Vanity Fair (2018 TV series)

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Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair 2018 TV Series Title Card.png
Genre Historical period drama
Created by Gwyneth Hughes
Based on Vanity Fair
by William Makepeace Thackeray
Written byGwyneth Hughes
Directed by James Strong
Starring
Theme music composer Bob Dylan
Opening theme"All Along the Watchtower" by Afterhere
Composer Isobel Waller-Bridge
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producers
CinematographyEd Rutherford
Editors
  • Jamie Pearson
  • Steven Worsley
  • Danielle Palmer
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time45—47 minutes
Production companies Mammoth Screen
ITV Studios
Amazon Prime Video
Original release
Network ITV
Release2 September (2018-09-02) 
7 October 2018 (2018-10-07)

Vanity Fair is a 2018 historical drama miniseries based on the 1848 novel of the same name by William Makepeace Thackeray. It was produced by Mammoth Screen and distributed by ITV and Amazon Studios.

Contents

The series stars Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp, Tom Bateman as Captain Rawdon Crawley, Claudia Jessie as Amelia Sedley, and Michael Palin as the author William Makepeace Thackeray. [1] [2]

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]
1"Miss Sharp In The Presence Of The Enemy" James Strong Gwyneth Hughes 2 September 2018 (2018-09-02)5.45 [4]
After losing her teaching job with Ms. Pinkerton due to an unladylike attitude, orphan Becky Sharp is given the position of governess in Hampshire that she does not want. Kind-hearted and wealthy Amelia finds Becky crying in her room. Becky convinces Amelia to let her stay with her. As a parting shot at Ms. Pinkerton, she shouts "Vive la France", "Vive Napoleon". Amelia's parents take Becky into their house. Becky makes herself out as a victim but the butler knows better. Amelia mentions her brother Jos in India. Seems like everyone except Amelia suspects Becky of trying to impose upon Amelia's family. Jos arrives and seems taken with Becky. After giving Becky flowers Jos regales Becky with his adventures in India. Amelia's fiancee George tries to talk Jos out of connecting himself to Becky. Becky, Jos, Amelia, and George go to Vauxhall Pleasure Garden and go on a balloon ride and watch fireworks. Jos makes a drunken fool out of himself and almost proposes to Becky. A letter arrives for Amelia the next day in which Jos asks for Becky's forgiveness for what he said to her and that he's leaving for Cheltenham. George tells Becky "better luck in your next life". Becky packs and Amelia offers Becky a necklace but Becky declines as she does not want to be accused of thievery. As Becky leaves, George tells Amelia that Becky must learn her station. Becky arrives at Queen's Crawley. She will be teaching Rose and Violet Cawley. [5]
2"Miss Sharp Begins To Make Friends"James StrongGwyneth Hughes3 September 2018 (2018-09-03)4.90 [4]
Becky is in Hampshire as governess to Sir Pitt Crawley's neglected daughters. Determined to get into his good books she quickly lands a promotion to secretary. The arrival of Crawley's sister prompts a new plan. [6]
3"A Quarrel About An Heiress"James StrongGwyneth Hughes9 September 2018 (2018-09-09)4.22 [7]
Becky has moved in with Matilda Crawley and seems to have a bright future ahead of her. However, war is brewing which threatens the fortunes of the scheming social climber and everyone she knows. [8]
4"In Which Becky Joins Her Regiment"James StrongGwyneth Hughes16 September 2018 (2018-09-16)4.04 [7]
George refuses to apologise for his marriage to Amelia and his father cuts him off from the family and his inheritance. All the friends leave for Brussels, where Becky makes use of every opportunity to advance in society.
5"In Which Battles Are Won and Lost"James StrongGwyneth Hughes23 September 2018 (2018-09-23)N/A
The Battle of Waterloo gets underway with George in the thick of it. Becky spies an opportunity to profit from the war by selling Rawdon's horses to the cowardly Jos. [9]
6"In Which a Painter's Daughter Meets a King"Jonathan EntwistleGwyneth Hughes30 September 2018 (2018-09-30)2.30 [10]
Becky's time to finally shine arrives as she is introduced to the King, it comes at great cost though. How will her marriage hold up to the new arrangement she has made?
7"Endings and Beginnings"James StrongGwyneth Hughes7 October 2018 (2018-10-07)N/A
Becky is alone and living in greatly reduced circumstances. Dobbin discovers that Amelia plans to remarry, prompting him to finally confess his feelings for her. The Sedleys have an unexpected encounter on holiday.

