Starring: Susan Hampshire, John Neville, James Villiers, John Westbrook, John Standing Directed By: David Giles (III) Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Miniseries, NTSC Label: Acorn Media Number of Items: 4 Region Code: 1 Release Date: September 21, 2004 Running Time: 533 minutes Theatrical Release Date: January 10, 1971
Description: Based on Sir Winston Churchill’s biography of his ancestors, the first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, this classic BBC miniseries is a tender love story played out amid the intrigues of the 17th-century English court.
At a time when most marriages were made for money and position, Sarah Jennings and John Churchill married for love. And their love lasted throughout their long lives spent at the epicenter of political power in England. He was a military genius who never lost a battle. She was the intimate friend of a princess who later became queen. This addictive drama follows them from their budding romance in the bawdy court of King Charles II through five decades and five monarchs from the tumultuous House of Stuart.
The popularity of The First Churchills helped establish Masterpiece Theatre as a venue for the best of British drama. Starring John Neville (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) as John Churchill with Susan Hampshire (Monarch of the Glen, The Pallisers) in an Emmy®-winning performance as the tempestuous Sarah.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE an exclusive interview with Susan Hampshire, photo gallery, cast filmographies, and full-color insert with a sampling of the real love letters of Sarah and John Churchill, glossary of historical figures and terms, and House of Stuart family tree.
Amazon.com: PBS's Masterpiece Theatre began business in 1971 with the American premiere of an engrossing, 12-part BBC series, The First Churchills, inspired by Sir Winston Churchill's biographical writings about 17th-century ancestors John Churchill and Sarah Jennings. Besides being a painless way to learn a few things about the revolving-door monarchy of the House of Stuart, The First Churchills is written with a stately air though its story flows like a steady stream of fresh gossip. A viewer needn't feel guilty about being entertained by intrigues at the royal court while listening to screenwriter's Donald Wilson's elegant and uplifting dialogue, rich in civility and courtly asides.
John Neville (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) and Susan Hampshire (lauded for her earlier performance in The Forsyte Saga, a British series that helped launch public television in America) play John and Sarah, who meet in the court of Charles II (James Villiers) and defy family and friends by marrying for love instead of family fortune. (Neither has any money.) John, a military officer who built much of Charles's army and never lost a battle, and Susan, an aide and confidante to the Duchess of York, are trusted figures in the king's circle. But as with everyone around them, they are jostled by political and religious forces following the death of Charles, including anti-Catholic sentiments that drive the king's stubborn successor, James II (John Westbrook), to Ireland and see the latter replaced on the throne by William, Prince of Orange (Alan Rowe), and his vindictive wife (and James's daughter), Mary (Lisa Daniely). With a European war raging and British soldiers and resources mishandled by amateurs, a restless John is sidelined and even briefly arrested due to royal paranoia; meanwhile, Sarah's close friendship to the future Queen Anne (Margaret Tyzack) yields numerous dramas on its own. The First Churchills is really about a tumultuous period in English history which saw strains between Parliament, the citizenry, and the monarchy come to a head, several times over. The story of John and Sarah's survival and deep regard for one another offers a perfect, reassuring line to follow through all the epochal raucousness. Neville and Hampshire bask in their characters' good-humored intimacy and level-headedness while madness whirls all around. --Tom Keogh
17th century Churchill's rise to power Ambitious series about early generations of Churchills. Drama spans from the time of King Charles II reign thru King James (his brother), King William of Orange (King James' eldest daughter's husband) to Queen Anne, Princess of Denmark (King James' younger daughter). We meet Sara and John who are the first Chruchill couple that marries out of love during brief courtship on the court of King Charles II. Both love each other deeply but are are driven by desire for success, wealth and political ambition. They are devoted to monarchy and while John rises thru the ranks in the British Army and later government, Sara is devoting her life to serving Princess Anne as her favorite Lady in Waiting. It is interesting to see that living in the court is term of employment and it is amazing that these two have been able to survive thru four very different rulers of England. Over the course of 30 years of living at the court they manage to rise thru the ranks and finally establish themselves as Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. But their hard work and devotion do not come without price. They loose one of their sons early, Sarah ends up being estranged from her daughter. Both Sarah and John get to realize that their marriage is unique and is built on same values and principles. Even their daughter's marriage cannot sustain itself in that fashion. It is interesting to learn about European countries strife for balance of power, royal arranged marriages as means of creating alliances and internal fight between members of the Parlament. It is also interesting to learn how often Kings and Queens are used by their advisors who often have their own interest in mind rather than interest of the nation. Excellent drama about politics at its best. Acting is uneven - especially Susan Hamilton's. Too ofter actors are too old in portraying their characters at certain age. Last disc with the last three episodes seems rushed and superficial. Valuable lessons in friendhip and common ground amongst people of culture that one does not see very much in today's world.
