This is one of the best pictures of what lies "beneath the surface" on the pages of history you'll ever see about the 1917 Russian Revolution. Amazing stuff. It's one of my all time favorite PBS productions
This is also the first time I'd seen Sam Neil and he does a highly credible job playing the master spy. Reilly's Russian origins lend credence to the way his life later developed. Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) makes a convincing villain, or at least, highly suspect figure. The whole cast, as is generally true in PBS series, is excellent. If you've never seen this series, you're in for a welcome surprise. The music is outstanding and haunting; it may live in your subconscious for years.
Beneath the romantic exterior of Reilly's life, where association with the power wielders and the lust for power run silently and deep, Reilly truly lived on the edge and risked it all. Reilly's real life was much more fascinating than the fictional versions based on it later, written by Ian Fleming.
I've always hoped that PBS would air this one again, but I have never seen it played since the 80s, and you know how PBS loves to rerun their brilliant series. I'd give this one nine stars out of ten.
This is also the first time I'd seen Sam Neil and he does a highly credible job playing the master spy. Reilly's Russian origins lend credence to the way his life later developed. Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) makes a convincing villain, or at least, highly suspect figure. The whole cast, as is generally true in PBS series, is excellent. If you've never seen this series, you're in for a welcome surprise. The music is outstanding and haunting; it may live in your subconscious for years.
Beneath the romantic exterior of Reilly's life, where association with the power wielders and the lust for power run silently and deep, Reilly truly lived on the edge and risked it all. Reilly's real life was much more fascinating than the fictional versions based on it later, written by Ian Fleming.
I've always hoped that PBS would air this one again, but I have never seen it played since the 80s, and you know how PBS loves to rerun their brilliant series. I'd give this one nine stars out of ten.