Page 92 - All About History - Issue 54-17

Reviews

DUNKIRK

We will flee from them on the beaches in
this timely release of the 2004 docu-drama

Certificate 15 Director Alex Holmes Cast Timothy Dalton, Simon Russell
Beale, Richard Durden Price £8 Released Out now
ot that one, but the 2004 BBC Lord Halifax over whether to keep calm
documentary drama of the and capitulate or keep calm and carry on.
same name. Briefly starring the On its original BBC broadcast, the show
effortlessly charming Benedict came with a ‘red button’-load of background
N Cumberbatch and narrated by Bond information, and it’s a shame that none of
actor Timothy Dalton, this epic three-part this was bundled in by way of extras. Every
series recreated the bloody rearguard scene so relentlessly advances the plot that
fighting to protect the withdrawing British there’s no space to allow the audience to
Expeditionary Force and the impossible soak up the consequences or context. This
‘miracle’ of the evacuation from eyewitness would be fine were this a straight drama
accounts and archive footage. with a remit only to thrill, but as a docu-
Eschewing talking heads to keep things drama Dunkirk serves two masters.
anchored, it can be a little difficult to fully For filmic heft, it is perhaps the closest
grasp the context as the ‘plot’ (for lack thing British TV has produced to Band Of
of a better word) jumps from concept to Brothers, matching the drama and small
concept, plunging you right into the thick stories with the broad sweep of military
of the fighting with the Coldstream Guards action. Unsurprisingly, it won director
in the bucolic farmland of France or an Alex Holmes a BAFTA, and in terms of
equally bitter verbal confrontation between cramming in the detail, it’s difficult to see
Winston Churchill and Foreign Secretary how Christopher Nolan could do any better.

VERSAILLES: SEASON 2

The Sun King is back, and he’s ready to rococo ’n’ roll!
Certificate 15 Creators Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft Cast George Blagden, Alexander

RECOMMENDS… Vlahos, Noémie Schmidt, Elisa Lasowski, Evan Williams Released Out now

The War is in the elevision’s This French-Canadian co-production attracted a fair bit
Mountains: Violence in the kinkiest king of attention when it first landed on British television in a
World’s High Places returns for cloud of extravagant perfume and lace. Lavish, flamboyant
Author: Judith Matloff Price: £20 a second and unashamedly decadent, series two offers fans much
Publisher: Duckworth Overlook T bite of the more of the same.
cherry, and those Versailles shouldn’t be taken as a faithful retelling of the
Mountainous regions
are home to only ten who adored the first historical record, but rather as a historical take on Dallas, with
percent of the planet’s scandalous, saucy a liberal dash of Jackie Collins. Everyone and everything is
population, yet they
host a strikingly season, will be in stunning, with jaw-dropping costumes and locations and a
disproportionate share for a treat. fast-moving script that is never short on drama.
of the world’s conflicts. What Poldark The show is absolutely packed with plot and much of it,
This slim volume does for 18th for sometimes inexplicable reasons, is played out naked.
explores intractable struggles from
the Andes, to the Himalayas, to the century Cornwall, There’s naked satanic worship, naked introspection and
Caucasus and more. The author makes Versailles does naked biscuit eating — surely the height of decadence.
a compelling argument that mountains for 17th century There’s also geysering blood, decapitation and a rather
themselves might encourage violence,
producing insular communities that France — and it gruesome bit of torture for one unlucky spy. This, however,
perpetuate old superstitions and don’t does it in style. is not naked. Sex and violence are ever-present in Versailles,
want interference from outsiders, This time, Louis XIV is up to his beautifully coiffured hair but rarely do the two meet.
while a lack of agricultural land or in the Franco-Dutch war while battling ambitious nobles a One of the curious joys of Versailles is its unapologetic,
even a surplus of natural resources like
uranium can also provide friction points. little closer to home. But because political intrigue is never over-the-top decision to throw everything into the pot,
This fascinating study is a must-read — enough for the makers of this show, the Sun King also no matter how wild. The House of Bourbon might be
even for those that live in the lowlands. delve into mysticism, Satanism and a black mass at which occasionally absurd and often overcooked, but it could
clothing is entirely optional. never, ever be accused of being boring.
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