Flambards (1979)

Well drawn characters, Good production values. Enjoyed it except for the hideous 70s Soundtrack which nearly drove me insane and took away from being able to focus on the story. The opening music has some repetitive lyric that sounds like 'mum' being repeated over and over and then the music during the film often descends into horror movie' sound. Typical 70's and tempted me to put it onto English subtitles so I didn't have to listen to it.

A family member turned me onto this series during its initial broadcast, and much to my surprise I enjoyed it. It was slow and lethargic compared to the action stuff I was used to liking, but I found myself growing to like the characters. I think this was in no small part to an excellent cast. In fact I liked it so much that I made it a point of watching it whenever it was on.Now it's on DVD, and where I'm happy to have the episodes (and finally able to see the series in its entirety 20+ years later) I have to say I'm pretty dissapointed by the quality of presentation. According to the IMDB the series was shot on 35mm, but the print on the DVD looks like a washed out 16mm broadcast print (the kind rented to low budget UHF TV stations). The color's all washed out, the image is fuzzy and grainy as can be, and the sound, though audible and clear has not been remastered. Additionally there's a preamble missing from this release where the main character, Christina, tells of how she came to the Flambards' estate in the first place.If you can get by all that, then the DVD may be worth your while because the story and characters are quite good. It's a slow paced period series set in late Victorian England, examining a clash of worlds and generations as the "modern" age creeps into a traditional family.The series itself is filled with emotional ups and downs, but, like I said, the DVD presentation is less than sterling. If you can find yourself a good clean VHS print, then you would be well advised to get that for your collection until a better DVD print can be released.

"Flambards" gets virtually everything right; characters that we truly care about, great acting, wonderful music, and a story with twists and turns, skillfully told. But what is does better than anything is truly conjure up the spirit of Edwardian England.The period around 1910 was one of the great watersheds in history; airplanes, cars, and gramophones heralded a new age, only to have World War One stop everything in its tracks. "Flambards" captures all of this perfectly; the resentment of the old guard, the thrill of the new possibilities (especially for women), and the despair of the war years. Of all of the things about this series, the mood and atmosphere are the best.As an aside, speaking as an airplane buff, the airplanes are incredible. They are painstakingly accurate reproductions of real types, and it's wonderful to get a chance to actually see in the air types that you've only read about in books.This is a virtually perfect mini-series, quite possibly the best of its kind ever made. It's that good.

I saw this for the first time back in the early 80s and fell in love - with the story, the cast, the music - with everything about it. I was already in my early 20s, but I dropped everything to watch it. It's wonderful. There are scenes that are laugh-out-loud funny, but I start to cry when Christina and William fly the Channel, and it's almost non-stop from there until after Isobel's birth. I am, however, very surprised that none of the younger cast members has gone on to "bigger and better" things. They are all very talented and were wonderful in their roles. I'd love to see them do other things.It is unusual for me to prefer an adaptation to a book, but in this case it's true. The books are enjoyable, but the series is a delight. Back in the days before VCRs, the books were all I had, so I bought them and read them all more times than I can say.When the tapes came out, I was ecstatic. I ordered them immediately and had a Flambards marathon (repeated several times over the years!). Now I dream about the day it comes out on DVD...with commentaries!