Search - Strangers & Brothers on DVD

So disappointed

C. L Wilson | Elmhurst, Illinois United States | 04/28/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If you have not read at least 9 of the 11 books in C. P. Snow's series, "Strangers and Brothers", this DVD will not give you anything like that story. It totally leaves out two whole novels, and does not even remotely end where Snow ended Eliot's narration. "The New Men" and more importantly, "The Sleep of Reason" are completely ignored. And unfortunately, the latter novel almost lays at the heart of the whole series, as it directly addresses human nature and culpability. Also, the box which portrays Anthony Hopkins large is soooo misleading, as he comes on stage quite late in the series, and is only in one or two episodes. The sets looked cheesy, and because the entire body of work is so detailed and long, the writers just barely manage to skim the surface, and I think it must be quite bewildering to one who has not read the books. There simply is no depth and nothing at all of what Snow is ultimately trying to say. However, I must admit that it is cast superbly, with every character almost exactly as written on the page, and most lines even lifted entire from the novel. But entirely too much is left out to make much sense. And to so totally change the ending would make Snow roll over in his grave. Avoid the DVD unless you have read the series, and even then see it only to match the characters in your mind's eye."