North and South BBC Adaption

Lately I have been getting into classics. Classical books, but more into classical movies. With all of the media advertisements and mainstream culture I have been exposed to, it feels nice to go into and explore the old-fashion culture and customs. Especially England of course, I mean who doesn't love British accents and gentleman-like customs.

This may seem silly, but it was just last year that I watched for the first time the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. It was great, I loved the old traditions and the genuine misunderstandings of a person's character based on what they had said or acted. Perhaps, I was even more taken with the men always being so respectful and polite to women in a genuine way (not creepy!) and to some degree treated them equally, even though the women were not expected to work or understand social issues.

In fact, it was the notion of women who spoke their minds and took careful consideration and understanding of social issues that caught the attention of upper-class men that appeals to me the most. While I don't like the idea that it sightly conveys the lives of upper-class men are more interesting and important than those of regular people due to their status, I do enjoy the fact that both sides begin to understand each other's traditions, occupations, and circumstances as they become more familiar with one another. They even begin to respect and admire the livelihood of people outside of their social class. 

As many people are well-aware of the storyline of Pride and Prejudice, I thought that I should introduce the BBC adaption of the Victorian novel "North and South" written by Elizabeth Gaskell in 1855. The four part TV serial adaption of BBC was created and aired in November to December of 2004.

The gentleman always acknowledges and take off their hats when a lady is present.

What I love about this drama is that it gives the reader an insight into the age of industrial change and how the struggles of the town affects the beliefs, assumptions, and thoughts of the main character, Margaret Hall played by Daniela Denby-Ashe. As the story starts, she is continuously perplexed as to why the people live the way they do in Milton, Darkshire, Northern England (known to be subjected to gray, cold weather and harsh industrial pollution) as she moved from Southern England, a more carefree and wide open-spaced area. 

I won't go too much into the storyline, but the adaption explores the relationship between Margaret Hall and John Thorton, an owner of one of the 12 mills in Milton, and develops the struggles of social class and gender in the early 1850s very well. It allows viewers to understand both sides of the story.

What other 'classical' movies have you been watching? Any you would like to recommend?