Fall of Eagles (mini picspam)

[thisbluespirit]

I've been watching the BBC's 1974 drama Fall of Eagles lately (in between the Shakespeare and things). Yes, guess whose IMBD I found it on? But when I saw that it was about the fall of the three big European royal houses at the turn of the century, I was immediately v interested. And then I saw that it had everybody ever in it, so I had to watch it. As history lessons go, it is pretty painless & I will picspam it properly when I've finished it because it has people like Gemma Jones (Spooks) and Colin Baker (he is playing Crown Prince Willie, I gather, but he hasn't turned up yet) and lovely costumes and locations, and I will do it to save you watching TV that is nearly 40 years old because I am a nuisance kind like that. Oh, and btw, Patrick Stewart is Lenin.

Anyway, today has not been the greatest of days, so I was much cheered to reach the first of David Collings's two episodes, and also the first ep for the rest of the Russian contingent...



I like the smoking jacket quite a bit. I think you are getting this post in honour of the green smoking jacket, really.


He is playing Pavel Milyukov, here with Witte (Freddie Jones), who he is trying to persuade to talk to the Tsar about reforms, and having a parliament before it is TOO LATE. (Srsly, people, if you have David Collings giving you advice in a drama, you should take it. Like: "Stop these bounty hunter games or somebody's going to get hurt." or "We should totally kill Antony, or at least not let him talk." or "Let's leave right now and NOT take that woman with us." or "Level 7 is a really, really bad idea and we might destroy everything." or "I don't think these stowaways committed the murder..." This only works when he isn't evil and/or stupid, of course. But you would think people would learn.)

To which Witte says he should take care: "There are darker minds at work than yours, Professor!"


And here is said darker mind. Patrick Stewart as Lenin. (Well, nobody knows he's Lenin yet; it's only 1894.)

So I was pleased it was quite a cool role, as he acts as Lenin's opposite in the structure of the episode, with them getting two scenes each as the two voices for change, one moderate, one radical. (He has another episode, but that's not till 1916.)

And, onto the important matter... do you think the moustache is real or fake? Or fake on film and real in studio? (I can never tell, not unless it is madly wrong, or actually falls off.)

(I promise to come back with a proper picspam, because, as I said, everyone ever, and Gemma Jones was amazing as Princess Vicky, the best person in it so far, but I'll wait till Colin has turned up.)

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Oh lor'! 70s 'taches always look embarrassing!

[thisbluespirit]

:-) It starts in 1848 and goes up to 1918. The facial hair has therefore been fairly epic so far! (I'm in the 1890s now.) (Patrick Stewart's looks real, and David Collings's is the right colour, so maybe his is, too. I am useless. Heh.)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the programme was made in the 70s, that's what I meant.

[scifi-mel.livejournal.com]

Ooh Patrick Stewart as Lenin! That does look cool. I love the 70s historical dramas. I'm terrible at guessing if moustaches are real or not - I always assumed the Brig's was! I wonder if all that hair is Patrick's.

[thisbluespirit]

It's quite weird, because it has narration (by Michael Hordern!) and the first episode was almost like a docu-drama, but it's been a proper drama since, but it has contemporary material in it. I think you might like it, since you like the 70s historicals and the history itself, but even though it is good, I suspect a lot of people might not - you can tell they've used the real people's letters and writings, and I like that. You have to be a history lover and okay with old TV. And, yes, I had to be told about the Brig's moustache as well! We are all rubbish at spotting fake hair round here, it seems... :-)

[scifi-mel.livejournal.com]

That does sound right up my alley. I really do love the old 70s history dramas. So much more interested in getting the history right than in explosions or whatever happens when they remake things nowadays.

I'm so glad it wasn't just me that made that mistake! ;)

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, and they used to do original things. Not that I don't love v v much their wonderful classic adaptations, of course, but original historical drama every now and then would also be nice. :-)

Yes, these days it's all looking pretty, plenty of sex and um, probably dancing and fighting. Maybe. :lol:

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

I want to see this - I'd vaguely heard of it, but had no idea of the epic casting. Mr Colling's 'tache looks real to me, if only because it matches his actual hair so well, but I could well be wrong. I don't think I caught onto the Brig wearing a false one for far too long...

