Film Reviews by None

This series continues to the end as well made as ever - providing the launch pad for director, Matthew Weiner - who went on to make the wonderful Mad Men series. Altogether more palatable - amusing, clever, interesting ....

By contrast one has to have strong nerves to keep enduring the unremitting cruelty of the Brooklyn Mafia - which has to only two motives : to get its own way, by force if necessary,and to punish violently anyone who stands up to them. Little really to laugh about here. Tony Soprano continues to burden his long-suffering psychotherapist ( why does she keep giving him time - since he has hardly advanced in his thinking beyond concern for himself and his creature comforts ? )

Despite having plodded our way through several earlier series - suddenly in the hard world of Brexit - this lot hardly make cheerful viewing. Enough is enough.

Paul Scott was a phenomenon. For most of his life, he wrote little of note - and was better known as the literary agent of writers such as Muriel Spark, who did not rate him. Then - after wartime service in India - he began writing novels inspired by his observation of the last days of the Indian Raj. He lived long enough to know that finally he had achieved something memorable : the books themselves and the mini-series of 4 television films based on them are outstanding, important pieces of work.

Seeing the mini-series again alongside reading the novels has been a terrific experience : the acting across the board is pitch-perfect : not a weak performance among them. Art Malik's poignant Hari Kumar - Tim Pigott-Smith's horrendous Ronald Merrick - Geraldine James and Charles Dance - not to forget Dame Peggy Ashcroft's wonderful Barbie Batchelor and the supporting cast of Raj Ladies The dvd collection explains the care with which the tv series was made : altogether this is quality work - which deserves regular network revival so that younger people come to know what the best of the best looks like.