Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 13:07:16

Good enough.. But pales from the original

While this was cast with a good actors many characters didn't match my minds version. But it came close. If you've read the book you know how detailed the story is..something that would be very difficult to put into film. So it deviates from the original but all the main points are played out. NOTHING can match the brilliance of Follets work so you really must read the book.

2012-05-25 00:01:15

Excellent

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth (DVD) For a TV series they did an excellent job. Very high quality production, which my favorite book deserved. I'm so happy they didn't compromise. They did it right!

2012-05-19 16:33:49

Decent but far from the book

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth (DVD) If like me you're buying this after reading the book, prepare to be disappointed. It might be better to watch and then read.

2012-05-18 20:53:03

WARRING: Needs editing:

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth (DVD) Do not show this movie to under age childern. There is on scean where a woman uninates on a bishop. Other than that there is also some minor nudity, With a little bit of editing the movie would make a great teaching tool. Exellent history and inspiring tale. Unforitnatly as is it needs an X rating.

2012-05-13 14:15:30

The Best TV Mini-Series Ever!

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I highly recommend those who are avid Pillars of the Earth fans to purchase the Blueray edition. This is because the quality is extremely good; the high definition is really remarkable. The contrast of the colors and detail you would not normally see on a DVD is very vivd and noticeable through this Blueray version. The series as a whole is just a really good all around story. Like any novel turned into a movie, it is not all exactly correct. This TV mini-series mixes love, romance, politics, religion, hate, treachery, anarchy, and more, in one big captivating 8-part story. This Blueray edition includes the expected 8 episodes about an hour in length per episode. There was only one slight issue, however, it might not even be the blueray movie that has the issue but rather our TV. For some reason when people speak, there is a slight deep robotic sounding malfunction when people spoke in a deep voice. It is barely noticeable, and this has happened with another Blueray movie we bought, (which was one of the Harry Potter movies). It is nothing to be concerned about, since it seems as if it isn't the Blueray disc, but the blueray player or TV that we have that has the issues.One other good thing about this product, is that it arrived a lot earlier than I had originally thought. It came in the mail very quickly, so this seller is definitely an efficient and timely seller!!!

2012-05-13 06:10:40

Good job everybody

I read the "The Pillars of the Earth" a few years ago and - as many other thousands of readers - I was pleased that they made a movie out of it. It was an opportunity to match the 12th century England that we built in our minds with the one provided by the movie (and probably certified by Follett himself).The 1000 pages book is not above reproach. The first third is really, really good. I don't think that I ever read such good storytelling. The second act is still very good, but it was more traditionally developed (was it just impossible to keep the narrative of the first part?). On the last part, things start to flat and only at times it came close to the mastery of the first act.Nevertheless, Ken Follett even on his weakest moments is an amazing storyteller. I really cannot thing of anyone better on that regards.We cannot fall in the trap that a book is better than the movie. It is always is. That's cliché. We cannot expect that a movie to be a perfect recreation of the book. It is never like that. There were rare cases in the film history that a director gave such a vision to the book that the movie became a work of art in its own way. Kubrick is a common example.It is not the case of this miniseries. And whoever has such an expectation shouldn't bother to watch these DVDs. My first and only reason to watch this miniseries was the plain old curiosity. I had some expectations to watch a well made production, that's true, but I was basically moved by curiosity. I was pretty sure that the miniseries would be technically well-made, respectful to those that read the book.I was not disappointed. The production design, sets, costumes, sound, editing, photography and all other technical aspects were made according to today's Hollywood standards. The big surprise for me was the cast. What a great cast they pulled together! The main force behind is Ian McShane. I don't remember the book to be such centered around Waleran, but the miniseries is. Ian McShane has such a shinning presence that everything else moves around him. This is a performance that would be hard to forget. I cannot miss the opportunity to mention Hayley Atwell. I am still seduced by her."The Pillars of the Earth" has many moving parts and an adaptation had the risk to expose some holes. They indeed made a few changes, but the cast was so competent that I only noticed the flaws after watching the whole miniseries and, even so, after thinking hard on that (in the process, I discovered some flaws in the book too). The end of the book and miniseries is where the difference is the greatest. But then, there was no risk for the miniseries to fall apart because it was the end and there was nothing else to be said. The miniseries is more cynical, which may represent Follett's more recent wave of cynicism. Maybe if Pasolini had directed this, it would be another work of art. I am giving 4 stars basically because of the cast, to the production and to the fact that I didn't expect to be disappointed and I wasn't.

2012-05-07 06:55:40

Not your ordinary Medieval movie..

First off, as other posters have said, read the Book! You will like yourself better in the morning for doing so.That being said, having seen the five episodes of this that have aired so far, there is a vast difference between the movie and the book. The movie, in my opinion still holds to the essence of the novel that Follett wrote. He did approve all the changes between the book and the movie-there's an interview with him online about it. So the changes that were made between the book and the novel were not a surprise to him, and he even gets cast in a small role.There were slight casting liberties taken, and you'll see the character differences between the movie and the book. Even so, the characters in the movie are very well portrayed and very much like they are imagined.I read the novel for a History class in 2004 maybe? I sent a message to the professor of the class as soon as I saw this was going to be airing. The majority of her students that read this book fall in love with it, so to be able to see it brought to life is very exciting.I gave it 5 stars because Ken Follett does a great job keeping the reader captivated, and wanting to turn the next page. The movie producers here have done equally well with his vision keeping the audience clamoring for more after each episode.

2012-05-06 23:07:20

OUTSTANDING!

I have seen all but the ending of this monumental film based on Pillars of the Earth. It is respectful of the book, with some minor changes I wasn't sure were really necessary, however, they didn't change the main story very much, so I was pleased to put up with them! I rarely watch television, but this was worth every viewing minute! If you loved the book, you MUST see this film adaptation. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and read the book first and then watch the dvd's. If you love historical fiction, this is a must read. One might wonder that the building of a cathedral could be the center of an exciting storyline, but it's possible and this book continues to be among my top three favorites. The film will definitely be among my favorites as well. The characters were very well cast, and although many of the actors/actresses are unknown to me, they are very talented and did not disappoint.

2012-05-03 16:27:32

movie accurately reflects book

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth (DVD) I originally watched the series on tv and enjoyed it so much I downloaded the book to my Kindle. I was stunned at the accurate translation from book to movie as usually a movie is not worth watching after reading the book. I was blown away and amazed how similar the book and movie was. As a matter of fact after reading the book I ordered the DVD and watched it again!! Well worth the money. I do not normally watch something more than once but I will definately watch this several times in the future.

patrick-osmond 2012-05-03 11:55:54

I really wanted to like it but......

I know that a film can never be as good as a book, I know this. I alsoknow that they would never be able to fit everything in that happens inthe book because there is just too much.I was expecting there to be gaps where bits got missed out however Iwasn't expecting them to veer sharply away from the book at points andjust make a load of stuff up that clearly didn't happen! It could havebeen really good and it was in a lot of ways however I just couldn'tstomach all the bits they made up.If you have read the book don't even bother watching this however ifyou haven't and don't know what to expect you will probably bepleasantly surprised.

2012-04-29 01:56:35

Pillars of the Earth

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth (DVD) The makers of this movie did an exceptional job adapting this story to film. I am more than pleased I decided to purchase this.

2012-04-28 11:29:52

Jimmie

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I got this for my wife for her birthday. it is a wonderful story and movie, but I wouldn't want anyone under the age of 17 to watch it as it is very adult sexually.

2012-04-25 10:26:02

Great Story. I Loved It!

This an 8 part mini-series that takes place during medieval times in England. There is plenty of backstabbing, treachery, jealousy and love. Ian McShane is delightfully evil, playing the role of Waleran Bigod. Newcomers Eddie Redmayne and Hayley Atwell give wonderful performances as the young star-crossed lovers. However, I must say that the entire cast of actors and actresses all turn out excellent performances. I recommend it highly!

Leofwine_draca 2012-04-24 18:03:06

Gripping brilliance

Ken Follett's lengthy historical novel THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH is fartoo intricate to adapt into a feature-length production, so producersinstead opted for this miniseries treatment which gives a full 8 hoursto the plotting. And, quite simply, it's wonderful. THE PILLARS OF THEEARTH has it all and is up there with the best miniseries of all time –I'm thinking BAND OF BROTHERS et al. From the very first episode I wasengrossed in the wonderful storyline which brings history to life vialiving, breathing characters caught up in intrigue, danger and romance.As somebody who hadn't read the novel previously, I had no idea what toexpect. There's the usual historical backdrop stuff of warring kingsand queens and battlefield showdowns, but the miniseries works so wellbecause it focuses on the interactions between a dozen or so majorcharacters. The thrust of the story concerns building a cathedral, butinto this comes a myriad themes: drive, ambition, jealousy, love,possessiveness, religion, anger, hatred, incest, desire, and everythingelse besides. Essentially this is a production that explores the humancondition in serious depth.The casting is excellent: Ian McShane excels as the sinister, plottingman of the cloth, Bishop Waleran, while Matthew Macfadyen is similarlyfine as his nemesis, the pious Prior Philip. We get solid turns fromseasoned veterans like Donald Sutherland and Rufus Sewell mixed withupbeat and engaging performances from the likes of Eddie Redmayne andHayley Atwell, both of whom shine (especially the glorious Atwell).Although this is made for television, the battle sequences arerealistic and bloody and there are strong scenarios involving rape,incest and murder which you don't see coming.Leading characters are bumped off in unbelievable plot twists and noneof the eight episodes flag, each serving to add to the mystery andleave you wanting to find out what happens next. By the end, I wasbreathless and a changed man: I felt like I'd had my eyes opened,similar to when I saw the LORD OF THE RINGS films for the first time.This is definitely the best thing I've seen all year, and indeed one ofmy favourite productions of all time. If only Ridley Scott would putmore effort into producing stuff like this instead of wasting his timewith the Hollywood-ized likes of ROBIN HOOD…

otto99-1 2012-04-20 14:02:58

This is NOT Pillars. It's not even (shudder) World Without End.

I am up to Episode 4 on Starz. I, too, subscribed to Starz simply forPillars. I said OK to the obvious storyline departures of the firstthree episodes, as most of the story was there, compressed andamalgamated for the time allotted, but I was OK with it. Then I watchedEpisode 4, and I am angry that I spent money so I could watch thistravesty. Phillip was not tortured. If Aliena is already a successfulwool merchant, then Tom is already dead. The whole Maud thing is bogusand didn't happen in the book. I could go on, but I won't waste anymoretime. I'll finish watching the thing, as my subscription to Starz laststhat long, but I really want my money back. And should by some grace itredeems itself, I will modify my review. But I am not optimistic.

2012-04-20 09:23:56

I was worth the wat!!!

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) The mini-series was awesome. Ken Follett was right to wait it out until somone could do justice to the best novel I ever read. In Ridley Scott's capable hands this story came to life on the screen. Scott and his team, especially the screenwriter for the miniseries John Pielmeier, really hit the mark. The attention to detail and casting were spot on. If you already read the book you will love it...it is like visiting with an old friend after years apart. If you did not read the book watch the movie. I bet you'll want to read the book. Do not miss this one.

MsWriterPerson 2012-04-20 12:01:12

well done

Wonderfully done. The sets were amazing, the cast was well picked, theplot was enthralling, the characters were real, and the dialouge isepic. This is the first miniseries I've ever seen that I was actuallycheering on the sidelines. My favorite character is (without a doubt)Prior Philip (He had the best dialouge scenes). The book is excellent,(some scenes in the miniseries gets it down to the word.) and Irecommend this to anyone who is willing to look past the fact that youhave to keep up with a large number of characters, and the miniseriesis the best I've ever seen. **Spoiler Time** The endings are differentin the book and miniseries. Walerean dies in the miniseries, and in thebook he lives his life as a humble monk.

Black_Wolf 2012-04-20 05:27:45

Not even close to the book

In all fairness, the series probably deserve a little better than 3stars. But since I have actually read the book, I can't, in goodconscience give it any better score. It seems to me that some drunkfool read the book, a very long time ago, then told someone about it,who in turn thought it was a good enough story to make a series out of.The problem being of course that the original storyline gets mangledalmost to the unrecognizable. Someone has done a decent job ofoutlining the basic story, (The cathedral and some of the moreimportant events) but otherwise its a completely different story thenthe book.Now usually I'm quite capable of forgiving simple errors, and condoningchanges that otherwise would be impossible. But the producers of thisminiseries does the unthinkable. They change the very possible (andsometimes easier) events from the book into something completelydifferent. Now, usually you can understand the how an why of theproducers choices, but these people take it far beyond thecomprehensible. Often turning moving scenes from the book intosomething less, and sometimes trying to make some scenes more than theyreally are (unsuccessfully). All of this, I suspect, comes from thedrunken fool. In conclusion, if you've read the book, and actuallyliked it enough to remember it (like I did), DON'T under anycircumstance watch the series. If you haven't read the book, watch theseries and judge for yourself.Now I won't sit here and be completely negative. There are bright spotsin the middle of this mashed up jumble of a story. And that's namelythe actors. Well, some of them. Ian McShane (Waleran), MatthewMacfadyen (Prior Philip), Hayley Atwell (Aliena), David Oakes (WilliamHamleigh) and Rufus Sewell (Tom Builder) are all excellent choices astheir respective characters, and deliver very impressive performances,although sometimes out of character in comparison to the book, but thatis not their fault i believe. Another bright spot is the scenery,costumes and the overall feel of the time period. Its just a shame noneof the producers took the time to read the book themselves I guess...:( What was Ken Follet thinking when he let these people ruin his book?

kjpweb 2012-04-19 11:44:42

Catastrophic failure

Lord of the Rings is an Epic book - and so is "The Pillars of theEarth". To create a movie out of material is a challenge, that the formermanaged to face, the latter however failed miserably on so many levels. Here's what doesn't sit well. 1. Trying to compress a book that describes the events in and aroundKingsbridge over several decades into the projected few hours is simplyimpossible. Too much vital information gets left out and too much ofthe essence of Follett's masterpiece is lost on the way. As a result the viewer is not able to connect with the characters,which on top of that are poorly casted - with only a few exceptions,namely Waleran Bigod and King Steven. The director didn't even botherto cast actors that resemble the characters, that Follett described sodetailed. Take the figure of Tom Builder for example. Described as hugeand rather rough looking - he's played by Rufus Sewell - average heightand body, and more of a hunk!Then there is Donald Sutherland - the movies biggest star, wasted on afigure that only appears more or less on the fringes of the story. Thelist goes on and on. Cliché's are plentiful - playing medieval music just because the camerazooms in on a castle? Historical errors plentiful - so is Waleran shownreading a book, with fine, thin pages. Problem is, that books as weknow them, were not even invented and technically possible for another400 years - and books like that sure not available until the late1800's.Liturgy chorus underpinned by drums for crying out loud? It is the vast amount of inaccuracies and discrepancies that sours theviewing pleasure significantly for anyone, who read the book. All thatChris Columbus did right with "Lord of the Rings" this directorskipped. The attention to detail and adherence to the book. And it's getting worse, when the story itself gets essentially altered,events manipulated. One example is Empress Maude story. She didn't gavebirth, so there was no son to be made king. (That a son of hers laterbecame king is another story). What bothers the most is, that a no time during the first two episodesa feeling of familiarity with the book was established in a credibleway. One of the central figures - Prior Philip, was just thrown intothe story, with no explanation and background. He achieved becomingPrior and getting the land for his priory without the slightest problemand effort. Just becoming Prior was a two chapter struggle in the book,masterfully showing intrigues, politics and all the economical andlogistical background of a small priory at the beginning of the firstmillennium.All in all the disappointment is huge - and I'm stumped that KenFollett lends his name to this farce.This of course is a review from someone, who loves the book and cannotremove that from the review. I can't possibly mimic the viewer, thathasn't read it, for whom the whole story is new. All I can imagine is,that the connection the reader experiences to the main actors of thebook, will not be even remotely comparable, due to the lacklusterscreen-writing.My rating: Zero stars.Addendum: After seeing all 8 Episodes - my initial opinion has notchanged - it even has gotten worse. The story was altered on so manyends that at times you didn't recognized the beloved book anymore. Toomany flaws in the timeline, combined with new twists that didn't helpmade a mess and jumbled the story in a way that it was disjointed.Characters didn't really build and the viewer was hardly able toconnect, not to mention that the Grandeur and main storyline of thebook - the Cathedral building with all it's fascination was banished tothe sidelines.

2012-04-18 21:56:57

this was a TV production??? Wow...

This review is from: The Pillars of the Earth [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I'd have paid to see this in the theater...and been happy to pay for it. The production value is very good for a TV miniseries, the acting is top notch across the board, and the story is excellent. This series runs a rather lengthy 6 or 7 hours, but even at the end you'll be wishing that it would just keep going. This is a masterpiece of storytelling, a great period piece, wonderfully casted, and just an overall brilliant mini-series...I can't believe I didn't catch this on TV the first time around...glad I didn't though because watching it all in 3 sittings on bluray with no commercials was nice :)I'll be watching this full through again in a few months...