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Bette is a poverty stricken French spinster and a frequent
visitor to her cousin Hulot's home - who has blown most of
his family fortune on his mistress. Hortense, his daughter,
amuses herself by teasing Bette about her supposed lover,
Count Stienbeck, but it is a cruel jest, as Bette feels that
she loves him in a more maternal way. However, things turn
ugly when Hortense determines to meet the Count and the two
fall in love. Though they are to be married they keep the
relationship a secret from Bette, and as it turns out, for
a very good reason. As soon as Bette learns of the forthcoming
marriage she is furious, not just because she has been lied
to but because the family treat her as if she were an inferior.
Furious at this state of affairs she engages the help of Madam
Valerie Marneffe in a plan to completely destroy the Hulot
family...
The
nineteen-seventies were halcyon days for BBC drama, a storytelling
idyll that died a death from a thousand budget cuts. It was
an era that spawned the excellent Survivors, The
Forsyte Saga, I Claudius and many other adaptations
of literary classics. For the most part the acting was exceptional
with many of the actors and actresses either coming from or
heading to The Royal Shakespeare Company.
Cousin
Bette, produced in nineteen seventy-one was a well-received
adaptation of La Cousine Bette by Honore deBalzac.
Written in eighteen forty-eight Cousine was one of
a string of successful novels, which plumped the depths of
the French bourgeoisie. In this deBalzac, along with Flaubert,
is generally considered one of the fathers of the new realism
that was sweeping European literature at the time.
The
BBC version of Cousin Bette wasn't the first version
committed to film. In nineteen twenty-seven France produced
a film version directed by Max de Rieux and again in nineteen
sixty-four a television version directed by Yves-Andre Hubert.
The most recent version was the nineteen ninety-eight American
film which stared Jessica Lange, directed by Dec McAnuff.
Cousin
Bette stared a plethora of stunning talent. Margaret Tyzack,
who plays Bette, is a deservedly well respected actress who
had stared as Antonia in I Claudius as well as appearing
in such diverse productions as 2001, A Clockwork
Orange and a varied range of television. Helen Mirren
appears as Valerie and her work is likewise distinguished,
having appeared on both stage and screen displaying her versatility
in comedies, drama and Caligula - Not the greatest
film but Mirren's beauty makes up for the films shortcomings.
Other notable actors to look out for are Colin Baker as Count
Wenceslas Steinbock, Sally James of The Railway Children
fame as Marie and Harriet Harper as Hortense.
This
production was also nominated for an Emmy for Tyzacks excellent
performance and was only piped to the post by Susan Hampshire's
performance in Vanity Fair.
Given
the age of the show the picture is surprisingly good with
a 4:3 aspect ratio and a stereo soundtrack. Bette runs for
an impressive two hundred and twenty minutes spread over two
discs. The extras are not as extensive as one would wish to
see but there is a very reasonable writer's biography and
bibliography as well as cast filmographies and a picture gallery.
If
nothing else Bette proves that hell really has no fury
like a woman scorned. The length of the show allows a level
of depth that the most recent film adaptation couldn't hope
to match. With flawless acting from the whole cast, it was
nice to see Colin Baker doing something other than Doctor
Who; the disc will be a welcome addition to the collection
of any lover of historical dramas.
Charles
Packer
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