Second Look: "LOUISIANA" (1984)
Here is my look at the 1984 HBO miniseries called, "LOUISIANA". It starred Margot Kidder and Ian Charleson:
Second Look: "LOUISIANA" (1984)
Twenty-four years ago, HBO had aired a three-part miniseries about the life and travails of a nineteenth Southern belle named Virginia Tregan. The miniseries was called "LOUISIANA" and it starred Margot Kidder ("SUPERMAN") and Ian Charleson ("CHARIOTS OF FIRE").
Directed by the late Philippe de Broca, "LOUISIANA" was based upon the "Fausse-Riviere" Trilogy, written by Maurice Denuzière, one of the screenwriters. It told the story of Virginia's (Kidder) ruthless devotion to her first husband's (Lloyd Bochner) Louisiana plantation called Bagatelle . . . and her love for the plantation's overseer, an Englishman named Clarence Dandridge (Charleson). The story began in 1836 in which she returns to her home in the Louisiana after spending several years at school in Paris, only to discover that her family plantation and its holdings have been lost. She determines to recoup her family's fortune. The story ended in either the late 1860s or early 1870s with Virginia using one last trick up her sleeves to save Bagatelle from a Yankee mercenary (Len Cariou). But if I must be frank, "LOUISIANA" is no "GONE WITH THE WIND" or "NORTH AND SOUTH".
Ironically, the character of Virginia Tregan bears a strong resemblance to Margaret Mitchell's famous leading lady. Both are strong-willed, ruthless, charming and manipulative. Both had married at least two or three times. Okay, Scarlett O'Hara had married three times. Virginia got married twice and engaged once to some Yankee-born mercenary. Both fell in love with a man who was forbidden to them. Yet, unlike Scarlett, Virginia finally ended up with the man she loved. And if I must be honest, Margot Kidder did a good job of creating a rather interesting character.
Like John Jakes' "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy, "LOUISIANA" spanned a few decades, covering the antebellum period, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Mind you, "LOUISIANA" lacked the other miniseries' epic-style storytelling, despite the fact that a small portion of the story took part in France just before the outbreak of the Revolution of 1848. However, it did not fail to depicit the darker side of the plantation slave system of the Old South - especially through the eyes of three characters - Dandridge, a Bagatell slave named Brent (Hilly Hicks) and Virginia's French-born servant/companion, Mignette (Andréa Ferréol). If there is one aspect of "LOUISIANA" that reigns supreme over both "NORTH AND SOUTH" and "GONE WITH THE WIND" are the costumes designed by John Jay. The costumes lacked the theatrical styles of the John Jakes miniseries and the 1939 Oscar winner. But they do project a more realistic image of the clothes worn during the period between 1830s and 1860s.
Fans of "NORTH AND SOUTH" would immediately recognized the plantation and house that served as Bagatelle in "LOUISIANA". In real life it is Greenwood Plantation, located in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Aside from serving as Bagatelle, it also stood in as Resolute, the home of the venal Justin LaMotte in the first two miniseries of the "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy.
The story is not that bad. It seemed like a Louisiana version of "GONE WITH THE WIND", but with the epic sprawl of "NORTH AND SOUTH". But only in length . . . not in style. Margot Kidder, Ian Charleson, Andréa Ferréol and Hilly Hicks all give pretty good performances. Kidder and Charleson, surprisingly, have a strong screen chemistry. It indulges in the romance of the Old South, yet at the same time, exposes its darker aspects, especially slavery. If you are expecting another "GONE WITH THE WIND" or "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy, you will be disappointed. But "LOUISIANA" has a story that turned out to be somewhat entertaining.
For anyone interested in watching "LOUISIANA", you might find it extremely difficult in finding the entire miniseries (six hours) either on VHS or DVD. And it might be slightly difficult in finding an edited version (down to a 3-hour movie), as well. The last time I had seen "LOUISIANA", it had aired on CINEMAX in the mid-1990s and had been edited to at least four hours. If you find a copy of the entire miniseries or the edited version, you have my congratulations.