UK

The House of Cards Trilogy To Play The King (Disk 3 of 6) (1993) [DVD (iso)] DW Staff Approved

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• Rate this torrent +  |  -

Torrent info

Torrent Files List

Torrent description

This torrent was uploaded from www.TheBox.bz (signup is open and free) - the home of all British TV




"To Play The King"


Paul Seed, BBC TV, 1990

No-one captures elegant evil like Ian Richardson, and with House of Cards he distills the phenomena to create Francis Urquhart, the arch-manipulator at the heart of this political thriller. Naturally, he defines menace and cold cunning with his portrayal of the statesman who will stop at nothing and no-one in order to achieve the office of Prime Minister, but Richardson's brilliance lies in his ability to make Urquhart simultaneously loathsome and likeable. The audience may be repelled by his ruthlessness, but his wit, coolness, preening intelligence and conspiratorial asides to camera combine to make this minister a strangely charismatic monster.

Richardson based his character on Richard III and won the Best Actor Bafta for his depiction. He is assisted by an Emmy-winning screenplay by Andrew Davies, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs. The latter's career provided more than enough experience to create Urquhart's world with icy accuracy as he worked as a political reporter in the US during the Watergate scandal before rising to become Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party under John Major. Asked if the ministers and minions inhabiting his fictitious universe were based on actual figures, he once replied with one of Urquhart's own aphorisms that, "You might well think that; I couldn't possibly comment". It's Dobbs's mixing of melodrama and plausibility which gives his drama such a compelling edge.

Other strengths include the critically acclaimed score by Jim Parker, and an excellent supporting cast. Susannah Harker, for instance, is perfect as the innocent journalist trapped in Urquhart's political labyrinth. But ultimately House of Cards is chez Richardson, with his wit, acerbity and slyness making this an ideal political thriller, even for those left cold by politics.

PLOT

The serial opens with the coronation of the new monarch upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II and revolves around Francis Urquhart's political battles with the newly-crowned King, portrayed by Michael Kitchen. Although his name is never mentioned, the King bears a strong resemblance to Prince Charles.

Urquhart is also preoccupied with attempts to cover up evidence of his earlier crimes.

The series portrays a Conservative government (after the downfall of Margaret Thatcher) continuing to dominate the Labour Opposition. The King is disenchanted with the Conservative agenda and becomes involved in politics in a way that the Prime Minister finds unacceptable for a constitutional monarch.

At their first meeting The King expresses concern about Urquhart's social policies which he argues have led to greater social deprivation and social exclusion in urban areas. This tension becomes exacerbated when Urquhart moves his progressive Environment Secretary to a job in Brussels and rejects his proposals to assist poorer pensioners. The King's Assistant Press Secretary, Chloe Carmichael, leaks the outcome of the meeting to the press, which rankles Urquhart.



Episode 1 - Duration 54 minutes




Episode 2 - Duration 53 minutes





File Info:

This torrent contains a complete and uncompressed copy of the original DVD including chapter structure, etc, and will produce a perfect clone when burned to DVD5.

ISO'd using DVD Decrypter & UltraISO

Source: PAL DVD, 25 fps
Audio: English 2chn
Region: 4
Res: 720 x 576
AR: 4:3

Disc 1 - File Information

File Name: The House of Cards Trilogy - To Play The King (1993) [DVD (iso)] Disc 1 DW Staff Approved
Duration (hh:mm:ss): 1:49:05
File Size (in bytes): 4,434,296,832

--- Video Information ---

Video Codec Name: MPEG-2
Video Bitrate (kbps): 5429
frame Width (pixels): 720
frame Height (pixels): 576
frames Per Second: 25.000

--- Audio Information ---
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate(kbps): 192
Audio BitRate Type CBR
Audio Sample Rate 48000 Hz

http://thebox.bz/forums.php?action=viewtopic&topicid=15654

===============================

Some of the other rather spiffing shows available now and always if you signup free @ www.TheBox.bz:

Comedy: The Office, Peep Show, Coupling, Chef, Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, The IT Crowd, Brass Eye, Nathan Barley, Young Ones, Monty Python, Blackadder, Alan Partridge, Father Ted, Coupling, Little Britain, Mr Bean, Extras, Green Wing, Mighty Boosh

Drama: Casualty, Holby City, The Bill, Hustle, Skins, Shameless, Ashes To Ashes

Entertainment: Faking It, Derren Brown, Scrapheap Challenge, Strictly Come Dancing, Wife Swap

Game/Quiz Shows: Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Have I Got News For You, Deal Or No Deal (UK), Q.I.

Education/Documentary: Planet Earth, Horizon, Panorama, Mark Thomas (Comedy) Product

Food: Hell's Kitchen, Jamie Oliver, The F Word, Kitchen Nightmares, Masterchef, Great British Menu, Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong

Home/Property/Garden: Property Ladder, How Clean Is Your House?, Changing Rooms, Grand Designs, Homes Under The Hammer, To Buy Or Not To Buy

Motoring: Top Gear, Fifth Gear

Music: Top Of The Pops, Jools Holland, Glastonbury

Reality: Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother, I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here!, Any Dream Will Do, Grease, Pop Idol, Wife Swap, X Factor, Badger Or Bust, Apprentice UK, Dragons' Den, Britain's Got Talent

Sci-Fi: Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Torchwood, Primeval

Sport: Football (Soccer), Cricket, Rugby, Snooker, Darts, Formula One (F1GP)

Soaps: Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Neighbours, Hollyoaks

Style/Fashion: What Not To Wear, Project Catwalk

Kids: Teletubbies, Blue Peter, Tikkabilla, Andy Pandy, Postman Pat, Shoebox Zoo, Brum, Bob The Builder, Young Dracula, Sarah Jane Adventures, Shaun The Sheep

related torrents

comments (0)