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Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic

Original title: Disraeli
  • TV Mini Series
  • 19781978
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
242
YOUR RATING
Ian McShane in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978)
BiographyDramaHistory
A penetrating look at one of British history's most enigmatic and controversial figure, Benjamin Disraeli--a dandy, womanizer and a Jew.A penetrating look at one of British history's most enigmatic and controversial figure, Benjamin Disraeli--a dandy, womanizer and a Jew.A penetrating look at one of British history's most enigmatic and controversial figure, Benjamin Disraeli--a dandy, womanizer and a Jew.
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
242
YOUR RATING
  • Stars
    • Ian McShane
    • Rosemary Leach
    • Mary Peach
  • Stars
    • Ian McShane
    • Rosemary Leach
    • Mary Peach
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 2 nominations total

    Episodes4

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 Season1980

    Photos6

    John Carlisle and Ian McShane in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978)
    Ian McShane in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978)
    Ian McShane in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978)
    Ian McShane in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978)
    Ian McShane in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ian McShane
    Ian McShane
    • Benjamin Disraeli
    Rosemary Leach
    Rosemary Leach
    • Queen Victoria
    Mary Peach
    Mary Peach
    • Mary Anne…
    Brett Usher
    • Edward Lytton Bulwer…
    John Carlisle
    • W.E. Gladstone…
    Jeremy Clyde
    Jeremy Clyde
    • Lord John Manners
    Brewster Mason
    Brewster Mason
    • Chancellor Bismarck…
    David de Keyser
    David de Keyser
    • Baron de Rothschild
    David Wood
    David Wood
    • Lord Derby
    John Gregg
    John Gregg
    • Lord Salisbury
    Frances Bennett
    Frances Bennett
    • Lady Chesterfield
    Brendan Barry
    • Sir Stafford Northcote
    Patrick Drury
    Patrick Drury
    • Montagu Corry…
    Peter Hughes
    • Philip Rose
    Peter Miles
    Peter Miles
    • Lord Henry Lennox
    Leigh Lawson
    Leigh Lawson
    • Count Alfred D'Orsay
    Margaret Whiting
    • Lady Blessington
    Mark Dignam
    Mark Dignam
    • Lord Lyndhurst
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Connections
      Featured in The 32nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1980)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Learning your history the enjoyable way
    There was a time when Masterpiece Theatre truly showed masterpieces rather than sordid and foul detective series or more recent novels that are perhaps a notch above Harlequin Romances. One of the better series, I recall, told the story of the life, loves and political triumphs of Benjamin Disraeli; and I have often longed to see it again, knowing full well it went the way of many old films introduced by Alistaire Cooke in the good old days.

    Well lo and behold! Acorn Media has made Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic available once more in a boxed set of four one-hour video tapes. It runs at some 220 minutes and is priced at $79.95. This might be a stiff price for individuals (although it would make a superb gift to someone whose intelligence you respect), but I feel that schools and libraries should pay heed to what I say below.

    Like most BBC historical recreations, this one-although produced on a modest budget, as one can tell from the absence of crowd scenes-is extremely accurate as to décor, dress, speech patterns, body language, and all those details that so add to our enjoyment and appreciation of the subject matter. Then again we have the grand British acting tradition in which even the smaller roles are played with individuality and an avoidance of stereotyping.

    Ian McShane is our Disraeli and viewers of ‘Lovejoy ` and `The Dick Francis Mysteries' just might recognize him. The historically accurate way in which the younger Disraeli overdressed himself as a defense against anti-Semitism is worth the price of the set alone, as are the looks he gets when he changes to almost Puritan black and enters Parliament as a new man. After what we just went through in our nation's capital, it is refreshing to see the story of a truly talented man who acted for the good of his country and when he thought his Party wrong, told them so!

    Even when he decided that marriage with a rich widow considerably older than himself was the only way to pay his debts, he spent most of the rest of his life as the happiest of married men. The estimable Mary Anne is played wrinkles and all by Mary Peach, who perfectly portrays the sort of wife that such a man needs. And after seeing the dour Queen Victoria of Judi Dench in the recent film `Mrs. Brown,' it is a bit surprising to see the almost jolly Victoria of Rosemary Leach. Very human, very believable.

    Of course, a little boning up on what `Liberal,' `Conservative,' `Tory,' and so on meant back then would help a little toward better understanding the intricacies of the political situation-but this is exactly what I hinted at above. What better way to teach the history of any period than to feed it up in a thumping good story. For myself, I found the social posturing of the times as much fun as the history lesson. By the way, very little of both have changed, since those who do not read their history are bound to repeat its mistakes.

    As you watch you cannot help but see how important it was to oppose the party in power no matter what plan they had for the country. The important thing was to act for Your Party, which usually meant fighting the Other Party tooth and nail over everything. If this sounds familiar, you see my point.

    Most of all, this is the story of a man taking social prejudices in the only way that works: showing them that he is better than any of them. For example, when Baron Rothchild was elected to Parliament, he refused to take the oath on anything but the Old Testament. When Disraeli wanted to shame the House for their bigotry, he appealed to them as a Christian (he had converted long before that) and reminded them that Rothchild was of the same religion as Christ. In a later sequence, he asked his bitterest opponent to be Viceroy of India because Disraeli thought him the best man for the job. This is what we used to call integrity.
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    • behrens-2
    • Jan 1, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Disraeli
    • Production company
      • Associated Television (ATV)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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