Tom Brown's Schooldays
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Murphy, Iain Cuthbertson, Richard Gibson, Richard Morant, Simon Fisher-TurnerBrand: Acorn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 219 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-03-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Tom Brown's Schooldays
Movie Review: Just As Good As I Remembered
Summary: 5 Stars
First, a brief correction: In point of fact, this story of Tom Brown at Rugby School does not take place in the Victorian Era, as the back of the DVD box and a number of the reviewers - professional and otherwise - have stated. Rather, it does so place during the late Georgian Era, specifically during the reign of King George IV (1830-37).
As to the 1971 BBC production of Tom Brown's Schooldays, I must say that contrary to the first reviewer, I have enjoyed it just as much as I did when I first saw it on Masterpiece Theater 37 years ago. In fact, I've just re-watched it for the first time in a few years, and still find it extraordinarily well written and, generally, very well acted indeed.
I have watched the 2004 TV film once and attempted to read but failed to complete the original novel. As I understand it, the 2004 version hewed more closely to the novel than this one. Frankly, I think this production greatly improved the story by expanding the roles of both Headmaster Thomas Arnold and Sir Richard Flashman, superbly played by Iain Cuthbertson and Gerald Flood, respectively. One can imagine very easily from Mr. Cuthbertson's bravura performance why Thomas Arnold inspired educational reform throughout Britain's "public" school system. In addition, as an earlier reviewer noted, the source of Gerald Flashman's animosity towards Tom Brown is explained in this version where it is not in the later one, and I think very convincingly so. It is not just the general depravity of the father that explains that of the son, but the specific conflict between this production's Sir Richard and young Master Tom that motivates the animus and cruelty of younger Flashman. This conflict also helps highlight the English class system, which another reviewer noted was missing from the 2004 production.
Contrary to what one reviewer speculated, many of the teenaged boys and young men in the cast went on to have long acting careers, as one could see by following their links from the IMDB page for this series. I will however agree that Richard Morant's Gerald Flashman and Anthony Murphy's Tom Brown deserve all the praise and awards that they have received. I have always avoided George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman novels because Morant's vicious young blackguard made such a lasting and disagreeable impression on me. The nobility, good cheer and open heartedness of Murphy's Tom Brown, on the other hand, motivated me to seek out both this series, other versions on tape or DVD and the novel and its sequel.
It is in the portrayal of Tom Brown that one can acknowledge a strength of the 2004 production. It is not that Alex Pettyfer gives a better performance than Anthony Murphy, but that his Tom Brown is written to be almost as much the sinner as the saint. I think because the 2004 film is based more closely on Thomas Hughes' novel, its hero could not start out so noble as 1971's, but the Tom Brown of the 1971 series fits with the changes that its creators made in Hughes' story. By all means, view the 2004 production if you can, but I think this one remains the standard for a smart adaptation of this classic story.
Summary of Tom Brown's Schooldays
In an upper-class Victorian boarding school, a loveable schoolboy suffers at the hands of a vicious bully and is inspired by a forward-thinking headmaster. This Masterpiece Theatre classic is a fascinating portrait of the times and a heartwarming story of courage and friendship. Though a son of privilege in a rigidly class-conscious society, Tom Brown is a born egalitarian. What he learns at the famous Rugby School is that breeding really does determine character and scoundrels exist in every part of society.Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Thomas Hughes, who studied at Rugby in the 1830s under the educational reformer Dr. Thomas Arnold, this family drama stars Anthony Murphy in an Emmy®-winning debut as Tom with Iain Cuthbertson (Gorillas in the Mist) as Dr. Arnold.
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