Stars: Stephen Fry, Richard Griffiths, Celia Imrie, Warren Mitchell, Ian Richardson, John Sessions, Christopher Lee, Neve McIntosh

Director: Andy Wilson

Summary: Home to the ancient family of Lord Groan (Ian Richardson), the majestic Castle of Gormenghast has gone unchanged for thousands of years. However, this long-running dynasty is threatened by the charming yet villainous kitchen boy, Steerpike (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). With the birth of a new Groan heir, Steerpike begins his ruthless ascent to power. This dark fantasy series from the BBC also features Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, Fiona Shaw, and many more.

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The BBC's lavish, glowingly designed adapation of Mervyn Peake's eccentrically brilliant novels Titus Groanand Gormenghastis a triumph of casting. Ian Richardson's Lear-like depiction of the mad earl of a remote, vast, ritual-obsessed building is matched by the brutal pragmatism of Celia Imrie as his wife, the synchronised madness of Zoe Wanamaker and Lynsey Baxter as his twin sisters and the duplicitous charm of Jonathan Rhys-Meyer as Steerpike, the kitchen-boy determined to take over no matter how many deaths it costs. John Sessions is surprisingly touching as Prunesquallor, the family doctor who realises almost too late what Steerpike intends.

It is always tricky to film a book dear to the hearts of its admirers: Wilson and his design team achieve a look rather more pre-Raphaelite than Peake's own illustrations, shabby velvets, garish sunlight and dank stone passages. The score by Richard Rodney Bennett is full of attractive surprises--fanfares and waltzes and apotheoses--and John Tavener's choral additions are plausibly parts of the immemorial ritual of Gormenghast.

On the DVD:The double DVD comes with scene selection, an informative half-hour documentary on the making of the serial and a slide gallery of costume designs, characters and their dooms. --Roz Kaveney

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Costume Gallery, Picture in Picture
Year:	2000
Release Date:	June 5, 2000
Runtime:	240 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B B C D V D 1017
Keywords:	General, Drama, Gormenghast
Genre:	Drama