Search - The Glorious Romantics on DVD

Too Cheesy!

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 05/29/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This program roughly devotes one third each to Byron, Keats, and Shelley. However, there is overlap, suggesting the authors played important roles in each other's lives and art. In all fairness, it tries hard to both give viewers samples of the artists' work and imagine what life was like for the writers.

Still, it is very cheesy. The costumes and set lack a lot compared to period piece films. In fact, the set reminded me of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." Like "Dr. Who," indoor scenes are made in video and outdoor scenes are made in film. In the same way that Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is unrealistic in all its rhyming, the actors here recite poetry at the drop of a dime and frequently. If you like musicals and the way those performers sings out of nowhere, you can stand the poetry here. Otherwise, it'll grate on you.

Byron is the first artist covered and led the most controversial life. One actor speaks of his amorous relationship with his half-sister. The work shows Byron chasing every skirt, which is probably accurate. They say nothing of his bisexuality, however, at one point he runs upstairs with a young lady dressed as a lad. Perhaps, this is the bisexual signifier and a signifier of cross-generational, same-sex eroticism.

Usually, I write that documentaries of famous artists and leaders are good for history and English classes in high schools. This is not the case here. This work is too cheesy for American youngsters to pay attention to. My guess is that they would dismiss it or it may devalue these authors in their eyes."