Production

A cottage on Chevening House Estate, Sevenoaks in Kent featured as Rawdon Crawley's cottage. Squerryes Court, Sevenoaks, was used for the interiors of Miss Pinkerton's school. A scene on the promenade, featuring soldiers and horses, was shot outside the Royal Hotel in Deal, Kent. Further filming took place at Chatham Historic Dockyard, where various London street scenes were shot outside the Ropery, an embarkation to France was shot on Anchor Wharf, and the interior of the Commissioner's House was also used. [11]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack featured a cover of "All Along the Watchtower", by Afterhere.

Critical reception

The series was met with a positive response from critics for its sets and Olivia Cooke's performance. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 88% with an average rating of 7.08 out of 10 based on 33 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Olivia Cooke's brilliant portrayal of the feisty and scheming Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair makes this adaptation of Thackeray's classic novel more relatable for a 21st century audience." [12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [13]

Following the conclusion of the series and on writing about the series's significantly low viewing figures in comparison to the BBC One "ratings juggernaut" Bodyguard , Ben Dowell of the Radio Times praised Cooke's performance, writing that "of all the TV Beckys down the ages – Joyce Redman, Susan Hampshire, Eve Matheson, Natasha Little, not to mention Reese Witherspoon in the 2004 film – Cooke is definitely one of the best we’ve ever had." [10] Newsday 's Verne Gay was more critical of the show, calling it both "faithful and faithless" to the book and concluded that the series "can occasionally feel like a homework assignment." [14]

Matthew Gilbert, writing for The Boston Globe , was more positive, stating that "If you’re a fan of these adaptations...I think you'll find something pleasing in this Vanity Fair — not heroes and heroines stirring about waiting for their happy endings, of course, but something far more scandalous and universal." [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Makepeace Thackeray</span> English novelist and illustrator (1811–1863)

William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of British society, and the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, which was adapted for a 1975 film by Stanley Kubrick.

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (novel) 1847–1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray

Vanity Fair is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray, which follows the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley amid their friends and families during and after the Napoleonic Wars. It was first published as a 19-volume monthly serial from 1847 to 1848, carrying the subtitle Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society, which reflects both its satirisation of early 19th-century British society and the many illustrations drawn by Thackeray to accompany the text. It was published as a single volume in 1848 with the subtitle A Novel without a Hero, reflecting Thackeray's interest in deconstructing his era's conventions regarding literary heroism. It is sometimes considered the "principal founder" of the Victorian domestic novel.

<i>The Newcomes</i> 1854–1855 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray

The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1854 and 1855.

<i>Becky Sharp</i> (film) 1935 film by Rouben Mamoulian, Lowell Sherman

Becky Sharp is a 1935 American Technicolor historical drama film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Miriam Hopkins who was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. Other supporting cast were William Faversham, Frances Dee, Cedric Hardwicke, Billie Burke, Alison Skipworth, Nigel Bruce, and Alan Mowbray.

Vanity Fair is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Chester M. Franklin and starring Myrna Loy, Conway Tearle and Anthony Bushell. The film is modernized adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name with the original Regency-era story reset in Twentieth Century Britain. Three years later Thackeray's novel was adapted again as Becky Sharp, the first three-strip technicolor film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suranne Jones</span> British actress

Sarah Ann Akers, known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. Known for her numerous collaborations with screenwriter Sally Wainwright, she rose to prominence playing Karen McDonald on ITV's Coronation Street between 2000 and 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered her television career in drama series such as Vincent (2005–2006), Strictly Confidential (2006), Harley Street (2008), and Unforgiven (2009).

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (2004 film) 2004 film

Vanity Fair is a 2004 historical drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name. The novel has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations. Nair's version made notable changes in the development of main character Becky Sharp, played by Reese Witherspoon.

Demi-monde is a French 19th-century term referring to women on the fringes of respectable society, and specifically to courtesans supported by wealthy lovers. The term is French for "half-world", and derives from an 1855 play called Le Demi-Monde, by Alexandre Dumas fils, dealing with the way that prostitution at that time threatened the institution of marriage. The demi-monde was the world occupied by elite men and the women who entertained them and whom they kept.

Vanity Fair may refer to:

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (1998 TV serial) TV series or program

Vanity Fair is a BBC television drama serial adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name broadcast in 1998. The screenplay was written by Andrew Davies.

