Jamaica Inn (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Lawrence Gordon Clark

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (novel)
Derek Marlowe (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The respected squire of a quiet Cornish village is in reality the leader of a gang of murderous pirates who attack passing ships, kill their crews and steal their cargoes. |

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Based On Novel

Cast

Jane Seymour	...	Mary Yellan
Patrick McGoohan	...	Joss Merlyn
Trevor Eve	...	Jeremiah 'Jem' Merlyn
John McEnery	...	Reverend Francis Davey
Billie Whitelaw	...	Aunt Patience
Vivian Pickles	...	Martha Yellan
Peter Vaughan	...	Squire Bassatt
Michael Goldie	...	Harry
John Abineri	...	Richards
Norman Bowler	...	Captain
Christopher Douglas	...	Walter
Hubert Tucker	...	Dr. Rawlings
Nick Brimble	...	Hussar
Howard Goorney	...	Coachdriver
June Marlowe	...	Woman in Coach

Runtime:

187 min | UK:150 min (3 episodes)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Pentireglaze, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Harlech Television (HTV)

Movie Connections:

Version of Jamaica Inn (1939)

a quality & gripping surprise

I hired this to complete a bunch of videos that were on a special rate for multiple hires & it turned out to be the best! I hadn't heard of it, or since! So it was very personal journey I was led on.

The movie has an intriguing atmosphere that appeals to the curiosity of the observer, with quality production & a suspenseful plot. The scenery is isolating & desolate but beautiful in lush raw landscapes, much like our individual journeys through life, far different, but too, similar & parallel in many ways! The acting was fine by me & this lengthy movie took me on a journey I was not expecting to be so fully engrossed into.

Yet years later, when I watched the copy of it I made long ago, before returning the hired original video & the movie was much forgotten, I found myself absorbed again into its drama & atmosphere, & watched it 3 or 4 times. And though I haven't seen it since in a busy life, the journeys it took me on, grew the more alive.

When I have watched anything from Robert Louis Stevenson adaptations to Johnny Depp's "Sleepy Hollow", I am reminded of this gem that seems to have been too much neglected or passed over, by myself & the world at large.

"Jamaica Inn" is a passport into a surreal world that in 3 hours, we may each explore & learn from a world in isolation but far from alone, that the broader world denies us access to! Take a step, & you will find so much more!