But yes, if David Collings tells you to do something in a drama where he isn't playing an obvious incompetent or baddie, than I don't care if you are Autocrat of all the Russias, you should pay attention. Great smoking jacket, too. :)

Stewart's Lenin beard looks real to me too, but I wonder if he's wearing a hairpiece - I have no idea how bald he was in 1974, but he was certainly as bald as he was in Star Trek by the time of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which was only a few years later. But then again, I never caught on that Roger Delgado was wearing a "piece" until About Time informed me of it, not even when the Master is sporting what is by his standards some *big* 70s hair in things like Frontier in Space. ;D But yes, Stewart has that sort of Lenin look to him - not that he looks particularly like him, really, but they both have very distinctive faces, and it's something about the eyes I think...

Anyway, I hope it wasn't too bad a day for you and that things will continue to improve in future. But in the meantime it's good to have something to cheer you up. :)

[thisbluespirit]

I don't know, because Patrick Stewart is clearly going bald there - it looks a bit fiddly to do. But then again, the hair/make-up is pretty good. And I don't know about David Collings's because they got a pretty good match on Denis Lill's beard. And there's no way he grew an epic thing like that for two episodes! The Master? A hairpiece!?!!! (Mind, watch out for About Time - their essays and 'in context' pieces are fab, their facts are sometimes dodgy. At least, according to Andrew Pixley in DWM, and even I've spotted things.)

Anyway, this series is quite cool and the casting is epic - it's not as good as Elizabeth R, but if you're in it for the history (and spotting the full quota of 1970s BBC actors) you might like it. Its cast is so epic that the back of the DVD has three lines of people 'starring' in it, without even mentioning that Michael Hordern is doing the narration. (It has narration, which feels v strange - ep 1 has a lot, and I was wondering if it was going to turn out to be more of a docu-drama, but it's much less intrusive after. And some of the ways they've threaded in contemporary images is quite cool. But it's a thing that definitely looks odd to modern eyes!)

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Good to know - I'll be on the lookout for their dodgy "facts" in future...although, I dunno, I find myself willing to believe the Delgado!"piece" calumny if only because I only just noticed a short while ago how *big* his hair gets (again, by his own standards) in his last couple of stories and now I can't help noticing it in fanvids etc. Must have been competing with Pertwee. ;D

Michael Hordern was the go-to guy for that kind of thing, wasn't he? I'm reminded of the Kubrick film Barry Lyndon, where he provides a particularly fine example. I'll be honest, though, the main thing intriguing me as I glance at your write-up again is the idea of Baker, C, playing a no-good Hohenzollern, hopefully in a similar style to his Blakes 7 appearance. ;D

[thisbluespirit]

They had me at David Collings, but throwing in Gemma Jones (you didn't stay to see how amazing she was in Spooks S6-7, more fool you ;-p), Patrick Stewart as Lenin (!) and then Colin Baker as presumably a Prussian prince... Well, yes. :-) Although I don't know when Colin Baker turns up. I'm assuming that he won't be quite as OTT as Bayban, though. But I'm sure he will like the uniforms and hats an things that seem to be obligatory.

Oh, I am useless at hair. They're probably right; I think I'll just not think about it, as I'll never be any the wiser unless it's really obvious or something. But I tended to end up not reading their facts sections because they were so dodgy. And if even I noticed, they must have been. I think part of it was the typos, rather than anything else.

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Colin Baker in a spiky helmet and a Hercule Poirot moustache would be quite enough to be getting on with, I feel. ;D And one of these days, I will catch up on post-Keeley Spooks, to be sure.

Well, as I say, last I time I saw Frontier in Space (or it might have The Time Monster, come to think of it), it literally jumped out at me. And then I read the hairpiece allegation and it all seemed to make sense... But yes, the essays are the best bits, I think. I splashed out on the second edition of the Three volume, and a bit later got the Two and Six/Seven ones. So...still more to get, but I've enjoyed them so far. Thanks very much indeed for recommending them (and sending me the original Three book!) in the first place. :) You're right about the typos, though.

[thisbluespirit]

The typos are pretty amusing. :-)

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Oh, and speaking of The Time Monster, Stu in that bears a striking resemblance to Mr Collings in the pictures above! :D

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Yes, guess whose IMBD I found it on?

Hmm, lemme think. No, don't tell me...I know the answer... Is it, could it possibly be...David Collings'?!

And I don't know this series at all! The BBC did a lot of good stuff though. ::makes note to go check it out::

And yes, people should take David Collings' advice! Especially when he phrases said advice like that!

[thisbluespirit]

No, it was... Oh, all right, you know me too well! But he has lots of cool stuff on his cv. Otherwise I would have abandoned this mad crusade to watch lots of his TV ages ago. :-)

It's good, but definitely one for history lovers, and also if you like 1970s BBC actor-spotting. I'm enjoying it anyway, although I'm going through it quite slowly. Each episode is quite separate, in some ways.