The first of a two part series sees the BBC dipping into the archives to discover British acting greats that emerged after Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson as they take their first steps on television from the 1960s onwards.
We get to see early appearances from Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Alan Bates, Ben Kingsley, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Gambon. Given the companion programme about Dames cheated a bit by including Vanessa Redgrave, maybe this programme should had included Albert Finney who has also reputedly turned down a knighthood in the past.
Sadly because the BBC junked some old shows some of the footage have been lost which means little remains of Connery's television work but we do see Caine's performance in Hamlet. These two actors also graduated to early and long careers on film and have done little television since. Whereas the others balanced theatre, the small screen and films for many decades. Anthony Hopkins for example was happy to do trashy American mini series in the 1980s and make BBC dramas even after winning a Best Actor Oscar.
I actually forgot that Alan Bates had been knighted, unfortunately he died several months after receiving the honour. Bates was another actor who would easily balance television work with film work. He even did a Charles Dickens adaptation for BBC Schools for the simple reason that he had never done Dickens before.
However it is nice to see footage of these actors when they were younger and also footage when they were older and more famous. It was good to see Hopkins in War and Peace and realise that Gambon only became famous in the mid 1980s with The Singing Detective.
There is no room here for the new generation of knights such as Daniel Day Lewis or Kenneth Branagh, maybe we would have to wait a few years for them.
We get to see early appearances from Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Alan Bates, Ben Kingsley, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Gambon. Given the companion programme about Dames cheated a bit by including Vanessa Redgrave, maybe this programme should had included Albert Finney who has also reputedly turned down a knighthood in the past.
Sadly because the BBC junked some old shows some of the footage have been lost which means little remains of Connery's television work but we do see Caine's performance in Hamlet. These two actors also graduated to early and long careers on film and have done little television since. Whereas the others balanced theatre, the small screen and films for many decades. Anthony Hopkins for example was happy to do trashy American mini series in the 1980s and make BBC dramas even after winning a Best Actor Oscar.
I actually forgot that Alan Bates had been knighted, unfortunately he died several months after receiving the honour. Bates was another actor who would easily balance television work with film work. He even did a Charles Dickens adaptation for BBC Schools for the simple reason that he had never done Dickens before.
However it is nice to see footage of these actors when they were younger and also footage when they were older and more famous. It was good to see Hopkins in War and Peace and realise that Gambon only became famous in the mid 1980s with The Singing Detective.
There is no room here for the new generation of knights such as Daniel Day Lewis or Kenneth Branagh, maybe we would have to wait a few years for them.