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (1967 TV serial) TV series or program

Vanity Fair is a BBC television drama serial adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name broadcast in 1967. It was the first drama serial in colour produced by the BBC. Vanity Fair starred Susan Hampshire as Becky Sharp. The serial was also broadcast in 1972 in the US on PBS television as part of Masterpiece Theatre, and Hampshire received an Emmy Award for her portrayal in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Becky Sharp</span> Character in Thackerays Vanity Fair

Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, later describing herself as Rebecca, Lady Crawley, is the main protagonist of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1847–48 novel Vanity Fair. She is presented as a cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate and seduce upper-class men. This is in contrast with the clinging, dependent Amelia Sedley, her friend from school. Becky then uses Amelia as a stepping stone to gain social position. Sharp functions as a picara—a picaresque heroine—by being a social outsider who is able to expose the manners of the gentry to ridicule.

James Robert Alexander Chalmers is an English actor who has performed in film, television and theatre. Chalmers graduated from the University of Edinburgh and continued his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He first performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Spanish Golden Age productions and made his West End debut when the season transferred to the Playhouse Theatre in 2005. He has performed with Shakespeare's Globe and the Read Not Dead project, Royal Court Theatre, Northcott Theatre, Royal National Theatre (studio), Theatre503, and the Park Theatre (London).

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (1923 film) 1923 film

Vanity Fair (1923) is a lost silent feature film directed by Hugo Ballin and released by Samuel Goldwyn.

Vanity Fair is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by Walter Courtney Rowden and starring Clive Brook, Cosmo Kyrle Bellew and Douglas Munro. An adaptation of the 1848 novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, it was made as part of the "Tense Moments with Great Authors Series" of films.

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (1987 TV serial) TV series or program

Vanity Fair is a 1987 BBC Pebble Mill Production consisting of sixteen 35 minute episodes. It is an adaptation of the 1848 novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. The serial was shot on location and in studio. Locations included Winchester and Thetford. Virtually all the interiors were shot in Studio A at Pebble Mill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Octavia Brookfield</span>

Jane Octavia Brookfield was a literary hostess and writer, best known for her platonic friendship with William Makepeace Thackeray. She also wrote four novels; some critics have drawn parallels between the events in these novels and her relationship with Thackeray.

Vanity Fair is a 1915 silent film drama directed by Eugene Nowland and Charles Brabin and starring Mrs. Fiske, a renowned Broadway stage actress. The Edison Company produced and released the film. Mrs. Fiske had starred in the 1899 hit Broadway play Becky Sharp based on William Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name. Here she recreates the role for Edison's cameras. This film marks Mrs. Fiske's second feature film as she had starred in Tess of the d'Urbervilles for Adolph Zukor in 1913. Despite the popularity of Vanity Fair, Mrs. Fiske never made another motion picture.

Vanity Fair was a 1956–57 six-part BBC TV serial adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name. The cast included Joyce Redman, Petra Davies, Derek Blomfield, Alan Badel, David Peel, Graham Stuart, Marian Spencer, Jack May. Telerecorded during its live broadcast, only the first episode is known to survive, with the others being junked following a repeat of the telerecordings in 1957.

<i>Vanity Fair</i> (1911 film) 1911 American film

Vanity Fair is a 1911 silent film adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel of the same name. Produced by Vitagraph Studios, it was one of the company's first three-reel productions, along with A Tale of Two Cities (1911).

References

  1. Tartaglione, Nancy (25 September 2017). "'Vanity Fair': Suranne Jones, Michael Palin Join Olivia Cooke In ITV/Amazon Drama". Deadline . Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (2 September 2018). "Meet the cast of Vanity Fair". The Radio Times . Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  3. "Four-screen dashboard | BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  4. 1 2 "Four-screen dashboard - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  5. "Miss Sharp In The Presence Of The Enemy". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. "Miss Sharp Begins To Make Friends". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  8. "A Quarrel about an Heiress". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. "In Which Battles Are Won and Lost" via www.imdb.com.
  10. 1 2 "Vanity Fair series finale review: Becky gets her just desserts as this underwatched classic ends in style". Radio Times.
  11. "Vanity Fair (2018)". Kent Film Office . 7 September 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. "Vanity Fair: Miniseries". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  13. "Vanity Fair (2018) Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  14. Gay, Verne (20 December 2018). "'Vanity Fair' review: Mirthless, melodramatic version of Thackeray's classic". Newsday . Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  15. Gilbert, Matthew (19 December 2018). "Sit back and enjoy the deceits of 'Vanity Fair'". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 26 December 2018.