On armistice day, november 1918, vera brittain alicia vikander escapes the celebrating crowd for quiet solitude inside a. Testament of youth tv miniseries is a film directed by moira armstrong with cheryl campbell, emrys james, jane wenham, rosalie crutchley, year. Testament of youth tv mini series 1979 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. A dramatization of vera brittains 1933 autobiography testament of youth a memorial to a generation devastated by wwi chronicles her experiences as a nurse in london and malta. A dramatization of vera brittains 1933 autobiography testament of youtha memorial to a generation devastated by wwi chronicles her experiences as a nurse in london and malta. We both watched it, all five 50 min sections, on a dull, wet boxing day. With cheryl campbell, emrys james, jane wenham, peter woodward. Testament of youth tv miniseries 1979 testament of. Abandoning her studies at oxford in 1915 to enlist as a nurse in the armed services, brittain served in london, in malta, and on the western front. Vera brittains daughter shirley williams opens up on life and her mother i have concluded that the film is very well made subtle, extraordinarily sensitive, and brutal. Vera brittains world falls to pieces around her as, one by one, the young men of her.
Directed by 1 writing credits 2 cast 53 produced by 1 music by 1 film editing by 1 production design by 1 special effects by 1 camera and electrical department 1 editorial department 2 script and continuity department 1. She falls in love with her brothers friend, but then war is. Testament of youth adaptation of vera brittains wartime memoir by patrick ivers, film critic 2015, english and german decades previously on pbs masterpiece theatre, i watched the fiveepisode bbcproduced 1979 tv miniseries testament of youth. Watch tv series testament of youth 1979 the best site. Time and again, one is left admiring the pictorial. In a prologue set in 1918 on the day of the armistice, the palette is a chill blue and vera wanders dazed through the jubilant crowds. But never the less its taken 30 years to embed testament of youth in the canon of first world war literature. Testament of youth is almost required reading for testament of friendship. Testament of youth anchored by an extraordinary performance from actress alicia vikander, james kent s testament of youth bears comparison to many other superbly mounted costume dramas backed by the bbc, but this one has a special distinction. Testament of youth 1979 episode 5 of 5 daisy mason.
At the outbreak of the first world war, a young vera finds. Testament of youth a sony pictures classics release. Between these two books comes testament of friendship published in 1940, which is essentially a memoir of brittains close colleague and. Testament of youth is a searing story of love, war and remembrance, based on the first world war memoir by vera brittain which became the classic testimony of that war from a womans point of. In 1914, vera brittain decides to study at oxford university. Testament of youth is an british series which is aired on bbc one. The bretts series 1 episode 3 vagabonds and thieves duration. Find out where testament of youth is streaming, if testament of youth is on netflix, and get news and updates, on decider. Cheryl campbell and peter woodward led the cast of the last one, which was a 1979 miniseries made for the bbc. Cheryl campbell stars in this enriching and awardwinning adaptation of vera brittain s autobiography, set between 19 and 1925. I first encountered it after its last screen outing, when it was made into an acclaimed fivepart series for the bbc in 1979, starring cheryl campbell. The former a memoir of vera brittain, the latter a biography of her closest friend winifred holtby. Testament of youth is the first instalment, covering 19001925, in the memoir of vera brittain 18931970. Just as the bbc tv series introduced a new generation to vera brittain in 1979, so should this film her spirit shines through it.
Testament of youth, backed by the bfi film fund, is in cinemas from 16 january. A final segment of memoir, to be called testament of faith or testament of time, was planned by brittain but remained unfinished at her death. Love in a time of slaughter alicia vikander stars as the feminist vera brittain in a drama set during world war i. The film was directed by james kent and written by juliette towhidi. In particular, causes such as feminism, pacifism and. The film stars alicia vikander as vera brittain, an independent young woman who abandoned her studies at somerville college, oxford, to become a war nurse. World war i gets the masterpiece theatre treatment in testament of youth, a lush, curiously decorous adaptation of the memoir by vera brittain, a young woman who became a prominent pacifist as a result of the deaths of her loved ones and the human devastation she witnessed during her service as a volunteer nurse at the front in france. Testament of youth is a necessary reminder of the impact.
Testament of youth where to stream and watch decider. Testament of youth, the unforgettable story of vera brittain, author and pacifist, is widely regarded as one of television s truly great dramas. Testament of youth has been acclaimed as a classic for its description of the impact of world war i on the lives of women and the middleclass civilian population of great britain. A dramatization of vera brittains 1933 autobiography testament of youtha memorial to a generation devastated by wwi chronicles her experiences as a nurse.
Testament of youth is a further endorsement of british craft. Cheryl campbell as vera in the 1979 bbc series testament of youth photo. Testament of youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the first world war memoir by vera brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a womans point. That republication, along with the bbc television series in 1979 really established the book. Testament of youth is a world war i drama based on the heartbreaking memoir by feminist and pacifist vera brittain that was the basis for a. Testament of youth does indeed possess a significant difference of. Testament of youth is a 1979 bbc television drama based on the first world war memoir of the same name written by vera brittain. The series stars cheryl campbell as vera brittain, an independent young woman from buxton, derbyshire, who abandons her studies at somerville college, oxford university to become a volunteer nurse. Testament of youth tv miniseries 1979 filmaffinity. It has won nine major awards, including british academy of film and television awards baftas for best television series and best actress for cheryl campbell. Testament of youth and 9 related entities entities finder. Scheduled to open locally in january 2015, testament could prove to be a sleeper hit with its crossquadrant appeal to older audiences who treasured.
Here brittain witnesses the harsh realities of war first hand, undergoing a series of horrific experiences which will have a lasting influence on her life. A dramatization of vera brittains 1933 autobiography testament of youtha memorial to a generation devastated by wwi chronicles her experiences as a nurse in london and malta and at the front lines in france. The fivepart series takes us from the peaceful twilight of edwardian stuffiness through the horrors of wwi to the hopefulness of the postwar years. Brittains memoir continues with testament of experience, published in 1957, and encompassing the years 19251950. When virago republished testament of youth in 1978, it sent the book back into the bestseller list again. Cheryl campbell as vera in the 1979 bbc series testament of youth.
Vera brittains world falls to pieces around her as, one by one, the young men of her circle are caught up in the great war. Starring alicia vikander tomb raider and kit harington game of thrones, testament of youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the first world war memoir by vera. Although focusing on individuals and their relationships, they also powerfully describe the state of the times. Made in 1979, at a time when the bbc really knew how to do faultless period drama miniseries, this baftawinning adaptation of vera brittains bestselling memoir remains a deeply compelling, poignant and powerful work and, at 268 minutes, benefits greatly from a longer running time in comparison to the 2014 film version starring alicia vikander, allowing it to explore in more depth the. Testament of youth bbc1, 1979 the first adult drama i can remember watching as a kid is a powerful and heartbreaking story, told with such an emotional poignancy that it has never left me. Testament of youth is testament of youth on netflix.
Testament of youth is a 2014 british drama film based on the first world war memoir of the same name written by vera brittain. See the full starz schedule for new releases in may 2020. By wars end she had lost virtually everyone she loved. Home trending history get youtube premium get youtube tv best of youtube music. The book shows how the impact extended into the postwar years. Testament of friendship by vera brittain jigarpatel. Time and again, one is left admiring the pictorial beauty of a shot, often at the expense of the contrastingly grim content. Much of what we know and feel about the first world war we owe to vera brittains elegiac yet unsparing book, which set a standard for memoirists from martha gellhorn to lillian hellman.