S1.E3

A Tragedy of Two Ambitions

Name: A Tragedy of Two Ambitions
Genre: Drama
Released: 1973-11-21
Duration: 49 min
Rating: 8.4
Cast: John Hurt, David Troughton, Paul Rogers

Episode aired Nov 21, 1973
49m

IMDb RATING

8.4/10

YOUR RATING

Drama

This is the first of Dennis Potter's adaptations from Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). It aired on WESSEX TALES, a BBC2 series devoted to Hardy dramatizations. Hardy was born in Dorsetshire, an are... Read allThis is the first of Dennis Potter's adaptations from Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). It aired on WESSEX TALES, a BBC2 series devoted to Hardy dramatizations. Hardy was born in Dorsetshire, an area he called Wessex in his writings, including WESSEX POEMS (1898). As in the original shor... Read allThis is the first of Dennis Potter's adaptations from Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). It aired on WESSEX TALES, a BBC2 series devoted to Hardy dramatizations. Hardy was born in Dorsetshire, an area he called Wessex in his writings, including WESSEX POEMS (1898). As in the original short story, two brothers attained respectable positions, but then feel they must do something... Read all

IMDb RATING

8.4/10

YOUR RATING

- Michael Tuchner
- Thomas Hardy(short story)
- Dennis Potter(adapted by)
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Featured review

10/10

Pungent, anti-romantic period tragicomedies

In 1974 or so,I saw three of these hour-adaptations from Hardy's short fictions, broadcast on a Georgia PBS station. I have never heard of them being shown again in this country. What stuck in the mind was the ferocity of their ironies-- the several dooms the series' characters brought upon themselves. I discover now that Dennis Potter supervised the series, wrote some of the scripts-- and the link between these stories and the perversities of PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, written soon after, is a revelation (read "Barbara of the House of Grebe"-- a brutal ghost story like nothing else I've read in Hardy). I would love to have copies of these shows.

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