Canterbury Tales (2003) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama | Main Menu Introduction | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2003 | ||
Running Time | 347:50 (Case: 306) | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
RSDL (44:05) Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By |
Andy DeEmmony Julian Jarrold John McKay Marc Munden |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
James Nesbitt Billy Seymour Joe Halliday Tom Ludlow Dennis Waterman Samuel Cocozza Billie Piper Kenny Doughty Buffy Davis Eddie Nestor Eileen Essel Ralph Riach Glenn Hanning |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | Murray Gold |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Although it’s not something I was willing to brag to my parents about, one of the proudest moments in my academic career came when I was sitting an assessment exam for my school certificate. The Diary of Anne Frank was on the curriculum that year, and after six pages I just couldn’t stomach any more of it. I tried to go back to it with a desperation that’s born of failing to realise that within two years no-one would care about the mark I received in the SC, but I just couldn’t stomach the middle class self-righteousness that had already leapt off the page at me – especially when my own middle class self-righteousness was obviously of a far superior quality.
But my disgust wasn’t doing anything about taking it off the syllabus. So I did what any upstanding client of the NSW secondary education system would do in my place.
I rented the video and watched it on the weekend I was supposed to be doing the first assignment from the book.
I also read half of the book’s introduction. For the record, I got an assessment mark in the low 90s.
I was put in my place later that year, however, when I was caught quoting part of a Gregory Peck speech in an essay about To Kill a Mockingbird that had been created by the scriptwriters. Ironically, Mockingbird was a book I’d actually read several times.
What I’m trying to say is that whenever a piece of literature is adapted for the screen, there are bound to be changes. Ask a Tolkein fan about Peter Jackson’s exclusion of Tom Bombadil from his Lord of the Rings. Actually, don’t – unless you have a half-hour that you’d set aside for self-flagellation, but were too busy to attend. Nevertheless, it’s nigh-impossible to produce a work for a visual medium that’s accurate to the text in theme, character and action.
The producers of The Canterbury Tales embraced this impossibility and took the opposite direction. Rather than seeking veracity, six of the 24 tales that comprised Chaucer’s epic were selected, and writers were assigned to each produce a modern, dramatic version that was thematically true to the original, but independent of the others in the series.
This formed the basis of a truly excellent series that really stands apart from the source material which can, at times, barely be seen to influence the series of six one-hour dramas produced by the BBC. Each of the writers and directors were able to take a measure of guidance from the original, but run on their own. The first in the series, The Miller’s Tale, has no time for students of astrology or courtly clerics named Absolon, but starts the story with a con man pulling his red sports car into a village pub during a karaoke competition and finding himself in a love quadrilateral focused around the pub owner’s wife. Those who wish to do an academic comparison between the text and the dramas are referred to the BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/canterburytales) which provides a good starting point.
Effort has been made to separate the six tales from each other – even to the point that the opening credits are distinct to each, as is the background music, cast and directorial style. There is also no conceit used to bind the stories into a single narrative. The pieces also range from the darkly comic to the quite dour, and those who enjoy a particular type of television drama may well find themselves left cold by one or two of the hour-long “episodes” (although, given their independence, I hesitate to call them that). Despite this, those who appreciate BBC drama will recognise the look and feel that is consistent to all, and each episode is, frankly, exceptional.
Although I haven’t seen this series on local television, this production is one of the finest series of drama in recent years, and I recommend it strongly to anyone – at least anyone who doesn’t have a Chaucer assignment due on Monday.
Episode List
The Miller’s Tale
Danny Absolon is helplessly in love with his karaoke partner Alison, but Alison’s husband (who owns the pub) is violently jealous. Smooth-talking Nick swans in from out of town offering Alison a record contract, but how much can he deliver?
The Wife of Bath
A weekend arts programme introduces us to Beth Craddock, an internationally-renowned actress whose fifth marriage is on the rocks after sixteen years. When she falls for her much-younger co-star, how much of a problem is age anyway?
The Knight’s Tale
Paul and Ace are good mates, and it’s luck that when Paul landed in gaol he ended up as Ace’s cell mate. Both of them fall for the new remedial English teacher, Emily, and with Ace getting early release, how much strain can a friendship survive?
The Sea Captain’s Tale
Jetender is a leader of the Gravesend Indian community whose wife Meena finds it hard to live within her allowance. Indebted to a jeweller, Meena seduces a recently arrived small businessman named Pushpinder, who borrows the money to repay her debts from Jetender himself.
The Pardoner’s Tale
A young girl named Amy is missing, and the village of Rochester is desperately searching for her. Arty’s a small-time conman operating in a gang with his friends Colin and Baz, but after one particular con he decides that what he really wants is to be respected.
The Man of Law’s Tale
Constance is a Nigerian refugee with amnesia, taken in by a local couple. At church she meets Terry, who finds that he’s in love with her, but can’t accept the fact that Constance cares for someone else.
The digital transfer is generally good, but reference should be made that the bulk of each episode appears to be filmed by hand-held cameras, which can be quite jumpy at times. This was most obvious in the Wife of Bath, during which there were a number of jerks throughout the film, including several particularly visible ones during a long pan at 3:32.
The episodes are displayed in the original 1.78:1 format and are 16x9 enhanced.
Although the film in every episode is very grainy, the reproduction is otherwise quite sharp.
Throughout the series colours look quite washed out, as if every shot was taken under grey skies - including indoor shots.
There is some evidence of the Gibb effect present around sharp colour divisions throughout the series except, oddly, during the superimposed credits which is where one would expect to see them.
As these dramas are typically dialogue-heavy, the subtitles have difficulty keeping up and abbreviate or paraphrase as necessary.
The RSDL change on the first disc is at 44:05 during Wife of Bath, where the video has faded to white, but the background score is obviously interrupted. The change on the second disc is at 45:31 during The Pardoner's Tale, during a shot change and is slightly less obvious.
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Overall |
The audio is perfectly adequate for this form of drama, which doesn't ask too much of the system.
The sole audio track is Dolby Digital stereo, which is not surround encoded.
Dialogue is easily distinguishable at all times, and the synchronisation can't be faulted.
The background score is well presented through the front two speakers and does not overwhelm the dialogue.
The surround channels are not used.
Likewise, the subwoofer was not troubled throughout the series.
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Subwoofer | |
Overall |
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Although not released in Region 1, the Region 2 version of this disc appears to be identical to the Region 4 one.
This presentation of the tales is only tenuously connected to the original - they're less an update than they are a complete reworking - but all of them are excellent one-hour dramas in the BBC mold. I can't find reference to this having been shown on Australian TV, but it's certainly worth checking out nevertheless. The video isn't exceptional, but it's certainly up to the task.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output |
Display | Panasonic TX-86PW300A. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Pioneer VSX-512. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-512 |
Speakers | Wharfedale Diamond 8.3 fronts, Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 rears, Wharfedale Diamond 8 centre, Wharfedale 12" sub |