Simply Excellant TV like this you will rarely see nowadays. No great sets or special effects, just great acting with a ripping good story. What more can I say.
Wigzapalooza This miniseries, detailing the rise of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the end of the House of Stuart, was the maiden broadcast of "Masterpiece Theatre"in the United States, and was to set a pattern for many great series to follow. As such series as "The Pallisers" and "I, Claudius" would do after it, the series is anchored by its title characters but really finds its greatest interest in those who surround them: here, a series of Stuart Kings, from Charles II to James II to William III and Mary II to Anne, with the accession of George of Hanover ending the story. The budget isn't quite what viewers of later series would come to expect, and so crowd scenes are hard to manage: thus the battles of Blenheim and Oudenarde and Malplaquet, and the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion, are done pretty much on the cheap. Much more money was lavished on the costumes and perukes, which are quite in abundance, and get more and more spectacular: William III is dwarfed by his enormous periwig, and Mary II looks like a ship in full sail with her collection of giant lace mantillas and silk bustles.
The miniseries doesn't come with many extras, but there is an interesting interview with Sarah Hampshire who famously plays Sarah Churchill: in the interview, Hapshire reveals she did not get along very well with John Neville (who plays her husband), and that he and many of the other actors in the show did not take the miniseries very seriously. She did get the best revenge of living well by winning an Emmy for the role, as well as the last word here, though unfortunately this is not one of her better parts (she is simply too likeable to be a fearsome termagent). Because this was base don Winston Churchill's memoirs of his ancestors, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough are pretty much whitewashed: in this version, neither ever ask for any money, but just keep getting showered with guineas and gifts by Anne Stuart. The Duke's waverings of loyalty are never self-serving, but always to teach the monarch in power a good lesson, and never amount to much danger for the kings or queens anyway, though the bad ones always take it for ill. Thus the screenplay remakes Mary II, the "faultless queen," into something of a wicked witch, which is not very historically accurate but great fun for Lisa Daniely, who plays her with real zest. The best performers (and the ones who make this really worth seeing) are John Westbrook and Sheila Gish, who make something very complex and moving out of James II and his queen Mary of Modena, and above all the great Margaret Tyzack as the tortured and much wronged Queen Anne. There's a scene fairly early in the series when the well-meaning Anne tries to comfort her distressed pregnant stepmother that is marvelously accomplished by Tyzack and Gish, and this and a few other choice scenes hit just the right note of intrigue and ambiguity for the adaptor seems to aim. But others lose focus and simply parade names and events... and perukes, lots and lots of perukes.
The BBC later learned to do this sort of thing much better I have a feeling that this series creaked and clunked a bit even when it was first shown. The production values are on the cheap (most of the money seemingly went into wigs), and my experience with the marvelous original 'Forsyte Saga', which was filmed in black and white, bears out my hypothesis that 'cheap', shows itself worse in color than in b & w. In most cases the performances are excellent, especially Susan Hampshire who deservedly won an Emmy for this. John Neville is okay, the acting of James Villiers as Charles II is a bit over the top but keeps the interest going. Without Susan I think the series would have too dull. There is a feature on the DVD with a recent interview with Susan--she does not have fond memories of making this series, and though she tries to be discreet, she clearly had little respect or affection for her male co-star. Susan tells us that, like the Forsyte Saga, each episode was filmed as a play, with no cuts in the tape between scenes--when one character exits, the others carry on, or move to another set, or the camera simply shifts the focus, while the exited actor is backstage changing costumes, in order to return later. This is a period of English history that many people, especially in the USA, know little about, and I was glad to refresh my memory about how important the Catholic vs Protestant succession to the throne, was at that time. I can't give this a rave, but I am far from sorry to have seen it again after many many years. Brava Susan.
The First Churchills While watching the first scene of this mini series, I thought that everything that I'd read about The First Churchills was complete rubbish, and I felt inclined to stop watching it right then and there. But I didn't do so, and it wasn't long before my opinion of the series had changed completely--so much so that I watched all twelve episodes in just three days.
While the story centres on John Churchill, the 1st duke of Marlborough, one of the greatest military leaders in British history, and his politically astute wife, Sarah Jennings, The First Churchills is really a survey of British history from the end of the reign of Charles II to the arrival of George I.
There not much that is bad that can be said about the series. The set design is not exactly on par with what most of us expect these days, and the outdoor scenes are not all that convincing, but this is more than made up for by the superb acting of all the main characters, excellent costume design and lively dialogue.
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