"Rhodes" (1996) TV mini-series

Director:

David Drury

Writer:

Antony Thomas (writer)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

4 January 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This 8-part drama series tells the story of Cecil Rhodes, the British 19th-century businessman who became...

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Frances Barber	...	Princess Catherine Radziwill (8 episodes, 1996)
Gideon Emery	...	Alan Wilson (2 episodes, 1996)

Country:

UK | USA | Canada | South Africa

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Rhodes, a man to hate but a portrait to be loved

I have known Rhodes to be the father of oppression in southern Africa. A man of his time maybe, but one who did so much to create so much suffering, that I thought it impossible, that a biopic of him would fascinate me, but it did. Here we see a man driven by ambition, by disgust over his fellow humans, white or black. He is portrayed not as a person with whom you would like to identify yourself, but whose inner workings and motivations you want to know. This is the true greatness of the script. It entices you to involve yourself with a man, who stands wholeheartedly for a thoroughly black page in history.

coupled to that it is a superb costume drama, with well developed secondary characters of whom I would like to mention by name: Ken Stott as Barney Barnato

To sum it up. This film will not make you hate Rhodes any less than you did before, but it does help you to understand the fascination he created in his own day.