The Forsyte Saga - Second Generation [VHS]

Description

The latter half of the 26-episode Forsyte Saga, a sensational 1967 British television series that drew a faithful international audience, contains most of the sprawling drama's poignancy and resonance. As the Victorian-era characters from Forsyte's earlier hours grow grayer, more mellow, and certainly regretful, their children take wing-finding their own way, and making their own mistakes under the rubric of an old family's myths and legacies. The outstanding cast of younger Forsytes includes Susan Hampshire as Fleur, daughter of series patriarch Soames (Eric Porter) and possessed of a wayward but kind heart often at odds with her upper-class birthright. There's also Jonathan Burn as Fleur's understanding husband, Val, and Martin Jarvis as the tormented Jon, eager to make his bones but torn by conflicting passions. Part thinking-man's soap opera, part serious literature, and a very handsome black-and-white production, this Second Generation is thoroughly engaging. --Tom Keogh