An 8 episodes miniseries that adapted one of the most appreciated novels in history
15 years have passed since a group of daring producers among which was founded by Ridley Scott, Scott Free, dared to adapt one of the most appreciated literary works in the United Kingdom: The pillars of the Eartha historical novel published in 1989 that would end up being the most famous and sold by British author Ken Follett and one of the best of the genre in the recent history of literature.
Fit The pillars of the Earth It was not a minor task, but was assumed by screenwriter John Skinmeier, who was in charge of condensing the more than a thousand pages of the Follett novel in an 8-chapters miniseries that were led by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan. To do so, they spent 40 million dollars that now they do not seem so much in front of other large budgets that go through the same figure in a single episode, but that were not exactly common on the small screen.
It was also necessary for a whole year of work to see the final result, but the series, despite being a huge television production and the expectation of adapting a novel of the stature of The pillars of the Earthhe would never reach the reputation of another ambitious literary adaptations, such as Game of Thrones o The Lord of the Rings: the power rings. And the truth is that Game of Thronesreleased in 2011, did not catch him so far.
The adaptation of Ken Follett’s bestseller is starring Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Matthew Macfadyen, Eddie Redmayne and Hayley Atwell, among others, and, like the novel, Framed in a key period in Great Britain although in a fictional location and with important historical licenses.
After the death of King Enrique, he has exploded a struggle for his succession in England of the twelfth century. The fight for the crown between his daughter, Maud (Alison Pill), and his nephew, Esteban (Tony Curran), has taken England to the civil war. While Bishop Waleran Bigod (McShane) and the Hamleight family manipulate the conflict to satisfy its relentless ambition, Prior Philip wants to avoid conspiracy against the heir to the throne. As a peace signal in favor of Kingsbridge’s prosperity, he wants to build a cathedral of epic proportions and for this he will have the humble builder Tom Builder.
The miniseries received mostly positive criticisms, but its diversion of the material in the final episode did not go unnoticed. However, despite the ambitious project, 15 years later The pillars of the Earth It is a quite forgotten miniseries that, Unfortunately, it is currently not available in the catalog of any ‘streaming’ platform or by rental options.
