PRINCIPAL CAST: Martin Clunes; Victoria Hamilton; Conleth Hill; Patrick Malahide; John Wood.

Director: Stuart Orme

SYNOPSIS:

The fourth film version of a novel by James Hilton (author of “Lost Horizon” and involved in the production of other movie classics such as ” Mrs Miniver” and “Random Harvest”), this is a made-for-television story of the career of a private school master - Mr Chipping - from his commencement at Brookfield School to his death. Along the way we see the character develop from a teacher struggling to gain respect from students and his peers to a gentle and well-loved cornerstone of the school establishment. He suffers disappointments along the way - for example, the tragic death of his young wife during childbirth and the losses of ex-students in World War I - but in the end, it is the triumph of human spirit and integrity that wins the day.

Martin Clunes comes across as a more self-confident individual than the rather shy character portrayed by Robert Donat in the classic 1939 movie adaptation. This version lacks much of the poignancy and charm of the earlier film (this more closely resembles a docu-drama) but it still delivers a solid storyline with suitable sentiment.

The characters and events depicted are quite believable and are competently presented.

EXTRAS

? Cast biographies of Clunes, Hamilton and Hill

? History of Mr Chips - an interesting multi-page visual-only feature with details of the evolution of the story, the basis for the central character, and biography of the story’s author. Very good!

? Subtitles available

? Chapter selection

OVERALL

It was much better than I expected. It could never hold a candle to the 1939 movie, but competently performed and staged, and highly enjoyable. It still keeps a good degree of sentimentality.