ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701070115
SECTION: SPECTATO PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
``Nostromo,'' Joseph Conrad's epic novel of war, revolution and passion in turn-of-the-century South America, finally reaches the screen in a six-hour dramatization on PBS.
The ``Mobil Masterpiece Theater'' presentation runs Sunday through Tuesday (at 9 p.m. on WBRA-Channel 15). Italian actor Claudio Amendola plays Nostromo (``Our Man'') and the large international cast includes Albert Finney, Claudia Cardinale, Brian Dennehy, Colin Firth and Serena Scott Thomas.
``Many producers have tried to film `Nostromo,''' said the show's producer Fernando Ghia, contacted in Rome. ``But all of them had to give it up. There was no way you could tell the story in the confines of a two-hour movie.''
Ghia was first attracted to ``Nostromo'' 30 years ago by the late playwright (``A Man for All Seasons'') and screenwriter (``Lawrence of Arabia'') Robert Bolt. Their attempts to condense the movie to feature length failed. They did collaborate on a South American film, ``The Mission,'' starring Robert De Niro.
Bolt and David Lean also worked on ``Nostromo,'' but the project ended when Lean died.
Armed with a script by John Hale, Ghia convinced the Italian TV network RAI to sponsor ``Nostromo.''
``But of course the only television network in Europe capable of backing such an expensive show is the BBC,'' Ghia remarked. ``They agreed to become a partner, so we were able to go ahead.'' Also enlisted: WGBH in Boston and TVE in Spain.
Having already filmed ``The Mission'' in Colombia, Ghia decided to return there.
``But not to Bogota or the other trouble spots,'' he said. ``I chose Cartagena. It is a beautiful city, self-enclosed, with many areas that look the same as they did 100 years ago.''
Ghia went to the highest government officials to explain that he would be employing Colombia actors and set workers - as well as thousands of extras. Much of the $18 million budget would be spent in the country. He was assured of no disruptions.
``Nostromo'' takes place in the fictional country of Costaguana. An Englishman (Firth) returns there in the 1890s with plans to reopen a rich silver mine where his father had been killed during a revolution. He enlists an American financier (Dennehy) to help him.
The mine starts producing silver ore, but revolution and war break out. In the midst of the chaos, Firth tries to get a silver shipment out of the country. He enlists the only man who seems able to get things done in Costaguana: Nostromo.
Scenes of battle and mining the silver appear on a scale that could enhance a major theatrical feature. Amazingly, the six hours were filmed in 16 weeks, the time required for most two-hour movies. The director is Alastair Reid, who directed the ``Traffik'' series.
If the intricacies of South American politics seem hard to decipher, that may have resulted from Conrad's method of writing. ``Nostromo'' first appeared as a serial, Ghia explains, ``so he was making it up as he went along.''
The silver mine set was visited by the famous Cartagena resident, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of ``Love in the Time of Cholera.''
After viewing the hundreds of local Indians working in a huge open-pit mine, he gave his blessing: ``This is authentic. This is real to this place. These people, these faces, these colors are not like a film.''
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: An Englishman (Colin Firth) and his wife (Serena Scottby CNBThomas) return to a South American country to reopen his late
father's silver mine in ``Nostromo,'' airing Sunday through Tuesday
at 9 p.m. on WBRA-Channel 15.