Ken Follett's World Without End [Blu-ray]

When a mini-series or regular film is based upon a book source, there are invariably changes that are made in order to take into consideration the difference in mediums. Even THE GODFATHER movie was not exactly like the book; and there is yet to be a movie or mini-series based upon THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII or SHE which remotely resemble their book sources. In the DVD Special Features section, even Ken Follett and more than one actor acknowledged the difference between the two in this case, and no one objected. Certainly Follett has more of a right than anyone. Yet, he emphatically endorsed the screenplay.Now to the mini-series itself: Cynthia Nixon (of SEX & THE CITY fame), who as Petranilla got top billing was like a cross between Lucretia Borgia, Lady Macbeth, and Lady deWinter - and she played the role deliciously. Her son Godwyn (Rupert Evans - THE PALACE, FINGERSMITH, SONS & LOVERS, HELLBOY, etc.) is a priest whose desire to be Prior and ultimately Bishop leads him down a path of sadistic unbridled palpable evil. His ambition needs no explanation. It is what it is. Those who would like to see all the evil-doers in this story on a pyschiatrist's couch in order to explain their behavior might just as well put half the world on one. While the quote is not precise, it is true enough: "Abolute power corrupts absolutely." The tyranny of the Church and that of Imperial power is exposed for what it is/was. Only the Black Death (realistically and emotionally presented to the hilt) was able to derail the iron fisted control of both sacred and secular authority.Charlotte Riley as Caris, a student of the medical arts, was the key heroin of the film. But, what was more important was the revelation of the Church's fear of this type of "physician" and the lengths it would go to in order to suppress it. The general populace, which benefited from this "new" medicine, was far more understanding and sympathetic than the powers that be who felt threatened that all of this would supplant the idea of divine intervention and healing. Since many medical ideas came from Islam, they were also branded as the work of the "infidel" even by those who were healed or helped by it. Caris is caught between a developing love for a youthful "builder" and the predatory incestuous feelings of her own cousin - Godwyn - who harbors his dark secret while branding any woman he can as a "whore".Critics of this mini-series, who keep pounding its book source as though it were the Bible, overlook the magnificent costumes that heralded in a New Age. The difference between what was worn in THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH compared to WORLD WITHOUT END was noted and indicated a fashion change that took place 200 years later. The church of Kingsbridge, now complete and in full Gothic regalia thanks in part to CGE, stood as a potent back drop to the civic activity that took place literally on its door step. The armour and weaponry was effectively realistic even though some purists might disagree.In the end what we have, without giving too much away, is an excellent story, superbly acted by a host of gifted and well-known actors, set in the Middle Ages of mid-14th century England and France. Evil exists on all levels, from the lowest peasant to the King himself. It's merely a matter of degree and kind. But, like it or not, it does unfortunately reflect human nature. And I would hardly call proper behavior by some "goodie two shoes". There are those who are good and those who are bad. What we see in this mini-series is a slice of Medieval life that lays bare the horror of endless war, plague, rape, incest, ambition run amok, faith, faith denied, class warfare, love of all kinds, overbearing superstition, heroics, revenge - in short, all those things that make up the fabric of humankind in all its incarnations. And is all that really so different than what we have today? In addition to the above named actors, kudos to Miranda Richardson as Mother Cecilia, Peter Firth as Sir Roland, Tim Weston-Jones as Merthin the Builder, Oliver Jackson-Cohen (his brother) as a merciless Everyman Warrior who knows how to play the game, the actor who played Edward III (and is now in DaVinci's Demons), the actress who played his mother Queen Isabella, and the characters Gwenda, Wulfric, and Thomas.As for any complaint as to how the "Most Evil" were dispatched, I can assure the reader of this review that their demise fit all the characters in the most appropriate, satisfying, and ironic way.

