A Dance to the Music of Time 

Anthony Powell's twelve volume novel sequence "A Dance to the Music of Time" has been dramatized for television.

Stars:

Gillian Barge, Nicholas Jones, Simon Russell Beale

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Gillian Barge	...	Mrs. Erdleigh / ... 4 episodes, 1997
Nicholas Jones	...	Bob Duport / ... 4 episodes, 1997
Simon Russell Beale	...	Widmerpool 4 episodes, 1997
Robin Bailey	...	Uncle Alfred 3 episodes, 1997
Jonathan Cake	...	Peter Templer 3 episodes, 1997
James Fleet	...	Moreland 3 episodes, 1997
Richard Pasco	...	Sir Magnus Donners 3 episodes, 1997
James Purefoy	...	Nicholas Jenkins 3 episodes, 1997
Paul Rhys	...	Charles Stringham 3 episodes, 1997
Annabel Mullion	...	Mona 3 episodes, 1997
Claire Skinner	...	Jean 3 episodes, 1997
Adrian Scarborough	...	JG Quiggin 3 episodes, 1997
Grant Thatcher	...	Mark Members 3 episodes, 1997
Sarah Badel	...	Lady Molly 2 episodes, 1997
Alan Bennett	...	Sillery 2 episodes, 1997
Emma Fielding	...	Isobel 2 episodes, 1997
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Le Bas 2 episodes, 1997
Edward Fox	...	Uncle Giles 2 episodes, 1997
Anastasia Hille	...	Matilda 2 episodes, 1997
Nigel Lindsay	...	Odo Stevens 2 episodes, 1997
Miranda Richardson	...	Pamela Flitton 2 episodes, 1997
Zoë Wanamaker	...	Audrey Maclintick 2 episodes, 1997
Michael Williams	...	Ted Jeavons 2 episodes, 1997
Geraldine Alexander	...	Susan 2 episodes, 1997
Carmen Du Sautoy	...	Miss Weedon 2 episodes, 1997
Nicholas Rowe	...	David Pennistone / ... 2 episodes, 1997
Barbara Durkin	...	Betty 2 episodes, 1997
Andrew Havill	...	Sunny Farebrother 2 episodes, 1997
Osmund Bullock	...	Erridge 2 episodes, 1997
Caroline Harker	...	Priscilla 2 episodes, 1997
Tony Osoba	...	Colonel Flores 2 episodes, 1997
Bryan Pringle	...	Smith 2 episodes, 1997

Storyline

Anthony Powell's twelve volume novel sequence "A Dance to the Music of Time" has been dramatized for television.

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Plot Keywords:

female rear nudity | fortune telling | ritz hotel london | black shirt | reference to marx | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1997 (UK)

Also Known As:

Horos sti mousiki tou hronou

Filming Locations:

Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Table Top Productions,Channel 4 Television Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

416 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the final segment, when Widmerpool is kissing the feet of the disciples, the edge of his phony hairpiece is clearly visible on the back of his head.

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Soundtracks

Twentieth Century Blues
(uncredited)
By Noël Coward
[theme]

User Reviews

Abridgement not adaptation; a lost opportunity

This was an adaptation that was almost bound to fail. Squeezing 12 novels into eight hours of television allows just 40 minutes per novel. 'The Valley of Bones' was condensed into just 17 minutes. If this had been done well it would truly have been a miracle of compression. However, it was achieved by eliminating about two-thirds of the book.

So it is really rather surprising that the adaptors should have created scenes which were only hinted at rather than described in the book. I counted four, all of which added unnecessary violence and gore. I think if Powell had wanted to make these scenes explicit he would have done so - but he preferred for them to happen offstage.

What is also hard to forgive was the decision to play fast and loose with the chronology towards the end of the series. For example, the launch of 'Fission' should have been immediately after the end of the war rather than somewhere in the mid 50s, while the award of the Magnus Donners prize took place in 1968 or 9 rather than 1963. Anyone who has any feel at all for the period would know that the difference is immense.

But there are good things about this too. The casting is excellent with no-one out of place; the atmosphere for the most part convincing and compelling. A pity that the cast did not have the chance to work through a real adaptation, rather than this drastic and unsatisfactory abridgement.