Capitalist
A truly marvellous series called The Offer has been released online, and I just had to review it. One of the great things about the modern world (people who talk about “the good old days” really don’t know what they are talking about, folks!), is the ability to watch numerous episodes of TV shows one after the other.
Equally great is the fashion for releasing shows online rather than on traditional television. Instead of having to watch one episode every week at a specific time, it is possible to sit back and spend the afternoon watching multiple episodes back to back. Or attempt to. It has taken me three days to watch four episodes due to the children being pains in the neck whenever I sit down and click ‘play’. (I’m convinced they are doing it deliberately.)
The Offer is about the trials and tribulations that were involved in making the first Godfather movie. This process was complicated, involved numerous setbacks and frustrations for everybody involved, and it’s a miracle the film ever got made – especially because the Mafia (for lack of a better word) didn’t want it made and went to great lengths to ensure their views were clear on the matter.
A young producer at Paramount Pictures, Al Ruddy, with the full support of studio head Bob Evans, decides to make the Godfather. He engages book author Mario Puzo and a broke director called Francis Ford Coppola to write the screenplay; then the fun starts! All the while hovering in the background is the owner of Paramount Pictures, Charles Bluhdorn, who is very uneasy about the cost, subject matter – and trouble created by the project.
The cast of The Offer are brilliant: they are mostly unknown (or unknown-ish) actors, but manage to portray the real people in a very realistic way. The most notable example is British actor Matthew Goode (he had a minor role in Downton Abbey) who – to my astonishment – manages to portray Bob Evans in such a fashion you’d think Evans had come back to life. It’s truly remarkable; and I encourage you to watch some footage on youtube.com of Bob Evans (there are plenty of interviews and other things he did over the years to choose from), then watch Goode’s portrayal of him. You will see what I mean.
The first three episodes of The Offer were released online a week or so ago, and a fourth yesterday; one will be released each week through to mid-June. You can view it in New Zealand on TVNZ OnDemand, which is about the easiest website to join I have ever struck! – and is free of charge.
Recreating the Los Angeles, the Hollywood, of the late 1960s and early 70s has been done brilliantly by the makers of The Offer; it must have been such a lot of fun being there at that time – before LA turned into what it has become (thank you Democratic Party!).
The only downsides of the show are several events taken slightly out of sequence from when they actually occurred (although it doesn’t detract from the story in any way) and how mob boss Joe Colombo is portrayed as an uncouth slob, which is inaccurate.
So I recommend The Offer to you, dear reader, if you are at a loose end over the weekend: watch and enjoy.