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In the south Wales Valleys the Morgans' are a struggling family
living in a hard mining village. Though the parents try to
do the best for their children, it is only Huw, whose intellect
sets him apart from his brothers and sisters, who has a chance
to leave the valley for a better life. Through the bittersweet
turmoils which beset the Morgans' we follow their progress,
some to happiness and some to death, until a time when Huw
can look back and ponder "How green was my valley then, and
the valley of them that have gone?"...
How
Green Was My Valley is an adaptation of the phenomenally
successful nineteen thirty-nine novel by Richard Llewellyn.
The story had previously been adapted as an award winning
movie in nineteen forty-one, staring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen
O'Hara and Roddy McDowall as Huw. The BBC adaptation had the
luxury of being able to spend more time developing the characters,
therefore allowing for a much deeper look at the family.
I've said it before, so I'll say it again, the seventies really
did show what the BBC could do with a costume drama, and a
lot of the classics came from this period. The show stared
Stanley Baker, as Gwilym Morgan, providing some of his most
powerful work. If all you've seen of this fine actor is Zulu
then you're in for a real treat with How Green. Counterbalancing
his formidable presence is the goddess of acting that is Sian
Phillips playing Beth Morgan. What accolades can be lauded
on this fine actress, which hasn't already been said? Without
doubt she brings a gravitas to any production; she even rescued
Dune for me when I saw it for the first time. For the
sci-fi reference spotters amongst you Gareth Thomas - Blake
from Blake's 7 - pops up as the Reverend Gruffyd, a
character who plays a pivotal role in the young Huw's life.
Although the acting has stood the test of time, the same cannot
be said for the print. The picture, with an aspect ratio of
4:3, looks like it has been transferred from a video tape
copy, a good one, but it still makes the picture seem over
soft. Sound is, as you would expect, in stereo, but it's nice
and clear. The extras on the disc are limited with only a
bibliography of the writer, a picture gallery and some cast
filmographies. The series is spread across two discs and runs
for an impressive three hundred and ten minutes.
The
story, itself, is full of drama, pathos and humour as we follow
this family through the period of Huw's growing up and his
eventual moving away from the family - a true coming of age
epic. It's a well produced drama, which should please any
fans of the book, and a darn good bit of BBC history. If you
want to see television before it sank into the mire of game
and reality shows then you could do a lot worse than this.
Only problem is with such a great show you're going to be
looking at television today and wondering just where your
licence fee is going now.
Charles
Packer
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