Disraeli
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Antony Brown, Ian McShane, Maria Charles, Mary Peach, Rosemary LeachAudio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 253 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: A&E Home Video
Movie Reviews of Disraeli
Movie Review: A good overview of the history and personal life of a great politician
Summary: 4 Stars
Ian McShane does a superb job of playing Benjamin Disraeli from the time he is a young politician, losing 5 elections in a row, to the time of his death after serving as Prime Minister of England twice. He is able to portray the handsome curly haired young dandy covered in gold chains and also the elderly stately politician with his large bald forehead. He is supported by a superb cast that includes Rosemary Leach as Queen Victoria and Mary Peach as Mary Anne Lewis Disraeli, the two women in the life of Disraeli that were most supportive of his political career and ambitions.
McShane is great as the young Disraeli, of Jewish heritage but baptized in the Anglican Church as a child. Disraeli's family was highly supportive of his ambitions and intellectual curiosity. Disraeli wrote novels and was relatively successful as a novelist before becoming a politician in his 30s, however he continue to write some also during his political career. It took 5 attempts before he was finally elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative. Yet over time he reveals himself to be a progressive conservative, steering the conservative party toward continued successes in policy. He was Prime Minister twice, much to the liking of Queen Victoria who appreciated Disraeli's philosophy, politics, and social interactions with herself. Disraeli married a wealthy widow woman 13 years his senior but their 33 year marriage was strong and supported by their mutual fascination with politics. Disraeli dealt with multiple challenges during his years of leadership including his political rivalries and allies, crisis in India and Ireland, the purchase of controlling stock in the Suez canal, and the rise of a unified Germany under the control of Otto von Bismarck. A dramatic moment occurs in the film when Baron Rothschild provides the British government a loan to purchase the Suez canal and thus keep it out of the control of the French and especially the Russians.
The DVD is four hours long and covers a good bit of English history however the majority of action is implied in the dialogues between characters. In fact, like many early BBC products, the dialogue is the primary messenger rather than action sequences. Because there is so much to cover in just 4 hours, in some ways the issues were glossed over and were not explored in any depth. This is the major drawback of the production in that it jumps from historic event to historic event to personal event to personal event without a sense of integration or without extensive context which is really necessary to understand complex historic trends and the complex personalities that swim in these political waters. Thus the DVD should be seen as an introduction to the life and career of Disraeli and that further study might be needed later to fully understand the sweep of events that is discussed in the DVD.
Summary of Disraeli
Anglophiles will find much to admire in the 1978 production Disraeli, a comprehensive look at the political and personal lives of one of that nation's most important historical figures. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), played by Ian McShane (Deadwood, The Golden Compass) in a bravura performance, was "an enigma even to myself," as he puts it. Born to Jewish parents but baptized into the Anglican Church as a boy, he had already established a reputation as an author of "scandalous" novels, not to mention a silver-tongued flatterer and ladies man, when he began pursuing his political ambitions in his early thirties. His career didn't exactly get off to a flying start; it took him five tries to win a seat in Parliament as a "progressive conservative," and even then his defiant, blustery style earned him little favor among the somnolent stiffs who comprised much of that august body, some of whom dismissed him as "a tinseled coxcomb" whose attire resembled that of "an Italian dancing master" (Disraeli was known to sport lavish amounts of jewelry early in his career). Anti-Semitism didn't help, either. But he persevered, going on to serve twice as Prime Minister (the first and thus far only Jew to do so) and proving himself to be an eloquent and able leader with a dynamic vision that government should be more than simply a monarch ruling through an enlightened aristocracy (Rosemary Leach charmingly plays Queen Victoria, the monarch in question, with whom Disraeli formed a close and fruitful relationship).The series also details his personal life, focusing on his 33-year marriage to the considerably older Mary Anne Lewis (Mary Peach), the widow of Disraeli's former patron and a seemingly frivolous chatterbox whom he admittedly married for her money ("I never intend to marry for love," he said. "It's a guarantee of unhappiness"), only to end up completely devoted to her. Along the way, Disraeli and his fellow politicians also deal with issues ranging from India and the Suez Canal to Ireland and the looming threat posed by Germany's "Iron Chancellor," Otto von Bismarck. All of this is accomplished primarily with words (including Disraeli's own, as well as those of scriptwriter David Butler), and there are lots of them. Disraeli isn't exactly action-packed--indeed, this is a genteel, stately, and occasionally rather tedious undertaking--but those willing to stick with it for its four-plus hours will find no shortage of rewards. --Sam Graham
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