Gormenghast

2000

Gormenghast

7.2 | NR | en | Drama

At the Castle of Gormenghast, the Groan family has ruled with dusty ceremony for more than seventy generations. A clever and ambitious new kitchen boy, Steerpike, begins to insinuate himself into the affections of Lady Fuchsia Groan and to murder his way to power.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP4 Part 4

Feb. 07,2000

The elderly Barquentine clings onto his office. Frustrated, Steerpike kills him by fire, but he is left with his own face badly burnt. However, he takes over running the castle and continues to woo Fuchsia. Flay returns from exile and joins forces with Titus against Steerpike. They find him with the skeletons of Clarice and Cora, and Steerpike kills Flay and escapes. As Titus hunts Steerpike, Fuchsia refuses to hide him, killing herself instead. Titus and Steerpike fight to the death.

EP3 Part 3

Jan. 31,2000

Steerpike becomes the deputy of Barquentine, master of the castle's rituals. He imprisons Clarice and Cora, faking their deaths, kills Nannie Slagg, and continues to pay court to Fuchsia. Titus begins his education at the castle's dusty school, and Prunesquallor's unmarried sister, Irma, falls in love with Professor Bellgrove, now the school's headmaster. As the years go by, Titus finds the castle's rituals more and more hateful, focussing his hostility on Steerpike. He finds a forgotten passage, leading outside the castle walls. Venturing into the world outside for the first time, he meets the exiled Flay.

EP2 Part 2

Jan. 24,2000

Steerpike rescues the Groan family from the burning library and is the hero of the hour. Sepulchrave Groan goes mad with grief over the loss of his library. Believing he is an owl, he releases the owls in the Tower, and they attack and kill him. Titus becomes Earl of Groan. Flay annoys Lady Groan and is ordered out of the castle. He observes from afar the new Earl's coronation, at which Steerpike cuts a prominent figure.

EP1 Part 1

Jan. 17,2000

Titus - a son and heir for the 76th Earl of Groan - is born. In the castle's kitchens, a new kitchen boy, Steerpike, rebels against the cook, Swelter, and runs away. He invades the bedroom of Lord Groan's daughter, Lady Fuchsia, who finds herself strangely attracted to him and takes him on a visit to the family's physician, Dr Prunesquallor. Steerpike accepts a place as Prunesquallor's assistant, meaning a dramatic rise in his status, and is taken into the confidence of the Earl's twin sisters, Lady Cora and Lady Clarice. Working on the sisters' feelings of injustice, he persuades them to set fire to the castle library, dear to their brother's heart. Steerpike knows - but the sisters do not - that the rest of the family is in the library at the time, with the doors barred.

7.2 | NR | en | Drama , Sci-Fi | More Info

Released: 2000-01-17 | Released Producted By: BBC , Chum Television Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/gormenghast/home.html

Synopsis

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Cast

Jonathan Rhys Meyers , Celia Imrie , Ian Richardson

Director

David Hindle

Producted By

BBC , Chum Television

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Cast

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

as Steerpike

The Good Neighbor The Survivalist American Night Hide and Seek Yakuza Princess Edge of the World Holy Lands Awake The Aspern Papers

Celia Imrie

as Lady Gertrude

Beauty and the Beast: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas Louisa: An Amazing Adventure Love Sarah Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Finding Your Feet Monster Family Malevolent Nativity Rocks! A Cure for Wellness

Ian Richardson

as Lord Groan

Memorial Memorial Becoming Jane Joyeux Noel The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby Dæmos Rising Nero Strange From Hell Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes

Reviews

phatdan Visually stunning about a fictional world with good and evil not easily defined within the context of the story. Unique in storytelling, this makes for difficult-to-define protagonists/antagonists. Eventually, the main character transforms into a villain, but when contrasted against the morbid reality of Gormenghast, we can still sympathize with his intentions, pathetic as they may be. A hero eventually arises to save the realm, but is delivered from the claustrophobic and decrepit confines of Gormenghast.Gormenghast probably represents civilization in general. But this civilization runs so smooth and is so old, that it exists for no other reason than existence. There is no reason to improve, no reason to explore, and little reason to question authority. Everything is run by a book of rules. There is government, a monarchy, but like its realm, it exists for a reason long forgotten. No question that Gormenghast is a philosophical offering about the purpose of society and the meaning of existence.A comparison to THX 1138, Brazil, 1984, Quintet, or even Apocalypto could be made, but Gormenghast is different in its portrayal of the individual within a unique, and perhaps even more disturbing reality.

maatmouse-1 Having succeeded in reading the Mervyn Peake Gormenghast trilogy, I finally looked forward to the TV series of which there was much curiosity. Could Peake's sprawling tale of Steerpike's Machiavellian rise and grave descent really be translated that well on TV or would it be better realised as a film? The truth is it works very nicely on the TV and who better to do it justice than the superb cast who are the cream of British and Irish acting.The tale starts with a brief look at the rituals and boredom of the Groan family who rule Gormenghast. Set in a sort of mad, medieval world of rules, rituals and regulations, the Groans are a tortured family of ageing upper class royalty. There is Lord Groan, played in brilliant torment by the late Ian Richardson, Lady Groan wonderfully realised by Celia Imrie and Fuchsia Groan, their lovely but half mad child-woman daughter. There is also the usual assorted collection of hangers-on and nobility such as Dr Prunesquallor and his sister, various servants like Flay (brilliantly realised by Christopher Lee) and Mrs Slagg and, much later on, grotesques like the Cook played by a horrific looking Richard Griffiths. Enter into this colourful mixture the youth Steerpike who comes from the kitchens and attempts to kill, drive mad or seduce his way into the Groan family.The castle itself is a wonder to look at and the set design is why Britain is so good at making these sort of series.

slapdab This was a good dramatisation of the book but was not dark enough in any sense. Gormenghast (the place) was too bright and airy although it looked right otherwise. Also the sinister side of the story, which is most of it, was underplayed. When I read the book I hated Steerpike more than any other character I have read but this did not come out on the screen enough. Perhaps it is the restriction of turning such a long, detailed story into a drama. Nonetheless it looked good and all the performances were excellent. If you haven't done so yet - read the book. It is one of the greatest stories I have read and there are a couple of extras not included in the dramatisation. These are the third book "Titus Alone" which is very different from the first two books, and a separate episode in the life of the young Titus called "Boy in Darkness". Again, different from the first two books and quite surreal.

Jan Kjellin I've read Mervyn Peake's books over and over again. To me, the story of Titus Groan, 77'th earl of Gormenghast, is one that can actually compete with Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings".So what do I think about the mini series? Well, obviously no one would dare do what Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema did with the aforementioned movie, so I guess a four part mini series was the next best thing. (Although I would have loved to see this in a cinema!) Good actors and an excitingly stylistic production makes this a worthwhile four hours. Some has been left out, of course, but there's still plenty of material left to build the characters of the story.This is not a fantasy movie. It has no or few classic fantasy elements at all in it. I would rather see it as a fantastic movie, where the laws of the "normal" world aren't broken - just a little bent out of shape...Gormenghast will provide a glimpse into our own world, and even though it's not always pretty, it's always done in beautiful colors.