Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Harvey Hart, Via Vision Entertainment.
Cast: Jan Seymour, Timothy Bottoms, Soon Tek-Oh, Bruce Boxleitner, Lloyd Bridges
John Steinbeck’s East of Eden: they just don’t make them like this any more. On a grand scale, this 1981 mini-series tells an epic tale of multi-generational sibling rivalry that covers decades, across thousands of miles of US terrain.
The three-disc, four-hour television event enables you to see most of Steinbeck’s intricate story enacted on the screen, which wasn’t possible with the 1955 film that starred James Dean and was directed by Elia Kazan.
The story begins in the years after the American Civil War and, through the tale of the Trask family, brings to light a ‘struggle and conflict inherent in the human condition’.
Cyrus Trask has two sons: Adam (Bottoms) a gentle, idealistic soul, and Charles (Boxleitner), a hell-raiser.
Cathy Ames (Seymour, later known as Kate Trask or Kate Albey), is the main antagonist. Steinbeck characterised her as a “psychic monster” with a “malformed soul”.
She is the wife of main protagonist Adam Trask, and the mother of his twin sons, Caleb and Aron. Beneath her amiable, beautiful facade lurks a sociopath who controls and obliterates people for her own benefit and enjoyment.
The film overflows with remarkable performances, especially from Seymour, who mesmerises; Bottoms who is compelling in his portrayal of Adam over a lifetime; and
Tek-Oh, Adam’s loyal Catonese servant Lee, takes the typecast of the pigdin-speaking Chinese houseboy and turns it upside down.
Tell us who is characterised as a “psychic monster” … and you could win one of two DVDs of East of Eden. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by next Monday, 21 May 2018. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column next week.
