Birdsong
 

Just been reading about this in a couple of the papers, think it may appeal to a few on here. (the Downton abbyists for one, or possibly those interested in WWI once you get past all the simpering Girly stuff ;))

Birdsong, BBC One, preview - Telegraph

BBC 1 Sunday 22nd Jan 9.00 PM

Re: Birdsong
 

Now DiG, since when is WWI simpering girly stuff?:confused:

War and love have always gone hand in hand. Think GI Brides, Dear John letters after quick weddings before "he" goes off to do his bit for King and Country... Part of the survival mechanism of the human race.;):)

Would love to see this 2-parter. Was talking to mum about it yesterday -by coincidence she had just started reading the book and is then going to let me borrow it as it's one I haven't read yet.

Has anyone seen it yet? Is it worth watching?

Re: Birdsong
 

I thought the first part was very good-Eddie Redmayne can say more with one long smouldering stare than I managed to speak in many years of 'courting'.
Sadly, they have apparently missed out the third time period of the book(1978) because of time and budget so I'll have to read the book to find the ending, which I gather isn't happy!
The trench scenes looked quite real-filmed in a sunflower field in Hungary!(with some slight landscaping by bulldozers).

Re: Birdsong
 

There are no Soldiers left alive now who fought in the 1st World War - all gone now - RIP! From that angle it's essential viewing, I don't know what they teach in schools now about it though?

Re: Birdsong
 

They are taught how a generation of young people were led to oblivion by upper class twits. It prepares them for life in modern Britain.

Re: Birdsong
 

Do they teach them that the Keiser Wilhelm 2 (head of Germany) was the Grandson of Queen Victoria (Queen of United Kingdom)

Wilhelm II, German Emperor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pity she wasn't still alive before World War 1; she could have knocked some sense into him! ;) (this is a joke) and maybe averted the war! (this is sarcasm of course the world don't work like that?) :D

Re: Birdsong
 

Don't be bitter.

There's always hope.

If you work really hard, you could try to climb the ladder, to achieve the next rung up on the twit scale.

Re: Birdsong
 

Didn't rate the book.

Have read better, on the same subject.

Switched off the programme after half an hour.

Re: Birdsong
 

Haven't spoken to mum about it yet -she should be a couple of days reading into the book and may have seen the BBC drama.

She is keeping the book for me to read - will gve it a try as it's on the "100 books to read" list and I'm still way behind you!:rolleyes::)

Re: Birdsong
 

Found this dramatisation painfully slow, lacking in any sort of story content, albeit the sets and costumes were up to the usual BBC standards.

I found Eddie Redmayne's 'smouldering stare' (thank you Gordon) overly long and quite scary ... still filled in the weak script, I suppose. If anybody looked at me like that, would think him a bit of a lurcher rather than a besotted admirer.

The death of the hero was reminiscent of a scene from Blackadder:

"That one's not breathing ... throw him on the dead pile"
"Ah, miracles ! He breatheth"
"Ok, back to the trenches .... (mutter) more paper work"

Have stretched it a little, but did make me laugh. Think this was far fetched though.

Nevertheless, will watch the concluding part.

Re: Birdsong
 

I read the book having been told that it was wonderful.......I found it just this side of OK....nothing to write home about and I couldn't recommend it to anyone........so it will come as no surprise that I gave this program the 'swerve'.

Re: Birdsong
 

It's surprising(and good) how we all see a programme differently.
I see what you mean about the 'smouldering stare', katex-'overly long and quite scary'.
I should think it could make a woman quite uncomfortable and if I'd been her husband I'd have shot him on the spot before anything happened.

Re: Birdsong
 

My mum said she'd enjoyed the first part of the drammatisation - is just getting into the book. Funny how different people see things differently -might just have to make up my own mind!

Re: Birdsong
 

Never read the book, seen the publicity for it in all the shops, they spent a lot on advertising for it, with big window displays everywhere. The TV program was good I thought, I read they used to dig tunnels under no mans land this was the first drama that featured it.

Re: Birdsong
 

I watched it and after a slow start quite enjoyed it. Will be watching the concluding part on Sunday evening.

Re: Birdsong
 

The Jam - Little Boy Soldiers + Lyrics - YouTube

With compliments :rolleyes::D

Re: Birdsong
 

Enjoyed that-haven't heard that song in years -a real classic -love the closing two lines especially.

Went to see The Jam in about '78, great times. They came into the chippy we went to after the concert and we were all too shy to ask them for their autographs!:o:D

Re: Birdsong
 

Overall I thought it was quite good.
It made me think how lucky the men of my generation and their families( and indeed our children's generation) have been to miss a world wide war- our fathers and grandfathers weren't so lucky.
How would we have handled it? Hard to imagine but probably just like they did.

Re: Birdsong
 

Wouldn't have had much choice Gordon, though I do think that as the generations progress we are becoming "softer". The sacrifices my Grandparents generation made, meant they wanted more and better things for us and somehow that has made us weaker. I'm convinced they were made of sterner stuff.

Re: Birdsong
 

If it were truly a world wide war as opposed to conflicts like Afghanistan or Bosnia we'd probably all be annihilated in a few minutes.

Re: Birdsong
 

True.

Same flesh and bones, but now mollycoddled bones.

'P'RADE 'TENNNNSION!'

'Scuse me, but who the frig iz you talkin' to?'

'You dissin' me?'

'Uz gotta show me some respect, before I does any left-right, left-right, marchy-marchy, geezer.'

Re: Birdsong
 

Lol! :D

If it had to be re-run WW2 would be lost this time around..:eek:

The youngsters have far more swagger than any Sgt Major with his Swagger Stick:rolleyes: