|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon.com
In To Play the King, Urquhart appears to have everything he wants. He is the prime minister, he has no immediate rivals, and everyone who knows of his crimes is either on his side or dead. But a new challenge arises when the queen dies and the new king (Michael Kitchen doing a perfect Prince Charles) proves to be a thorn in Urquhart's side. Urquhart may be a staunch defender of the monarchy as a concept, but an individual sovereign is fair game if he proves to be a threat. With a Davies script that pokes fun at British politics and the antics of the royal family as well as a terrific cast led again by Ian Richardson, To Play the King maintains the high standard set by House of Cards.
The Final Cut, the last installment of the trilogy, strikes a more somber note than its predecessors. Urquhart has almost overtaken Margaret Thatcher to become Britain's longest serving postwar leader, but the public is tiring of him and there are rumblings of dissent in the Conservative Party. Urquhart and his wife plot to secure both their place in history and their financial future. Once again, writer Andrew Davies has created a satire to relish, one that confirms all of our doubts about the motives of politicians. Ian Richardson's wonderful performance--filled with sly asides and winks to the camera--makes Francis Urquhart as fascinating as he is wicked, and we find ourselves rooting for this terrible man. The world would certainly be a duller place without him. --Simon Leake
Video Details
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Supurb adaptation of the Michael Dobbs books,
By
This review is from: House of Cards Trilogy (DVD)
Wonderful adaptation of the Michael Dobbs "House of Cards" trilogy. Ian Richardson plays Francis Urquhart, Chief Whip of the Conservative Government, who schemes his way to Number Ten through blackmail, backroom deals, and sheer gall. The second volume, "To Play the King" shows Urquhart up against the newly crowned King (Michael Kitchen, who does a wonderful take on Prince Charles, really stealing the show) with Britain not big enough for the two of them. "The Final Cut" shows Urquhart hanging on against the wiles of the younger generation, while Diane Fletcher, as Urquhart's loyal, Lady-Macbeth-like wife, has her greatest acting moments.Well cast, well directed, and with three thrilling political stories. However, this series would be nothing without Richardson, who amazes. Perhaps the best moments are when he breaches the fourth wall by talking to, or simply raising an eyebrow to, the viewer. While we could never approve of the things "F. U." does, it is hard not to love the character, as brought to full-color life by Richardson. The only extra given on the DVDs, other than cast biographies, is a short BBC segment discussing the controversy over "To Play The King", or, to be more specific, over a line which some felt implied that the King used to send out for prostitutes (in context, it clearly does not, it implied he sent out for well-born ladies who would feel it their duty to come). Each DVD contains four 50 minute episodes, so it is a good buy. Recommended.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Politics At Its Blackest, And Funniest,
By
This review is from: House of Cards Trilogy (DVD)
Ian Richardson, who is always superb, reaches his highest level yet with his portrayal of Francis Urquhart in this trilogy about the rise and fall of a British Prime Minister.In House of Cards we meet Francis Urquhart (FU to his friends and enemies alike) as the Tory Chief Whip in a House of Commons led by a nice but ineffectual Conservative Prime Minister. At first FU seems to be giving us a friendly tour of the British governmental process with a sympathetic eye for the troubles of his PM, but then slowly but surely, he reveals the knives he proceeds to plunge into the backs of all his rivals. He's charming but brutally direct as he takes step after step, including a couple of murders, towards 10 Downing Street. To Play The King is my favorite of the series. FU has to deal with an idealistic young king who disapproves of his hardline conservative policies. Even though we know FU will win in the end, we hope for his downfall while simultaneously cheering his audacity. FU is as charming as ever, even when he's at his vilest and most murderous. The Final Cut is the weakest of the three because FU is more of a victim than a villain during most of it. At the end we are sorry to see FU go even while we are relieved that his murderous ways are at last at an end. And, most intriguingly, we see his successor, supposedly a reformer but possibly already taking on the FU mold. (Unfortunately no one seems to have considered carrying on the story by chronicling his successor's PMship. An interesting footnote to this series has to do with the books they were based upon. Only the third series actually faithfully follows the book. In the first two series the books actually have FU coming to a well deserved end.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
AWESOME,
By Dyutiman Das (Urbana, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: House of Cards Trilogy (DVD)
This is the most awesome political intrigue drama ever. You can read the description in the editor's note, so I won't go into the storyline. I first saw it on the BBC when it was aired in early nineties, but it is mostly unheard of in the US. But when I showed some of my friends, they emmidately baught the whole set, and also as presents for friends, everyone just LOVED it. Though utterly serious, its also hilarious, we'd rewind the movie and then go over again. Especially the functioning of the parliament is a little unknown here, so knowing some minor details will help. Though the sex part was a little obsecure, but one has to admit that "the most sexual part of the body is the brain". Also everyone will be in love with "You can surely think so, but I couldn't possibly comment". A must buy.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Movies & TV > Boxed Sets > Mystery & Suspense
- Movies & TV > Boxed Sets > Special Interests
- Movies & TV > Boxed Sets > Television
- Movies & TV > Drama
- Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Mystery
- Movies & TV > TV Shows > BBC > All BBC Titles
- Movies & TV > TV Shows > Boxed Sets
- Movies & TV > TV Shows > British Television
- Movies & TV > TV Shows > TV Series > Drama
- Movies & TV > TV Shows > TV Series > Mystery & Suspense
- Movies & TV > TV Shows > TV Series > TV Series By Letter > H > House of Cards
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