The discs come in a plastic snap cases. The discs play fine.This series is good, better than Camelot. If you like this sort of stuff I recommend The Tudors, which is excellent. And The Pillars of the Earth is very good. Reign is okay too. Two current series that are very good are The Vikings and The Last Kingdom.If the above don’t sound interesting you might like a couple of space race shows. I spent a month on a space race binge. First I read Space by James A. Michener. Then I watched two movies, The Right Stuff (1983) and Apollo 13 (1995), and then two great series, From Earth to the Moon (1998) and The Astronauts Wives Club (2015). They’re a great combination.If the above shows don’t sound interesting here are a few of the series I really enjoyed watching more than once. I love good miniseries like Band of Brothers (2001), Frank Herbert’s Dune (2000), Into the West (2005), Lonesome Dove (1989), Pride and Prejudice (1995), Taken (2002) and The 10th Kingdom (2000) because they have beginnings, middles and endings, like a good novel.Other shows I’ve really enjoyed include Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009), Breaking Bad (2008-2013), Cowboy Bebop (1998), Downton Abbey (2010-2015), Firefly (2002), Game of Thrones (2011-2019), The IT Crowd (2006-2013), Jericho (2006-2008), Lost (2004-2010), Merlin (2008-2012), Rome (2005-2007), Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010), Stargate: SG-1 (1997-2007), Stargate: Atlantis (2004-2009), Star Trek The Original Series (1966-1969) and Star Trek Voyager (1995-2001). I didn’t list any contemporary series I’m following that don’t have an end date yet, not conducive to binge watching from beginning to finish, or the hundreds of other fantasy and science fiction shows I’ve watched.If you like reading try some of my favorite fantasy and sci-fi authors: Richard Adams, Palo Bacigulupi, Suzanne Collins, Abe Evergreen, Diana Gabaldon, Hugh Howey, George Martin, Brandon Sanderson, John Scalzi, and Andy Weir.

We saw the movie before we read the book,.... so were not at all disappointed at the differences,.... Yes, the movie takes some different directions from the book,..... but those are acceptable,.... The Movie can stand FINE, on it's own,..... our biggest complaint was that the movie could have been hours longer (the book was about a thousand, or at least 800 pages),... the movie easily could have been longer,.....we're long time (37 and 43 years) Medieval reenactors,... as such,... we subconsciously tend to evaluate mostly clothes and props (and for my husband, weapons, and armor) We don't set out to do that,.... we can easily over-look small things,... but in some movies the discrepancies just scream out so loud, we can't ignore them,..... not so in this movie,.... it beautifully flowed, without jarring. red flags,..... ( We also viewed the 'Jamestown' series during the same few days,.... ONE of the two,... blatantly had the faked textile chainmail, coifs (head-coverings that are worn with or without a helm(et) by fighters,... whichever series that was in,... had largely been corrected toward the end of the movie(s) Thank goodness,.... many folks wouldn't even notice,..... but we're so accustomed to being around the real thing, that the fake stands out like Neon . Doesn't matter which movie,.... it doesn't effect the whole,..... Both were excellent.

Slice of history, maybe true, but more like a soup opera, didn't care about most of the characters. Pillars of the Earth, outstanding, World same ole, same ole.

A bit disappointing compared to the book (but nice job by Cynthia Nixon)

Some episodes don’t really add to the story

There has been many reviews written about this comparing it to the book with people complaining that it is not a direct interpretation.The author himself on the dvd comments that he portrays stories in words while films do it in pictures and he is pleased with the production and that tells you everything.I watched this as a Tv series and loved it then read the book, I enjoyed that and then bought this set to watch again and to some extent I can understand purists of the book complaining about the adaptation, its loosley based on the book with the main facts the same and obviously changed in some parts to suit the flow of the film.If you enjoy a good drama then you will love this and the book too, they are both superb in their own way, I would recommend this to everyone

How disappointing! They have changed the story completely, I wonder why..If you have read the book, it's not worth it to watch this film. If you haven't, it's not worth it anyway...

Admittedly a huge book to get onto film, unfortunately what you get with the DVD has the only similarity of names and a very rough version of the plot. Characters are squashed into this 8 hour dramatisation, the story is twisted and pushed in all sorts of disjointed directions that have no bearing on the book. The story is mutated and changed, characters forged and distorted to fit the time allocated, the finale is unrecognisable.Watch this without reading the book and be entertained, but don't expect this to be at all a dramatisation of World Without End.

I am a big fan of Ken Follet's writing so I had read the book before seeing the mini series, as is usual with these conversions there are some changes to the book, not enough to really detract from what was being shown on screen, some characters were changed a little to make them more evil than in the book and some characters had bigger parts to play than in the book, but overall it was a very enjoyable watch and fully deserving of five stars

I really liked this book but preferred The Pillars of the Earth, maybe because it was all new whereas this story was somewhat repetitious of the first. Both books have launched me into the works of Ken Follett who, I find, makes you really believe his stories happened, mostly because of the mixture of fact and fiction. A very enjoyable read that has you turning the pages and keeping you up long past your bedtime.