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Monday, September 5, 2011

Period Drama Week Tag - Part 2



Check out Miss Elizabeth Bennet's Period Drama Week at Elegance of Fashion to join in on the fun!

This is Part 2 of my answers to the Period Drama Week tag questions. Part 1 is already up; Part 3 and Part 4 will be up soon.




Which period drama which you haven't seen yet do you most want to watch? - I usually have quite a list of films I want to see, some of the period dramas I want to see are older adaptations like the older ones of Charles Dickens' novels. Here are a few others I really want to see: Bright Star, An Old-Fashioned Christmas, The Merchant of Venice, The Secret of Moonacre (more of a costume drama fantasy film), Nanny McPhee Returns and one or two adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities.




Which period drama has the prettiest soundtrack or background music? - So many period films have stunning soundtracks which I love to listen to! Some of my favorites are Pride & Prejudice 2005, Sense & Sensibility 1995, Emma 2009, Cranford and Ladies In Lavender (violinist Joshua Bell preforms most of the tracks!). Unfortunately there aren't very many of my favorite films that have sountracks available but I'm quite excited that the BBC are releasing a Downton Abbey soundtrack because of the popularity of the series and there are a few tracks with singing on them! 



When you watch period dramas, what is it that you pay the closest attention to (ie. costuming, scenery, etc.)? - I suppose that for me the acting is what I pay the closest attention to. I can bear all manner of sound-stage type scenery, costume fashion blunders and non-period music if the acting is good. I'm glad so many of my favorite leading and character actors are in similar quality period dramas. A good actor can infuse life and personality into the characters they play and make even the dullest script interesting. Through their genius the heroes and villains alike are given personalities and worlds of their own! 



What is the longest period drama you've seen? - This was a tricky question, I had to look it up. I love miniseries and there are quite a few that are very long, over 300 minutes. But after looking it up I found that the longest period drama I've seen is Bleak House which is 510 minutes long and Little Dorrit comes in at just 452 minutes. I didn't count Lark Rise to Candleford because it is more of a TV series but I have watched all of that series too. 


Do you prefer watching a regular-length movie or a more in-depth mini-series? Why? - An in-depth mini-series gives much more time to develope the plot and characters and gives us much more period drama goodness to enjoy! But then a regular-length film is great to quickly satisfy a period drama craving. :)


Be on the lookout for Part 3 and Part 3! And don't forget to visit Elegance of Fashion to join in with Period Drama Week! 

4 comments:

  1. I watched The Merchant of Venice for school a few months back, and thought it was pretty good, although of course the play is better! :') I know what you mean about good acting making any other bad points in a period drama bearable. And the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack is lovely! I'm glad they're releasing one for Downton Abbey too :)

    ~Abby

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  2. Fantastic answers! I have yet to see Little Dorrit. Trying to remedy that :)

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  3. I can't wait for the "Downton Abbey" soundtrack either!
    I loved your answer to the question about what it is that you pay the closet attention to in a period drama. I agree with it absolutely.

    I look forward to reading the next parts!

    Mel :)

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  4. I love the music from Ladies In Lavender!!

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