the mid eighties? British television drama has always had a reputation for being superior as it tends not to be involved in sensationalism or commercial value. Maybe today this theory doesn't stand up too well but The Jewel in the Crown is one of the most beautifully written and performed pieces of work that the current generations could hope for. Forget about fast pace and update technology as this is a serious historical piece about Britains' end in India during WW11 and thus the de-mobilising of the 'polite society' class abroad. Cinematically photographed and performed to perfection, with Tim Piggott-Smith, Judy Parfitt and Peggy Ashcroft stealing the honours. This was repeated on UK TV in 1997 and everyone agreed how it had lost none of its power and dramatic pull. This will stay with you forever.
luvdec
I think that this series is absolute perfection. The acting is magnificent, the story is fascinating and the characters are so real that one thinks that one is actually watching a documentary about the final days of the Raj. It is a marvelous adaptation, not a spare scene and it is beautifully directed. It is tightly woven and tells its tale with enviable clarity. I can not find one flaw in this stupendous series. Literate, complex, compelling, this series is singular and an out and out classic. I fear that we will never see anything like this again. Given the current vapid and stupid landscape of American and British television, "The Jewel in the Crown" is THE exemplar of the height of drama.
AD
