Byron (2003)

Following the success of his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage", Byron becomes the toast of London.

Director:

Julian Farino

Writer:

Nick Dear

Stars:

Stephen Campbell Moore, Oliver Milburn, Michael Elwyn

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	John Cam Hobhouse
Oliver Milburn	...	Scrope Davies
Michael Elwyn	...	John Murray
Jonny Lee Miller	...	Lord Byron
Philip Glenister	...	William Fletcher
Samir Hassan	...	Loukas
George Georgiou	...	Turkish Captain
Irena Micijevic	...	Beautiful Turkish Woman (as Irena Micijevic Rodic)
Stanley Townsend	...	Turkish Governor
Tracey Murphy	...	Bessy
Kate Loustau	...	Susan
James Daley	...	Page Boy
Crispin Redman	...	Dandy in Salon
John Hart Dyke	...	Hollands' Butler
Jane How	...	Lady Holland

Storyline

Following the success of his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage", Byron becomes the toast of London.

---

Plot Keywords:

cricket the sport | glass | flower | toasting | bathing someone | 

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

The dark velvet vest with four buttons down the front Julie Cox (Annabella Milbanke) wears during Christmas dinner is the same costume worn by a guest at the Duchess of Richmond's Ball in Vanity Fair (1998), and by Kate Beckinsale (Emma Woodhouse) at the Hartfield party in Emma (1996).

---

Goofs

When Byron tells Miss Milbanke that he "views mathematics from an incomprehensible distance", it is quite clear from the context that he means "an uncomprehending distance". "Incomprehensible" and "uncomprehending" are, of course, not synonyms.

---

Quotes

Annabella Milbanke: What did you mean when you said you've done evil?
Lord Byron: Nothing, I was bored.

User Reviews

poet as chameleon

Let me start by stating that I've read most of Byron's letters, a number of biographies as well as his poetry. The screenwriter, whose work on adapting Persuasion I liked very much, did well by the conflicted, contradictory character of the "bad, mad and dangerous to know" Byron. The script drew on the title characters own works, letting him speak what he wrote - and he was a marvelous letter writer, much better than he was a poet. This film was much more faithful to the facts than the average biopic - frighteningly so, given what it shows about Byron's scandalous character and life.

Jonny Lee Miller, although obviously older than the character he portrays, gives us the whole chameleon, the demure new star in the writing establishment, the would be politician, the society "bad boy". Witness the poet with his hair up in curlers for a new side to the Byron everyone thinks they know. My ideal actor for the part would have been the young Robert Vaughn, but Miller gives us the genuine pain in the ass quality the part needs.

What particularly interested me in this version was what got left out. Probably the most famous part of the Byron story is the summer he spent with Shelley and his menage, which resulted in the publication of "Frankenstein." It has been amply treated elsewhere, in the excellent "Bride of Frankenstein," Ken Russell's god-awful "Gothic", and the even worse "Haunted Summer". The screenwriters chose to leave it out, concentrating instead on the debacle of Byron's marriage and his final redeeming attempt to assist the cause of Greek liberation from the Turks.

In between these two was the other major part of Byron's life, the many years he spent in Italy. While the scandalous parts were shown, it might have been interesting to show something of his attempts to help liberate Italy from the Austrians, which led him ultimately to his death in Greece.

Overall, though, I found this movie an absorbing account of a life ill-spent, full of fine acting in all the minor parts. I'm not sure, however, exactly how it would work to someone without a basic knowledge of the Byron saga, in all its deplorable, lunatic, and muddled variety. The life of Byron simply doesn't lend itself to smooth storytelling with a lot of sexy bits.

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lordos Vyron

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Drama Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1