What sets this excellent 1980s British miniseries apart from its predecessors is not only its unflinching portrayal of its ostensible hero, but also the format of the piece itself. Borrowing equally from such classics as Citizen Kane and even Rashomon, I Remember Nelson gives over each of its four episodes to radically different individual viewpoints of Nelson--his wife's, Sir William Hamilton's (Emma's cuckolded husband), Thomas Hardy's (captain of Nelson's flagship, The Victory) and William Blackie's, a cannon-man on the Victory's cramped lower deck during the epochal Battle of Trafalgar.

What emerges from these four disparate viewpoints is a fascinating and frequently heartbreaking portrait of a deeply flawed man, one who bought into the commonly held view in those days that he was a hero of Greek proportions, and all others be damned. There's one beautiful performance after another in this piece, from Kenneth Colley's boorish Nelson, to Anna Massey's tragic yet ultimately triumphant Lady Nelson, to Geraldine James as the woman around whom so much controversy swirled.

While this was evidently not hugely budgeted, I Remember Nelson still displays some very nice production values, well if not extravagantly recreating Nelson's early 1800s era. From the theater piece that opens the miniseries to the recreation of the Battle of Trafalgar (told almost entirely from below decks on The Victory), I Remember Nelson gives a quite visceral feel of the tenor of Nelson's time.

What is frequently fascinating about the various takes here is that, though there are some overlapping of story elements in the various episodes a la Kane, enough different facets are shown in the relatively insular time focus portrayed to give one a nicely ambivalent picture of Nelson. Now some may find the phrase "nicely ambivalent" strange, but for those who like their "heroes" (for want of a more appropriate word) shown warts and all, you get both the incredibly doltish behavior of Nelson with his wife, the genuine, if oddly mismatched, relationship with Hamilton, and then the unabashedly heroic (in the classic sense) actions of Nelson as a commander. It's insightful therefore to contrast Nelson's demeanor in the more intimate (and at times painful) interactions with his wife, with his behavior in battle. They're frequently springing from the same temperament, and there's the rub: who wants to be married to someone who can't be challenged, who, by his very rank, is unassailable? It's to this series' credit that this dichotomy is so forcefully depicted.

While there are some minor caveats, like an at times too incessant use of voiceover to bridge sequences in all four episodes, and the fact that the series is largely limited in scope to the time period after Nelson's return from the Nile and his final battle, in total I Remember Nelson is a riveting and uniquely framed portrayal of one of the most misunderstood geniuses of British naval history.

The DVD

Video:
The good news is the basic videotaped quality of this series is lightyears better than the stock "In Colour" proclamation that starts each episode (strange for an 80s release--was UK television still doing black and white by then?). The bad news is, that's not saying much. While this certainly won't disappoint anyone who keeps its television roots in mind, it's not an exceptional looking piece, though for its age, there's more than adequate detail and color.

Sound:
Again, as with most television fare of this era, you won't find anything major to complain about, but certainly nothing that will set your home theater system on its side. No subtitles are offered.

Extras:
Disc one features cast filmographies, and disc two features a photo gallery from the production.

Final Thoughts:
This is probably the most accurate and faithful recreation of one aspect of Nelson's life and any history buff is going to find it well worth while. Highly recommended.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet