Fortunes of War (1987– )

Guy Pringle and his new wife, Harriet, are members of the English community in Bucharest, Rumania on the eve of World War II. The film catalogs and chronicles, after the war begins, the ... See full summary »

Stars:

Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Charles Kay

3 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Emma Thompson	...	Harriet Pringle (7 episodes, 1987)
Kenneth Branagh	...	Guy Pringle (7 episodes, 1987)
Charles Kay	...	Dobson (7 episodes, 1987)
Mark Drewry	...	Dubedat (5 episodes, 1987)
Ronald Pickup	...	Prince Yakimov (4 episodes, 1987)
Alan Bennett	...	Lord Pinkrose (4 episodes, 1987)
Harry Burton	...	Sasha Drucker (4 episodes, 1987)
Rupert Graves	...	Simon Boulderstone (3 episodes, 1987)
James Villiers	...	Inchcape (3 episodes, 1987)
Robert Stephens	...	Castlebar (3 episodes, 1987)
Ciaran Madden	...	Angela Hooper (3 episodes, 1987)
Desmond McNamara	...	Galpin (3 episodes, 1987)
Richard Clifford	...	Lawson (3 episodes, 1987)
Diana Hardcastle	...	Edwina Little (3 episodes, 1987)
Christopher Strauli	...	Toby Lush (3 episodes, 1987)
Greg Hicks	...	Aidan Pratt (3 episodes, 1987)
Elena Secota	...	Sophie Oresanu (3 episodes, 1987)
Magdalena Buznea	...	Despina (3 episodes, 1987)
Caroline Langrishe	...	Bella Niculesco (3 episodes, 1987)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Hadjimoscos (3 episodes, 1987)
Mischa De La Motte	...	Horvath (3 episodes, 1987)
Nicholas Amer	...	Palu (3 episodes, 1987)
Sam Dastor	...	Dr. Shafik (2 episodes, 1987)
Clifford Rose	...	Professor Gracey (2 episodes, 1987)
Patricia Quinn	...	Mona Castlebar (2 episodes, 1987)
Glyn Grain	...	Foxy Leverett (2 episodes, 1987)
Claire Oberman	...	Mortimer (2 episodes, 1987)
Anthony Calf	...	Corporal Arnold (2 episodes, 1987)
Esmond Knight	...	Liversage (2 episodes, 1987)
Erin Donovan	...	Phil (2 episodes, 1987)
Vladimir Mirodan	...	Nikko Niculesco (2 episodes, 1987)
Jeremy Sinden	...	Lord Lisdoonvarna (2 episodes, 1987)
Relja Basic	...	Emmanuel Drucker (2 episodes, 1987)

Storyline

Guy Pringle and his new wife, Harriet, are members of the English community in Bucharest, Rumania on the eve of World War II. The film catalogs and chronicles, after the war begins, the characters [diplomats, literary types, spies, penniless royalty, gays, lesbians] that cross and re-cross their path as they flee before the advancing Germany armies to Athens and then to Cairo.

---

Plot Keywords:

spy | lesbian | tv mini series | world war two | activist | 

---

Genres:

Drama | War

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1987 (UK)

Also Known As:

Krigets skördar

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Egypt

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

407 min 407 min (7 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joanne Whalley and Fiona Shaw were considered for the role of Harriet Pringle.

---

Quotes

Toby Lush: Guy, you know what Harriet reminds me of? Those lines of Tennyson; "She walks in beauty like the night, Of cloudless climes and starry skies."
Guy Pringle: Byron.

---

Connections

Featured in Time Shift: Alan Plater: Hearing the Music (2005)

User Reviews

a wonderful wartime movie that is not about war.

This is a very long, but also very enjoyable movie (originally a tv series) set against the background of WWII. Guy Pringle (Branagh), a university professor, leaves Britain and comes to Romania to teach. He has a love for his wife (Thompson) and all the people surrounding them. We watch his passion to make a difference when other people are escaping from Germans marching toward their city and gain influence from within. Relationships develop between the couple and locals, and we start to care about most of them. We see how horrible everyday life could be with the constant threat of war, but how it isn't. We observe Guy treat everyone around him with good intentions, at the expense of his wife, and we want to shake him to come to his senses. We follow their journey to other countries, and the movie is a joy to watch from beginning to end. There are a few memorable scenes between Guy and his wife that I cannot forget, and Branagh really touches me when he cries. The acting by all the cast is simply wonderful, and the movie is definitely worth spending 3 hours.