6 Dec ‘10

“The life and death of the Welsh drunk was the only poignant note in an hour that was otherwise a Pimpernel Smith-style romp at the expense of the Germans who bought the Greek fantasy mainly because they could not believe that we would be so devious.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

Click here for a Behind the Scenes report from the director

“However much this programme delighted in the Boy’s Own adventure stuff, it never forgot the sacrifice behind it.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“What I really wanted to see wasn’t The Making of the Duchess of Malfi but The Unmaking of The Making of the Duchess of Malfi. It would have consisted of a single scene in which the commissioning editor told the director that it wasn’t worth making the programme if we couldn’t see the fruits of the rehearsals.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“It was like tailoring a bespoke suit without taking any measurements from the client or bothering with the tedious process of sewing the bits together before delivery.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“If there was a point to this episode – something about the apparent conflict between the constitutional right to pursue happiness and the higher duty to honour God – it was trumped by voyeuristic historical footage.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“America is built on a central myth form which all the rest about George Washington and the cherry tree and humble shoeshine boys becoming president have sprung.”
Matt Balyliss, The Express

“It’s an entertaining drift, perked up with a lot of sex, which is the form that good luck most frequently takes in Logan’s life.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“It’s just the Manichean characterisations, the over-acting extras and the way every woman except Lady Sarah is done up like Helena Bonham Carter that makes Garrow’s Law more Pythonesque than passionate.”
Andrew Billen, The Times