Such a frustrating disappointment

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

As Good As It Gets

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The distillation of James Clavell's rich and intricate book into a six hours mini series meant that much of the detail and some minor characters had to be cut, along with at least one major thread, that of the espionage network, which was only touched upon by the exposure of one spy, and the unresolved gun running. The mini series could have used another two hours to fully develop the espionage network involving Britain, Mainland China and Russia planting sleepers, and double agents. Watering down the espionage plot resulted in the intelligence official Crosse being a one-note character. I guess we can be thankful that it was not a two hour movie! The TV version differed from the book in that Ian Dunross was a widower, rather than a happily married man, which allowed him an unnecessary affair with Casey. and it was moved forward from pre-Vietnam 1963 to the 80's, when the cold war was not quite so cold and the fear of what would happen when Hong Kong was returned to China was not quite so acute. I will admit that Deborah Raffin was well cast as the tall loud and brash American woman trying to make it in a man's world, but I could not resist the urge to fast forward her scenes. What became of Philip Chen, last seen threatening to deal with the theft of the half coin in a Chinese Way? We never saw him again. Other than the truncated storyline, my only problem was with the insipid art design. I found the bleached out look of the European homes, hotels, and any scene in which Deborah Raffin appeared very disconcerting. When a blonde woman wearing white or cream is in a room with white or cream furniture, neutral carpets and very pale green walls, with men in cream colored clothing, the whole scene has an anemic look as well as making her merge into the couch. At the first party, Casey Tcholok is described in the book as wearing a deep emerald green dress, not white silk as shown. The emerald dress would have made her stand out, which is what she was meant to do. I have watched both the VHS tape and the vastly superior DVD, and even on the low quality tape found the art design poor.The DVD was brilliantly sharp, to the point where you could see the hair dye and artificial grey streaks. Overall, the sumptuous look, other than the aforementioned, was a feat for the eyes, especially the views of Hong Kong, the race course and the beautiful gardens, and the crowded harbor life.

Your reaction to the idea of setting the TV show Dallas in Hong Kong will probably determine what you think of this mini-series. From the very opening credits (which have the visual feel of Dallas, though sadly the music is not as stirring) this is familiar territory. I'll call it a movie below because that was how I saw it, as four sequential episodes with no delay between them.The good: The movie tries really hard to give one a reasonably full feel for the geography and appearance of Hong Kong, while also throwing in some of nearby Asia, and some highlights of recent Hong Kong history. The pacing was almost always spot-on. There are two sequences where I feel the pacing is way too slow, both involving special effects. One gets the feeling that the producer felt that, having decided to spend the money of these effects, he had to justify it by keeping them on screen far longer than made sense.To go with the pacing, the balancing of characters and subplots worked well. In a movie like this with so many balls in the air, it's a delicate balance to ensure that the viewer does not get confused by too many characters and too many subplots. This movie handled these issues better than many.The amusing: For the most part a lot of money appears to have been spent on the interior and exterior photography, on the costumes, on setting up the shots. Which makes the one special effect sequence toward the end (I won't say more to avoid being a spoiler) all the more glaring and laughable, like something from a homemade YouTube clip.The bad: Just like Dallas, this is a show about business as politics, and not even real politics but gossipy cartoon politics. Business rivalries are driven by personal vendettas, and business problems are solved by charisma, threats, and calling in favors. Nothing of the day-to-day reality of business has any place here. All we learn of the actual business of the Noble House is that somehow ships are involved. There is nothing about one business succeeding compared to another based on their using technology better so as to be able to ship using less oil, or to offload cargo faster, or to better understand the requirements of its customers. There is no place here for operations, R&D, marketing, not even realistic financial engineering and tax planning. This is the world of CEO as charismatic lone genius. There is altogether too much reference to "Hong Kong ways" and the mysterious behavior of not just orientals but the European locals (who have all gone native and also practice these mysterious ways). This is a boring trope we see constantly in this sort of entertainment. The Dallas TV show will tell us how business in Dallas is unlike anywhere else, the Moscow movie will tell us how business in Russia is unlike anywhere else, the Johannesburg novel will tell us how business in South Africa is unlike anywhere else. Lazy, stupid, clearly untrue. Right alongside some perfectly good acting, the sort of level we expect from expensive US TV productions, there is some laughably bad acting.

Returning to this series by way of the DVD issue, as a Clavell fan, I am struck by its incredible background authenticity. From Victoria Peak to Aberdeen, from the fabled Peninsula Hotel to the Star ferries, and from the glittering highrises to the teeming streets and bobbling junks. The basic plot line, as with "Taipan" AND "Shogun," may be spun out of a rich and creative imagination, but it is the fleshing out and storied detail of ALL the dramatis personae that counts here. I note, with some amusement, the individual responses to the individual portrayals/performances, but, aside from such idiosyncratic reactions, the fact remains that the ensemble is spot-on. Pierce Brosnan herein one-ups his latterday Bondings, much more realistic AND convincing, and, in response to the fellow who found Ben Masters wanting in that he projected nothing but "jerk," isn't that what was the intention? For the rest, not one quibble. And Khigh Diegh probably had his very best effort here, just as the rest of the "Asian" cast, including Lisa Lu's made-up old amah. Clavell has, once again, stormed history to project the then present, the mid-80s?, and, in the process, eerily foreshadowing the future that is today? From the free-wheeling, high-stakes Ponzi schemings of its principals, bar none, to its lowliest "coolies." But why has no one, to date, mined Clavell's "Reap the Whirlwind" insights that are ominously and, again, eerily, applicable to Iran? Oh, well, someone eventually will. Belatedly, of course. Finally, Clavell's prophetic projections of the continuing geopolitical power struggles and power plays continues to be bull's-eye on the mark. Scary, isn't it? Aiyah! And "Eeeee" as well.

As I said in the beginning, I think this mini-series is actually quite okay. But pitched against the novel, it doesn't stand a chance since I think the book was Clavell's greatest and I really loved it. But how could a TV-mini-series ever compete with a book that is so complex and has so many important story lines?The producers decided to half-sacrifice the espionage plot, but I thought that's acceptable. The only thing I didn't like was the fact Casey doesn't seem to be in love with Linc (she seems rather concerned about his friendship and the business matters) but goes for Ian instead. This is a huge deviation from the book since that complicated love story between Casey and Linc is just brilliant and explains their characters. Also Ian is being made a widower in order to accommodate Casey without adultery. And why's Peter Marlowe out?Put that aside, you have a really entertaining TV-Mini-Series that's able to go almost the same pace as the book, and actually captures quite well the basic essence of the novel. Shouldn't probably be too surprised at the good outcome since Clavell himself worked closely on the series. I rated it 8 / 10 and think that it's impossible to do any better with a novel like this.