The Mayor of Casterbridge
DVD cover
GenreClassic serial
Based onThe Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy
Screenplay byDennis Potter
Directed byDavid Giles
StarringAlan Bates
ComposerCarl Davis
Country of originUK
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes7
Production
ProducerJonathan Powell
Running time50 min. (per episode) & 55 min. (final ep.)[1]
Original release
NetworkBBC2
Release22 January (1978-01-22) –
5 March 1978 (1978-03-05)

The Mayor of Casterbridge is a 1978 BBC seven-part serial based on the eponymous 1886 book by the British novelist Thomas Hardy.[2] The six-hour drama was written by television dramatist Dennis Potter and directed by David Giles with Alan Bates as the title character.[3][4] It was released as a 3-disc DVD box set in May 2003.

Plot

On a drunken impulse, Henchard sells his wife and daughter at a country fair, an outrageous act for which he suffers agonising remorse. Years later, when he has become a respected and prosperous man, his wife returns to find him. Henchard's attempt to right the long-ago wrong sets in motion a series of events that spell his destruction.

Cast

Location

The series was shot entirely on location in Dorset, largely in the village of Corfe Castle.[3]

References

  1. ^ "BBC Two England - 5 March 1978 - BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "The Mayor of Casterbridge". BBC. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Mayor of Casterbridge, The (1978)". BFI ScreenOnline. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. ^ "The Mayor of Casterbridge: Episode 1". 22 January 1978. p. 25 – via BBC Genome.
  5. ^ Movie credits

External links

Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)
Works by Dennis Potter
Categories