Granada Television, England | 1981

Great books don’t always make for great television. The strictures of time and finance imposed by the television production process can often render grand literature as rather anemic or, even, emaciated when finally broadcast on the small screen. A very notable exception is Granada Television’s 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. 

Set in England between the two world wars, the book’s main protagonist is Charles Ryder, a modern-minded, middlebrow, middle-class, Oxford undergraduate. Charles’ rather predictable life is overturned, however, after encountering fellow student, Sebastian Flyte, the younger son of an aristocratic Catholic family whose ancestral home is to be found at Brideshead. 

The 11-part television adaption was due to be filmed over 6 to 8 months in 1979 and on a budget of £1.5 million. A prolonged industrial strike by studio technicians, though, saw that budget treble and timescale quadruple. It also forced the production team to film much of the series on location. Meanwhile, the writers were afforded the luxury of repeatedly revising scripts. This led to the inclusion of more passages from Waugh’s original prose — narrated by Charles — and a greater faithfulness to the story’s Catholic themes. 

Add to that a cast list including Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, and Jeremy Irons, and the result is a meticulously crafted television drama of great depth, beauty, and texture. 

Advisory: Given the adult nature of some of the themes in Brideshead Revisited, parental guidance is recommended.