Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978) User Reviews

The Consummate Statesman

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 2 January 2008]

Ian McShane had a couple of pretty good acts to follow in portraying Benjamin Disraeli who was arguably the United Kingdom's greatest Prime Minister. George Arliss played Disraeli on stage and screen in a story that centered around Great Britain's acquisition of the Suez Canal and it was one of his most celebrated parts. In The Prime Minister, John Gielgud plays Disraeli in 1941 with the backdrop of World War II and the climax there is Disraeli facing down the threatening Otto Von Bismarck and the newly united Germany. That was a considerable rewriting of history, but it served the propaganda purposes of the time well.

But this mini-series gives us a look at Disraeli's whole life and the many facets of that life. Disraeli was not a Jew, he was baptized in the Church of England, but his Jewish ancestry was always used as a slur against him and he never repudiated it or acted ashamed. He was a Georgian dandy, would be rake, would be novelist who dabbled in politics and eventually got a seat in Parliament.

The original impression of Disraeli was as a dandy and fop who hadn't a serious bone in his body. He did a considerable amount of bed hopping in his youth before meeting a woman a dozen years older than himself who became the love of his life. Mary Peach as Mary Anne Wyndham Lewis Disraeli matches McShane's performance in every step of the way.

Disraeli was one of the most creative statesmen of his century. The Tory Party owes its very existence to his vision today. He got way out in front of his party in his first ministry on the franchise reform question and his support of enlarging the franchise won voters to the Conservatives for generations though it did not bear immediate results. The series does go into his acquisition of the Suez Canal and gives the real story of the Congress of Europe in 1878 when both Disraeli and Bismarck took the measure of each other. The lesson there was that Europe did not go to war as it did in 1914. Had these guys been in charge at that time, World War I would never have happened.

Disraeli was Ian McShane's career role and if this series is ever rebroadcast on Masterpiece Theater or some other venue, do not miss it.

Exceptional BBC Miniseries

[sunspot · 9/10 · 10 December 2000]

I was only about 12 when PBS here in the US originally aired this, and I recall pretending to be sick and staying home one day from school so that I could catch the final episode one weekday afternoon. I probably learned more about history that day than I did in a year wasted in our public schools, and it was entertaining, too.

Sadly, the BBC doesn't seem to produce shows like this anymore, and if they do PBS isn't buying them. Pity.

Learning your history the enjoyable way

[behrens-2 · 1 January 2000]

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.

Twaddle.

[davidjparris · 4/10 · 9 March 2021]

I have seen a few British mini series from the 1970's and most of them have been disappointing. In that regard Disraeli lives up to that expectation.This is a complete load of twaddle with no entertainment value whatsoever.Ian Mcshane portrays the main character as some sort of nancy boy with heterosexual leanings.A most unattractive thing to behold. I gave up watching after about the 50 minute mark and can only advise do yourself a favour and give this show a miss.

Ian IS Dizzy

[lor_ · 18 July 2023]

In the role of a lifetime, Ian McShane gives a shaded, multi-dimensional performance as Queen Victoria's favorite prime minister, covering his early career tight through his latter day triumphs. For the many fans who have come to admire this durable actor in more recent years, this early triumph is a must.

Mary Peach is extremely moving as his wife, older than he and as supportive as could be humanly possible. David Butler's screenplay and Claude Whatham's direction are up to the task of presenting not merely the momentous points but also the most endearing and sensitive moments. And Rosemary Leach is subtle and unassuming in a key role portraying Queen Victoria.