Why Ripley Felt Different
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- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- This video essay analyzes Netflix's Ripley, starring Andrew Scott, and directed by Steven Zaillian. Ripley is a dark lesson in suspense that captures the mechanics of murder in a way no other television show has. If you want to understand what made Ripley such a unique experience, then this video explains all.
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Music used:
"Ghost Dance" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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"Aquarium" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Gaia in Fog by Dan Bodan (CZcams Audio Library)
Hitchcockian by Sir Cubworth (CZcams Audio Library)
Earth Appears by Brian Bolger (CZcams Audio Library)
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"The Other Side of the Door" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Above the Ocean by Evan MacDonald (Licensed via Shutterstock)
Timestamps:
0:00 Steven Zaillian
2:04 The Mechanics of Murder
6:20 Directing is Details
9:35 Hitchock's Lesson in Suspense
#ripley #andrewscott #stevenzaillian - Zábava
It made murder look exhausting
My goodness! The moving Freddie’s body down the stairs was painful to watch and hear. 😳
It’s all about upper body strength…I’ve said too much…
@@RH1812 You got any workout tips for the upperbody muscles? Asking for a friend....
If you like this, watch "The house that jack built" by Lars Von Trier. Amazing!
Watching Tom take the cab back and forth to deal with Freddie's body was both exhausting and exhilarating. I honestly don't remember the last time any piece of media did this to me
Dickie's murder was one of the most disturbing things I've seen on screen. "Tom, help me." Just brutal, and so sad. Perfection.
The cat being the only witness, the sound of the detective's notebook everytime he opened it, the amount of compliments Tom's pen got - small details, but it is was I enjoyed most in this version. Yes, here we were the silent observers like the cat, making notes on Tom's every calculated move because the camera made sure we noticed and the beauty of the way he handled every situation!
Bloody loved Ripley. Its style, languid story telling, humour. I’d argue it’s not a remake, it’s a new interpretation of the novel
I went back and tried to watch "The Talented....." movie that I thought was so great at the time. It fails to come close to this interpretation. It is unwatchable, in fact.
Argue all you want. It was unwatchable. The remake was boring and I am not blown away by the cinematography; I want a great script and acting. Too much tedious detail that is not inviting but off-putting in boring details. Oh I forgot to keep in mind the cinematography that is just so important. You care about Matt Damon not this guy or the others. Compare Dickie's charm in the movie to the Series. The worst you can say is the movies was too glib but Ripley could have used more of that that. Stair scenes add something but too much .. little payoff.
It's definitely not a remake, I agree
Looked up Zaillian movies and now I know I just don't like him . None of his movies were all that engaging. He's made a lot of big movies with two much excruciating details. Having no music is another poor choice here - then find music that won't lead us rather than bore us with small sound effects. In this movie, easy-dropping and waiting, stall the film.
@@matteg490 Yeah, right. Schindlers List was not engaging at all. LOL. Your comments show more about you than Zaillian...
Has everyone noticed how the ONE TIME colour is used is when the cat steps into last droplets of blood?
I saw that too. What an amazing touch that was!!!
what does it mean tho?
@@alikhalil2863 For me, given that the while movie felt like an art piece, every shot so beautiful in a classic way, those droplets were like wake up to reality. Murder is ugly, there's nothing dreamy or artistic about it. IDk if I manage to get my point across. But that red pulled me out of the depth of the story, made it striking how this act interrupts harmony and beauty.
Ooo I didn't know that was the only time
His biggest mistake? The one thing that could have brought him down maybe
I didn't want my ride with Ripley to ever end! Superb storytelling and photography!
Ripley was SLOOOOW. But even as someone that 2x speed listens to all youtube videos I NEVER found myself impatient. The speed, in fact, felt extremely refreshing.
The movie was so much better. This has too much detail and is slow but not in a good way, and one likes Matt Damon Ripley so much more than this actor.
@@oppothumbs1 Yeah... simply dissagree
The series are a masterpiecie, the movie is mediocre
@@Garvin285 Did you think the movie was over-the-top or silly? Over the years I have watched it 5 times and I was always totally absorbed. I see that the series did better in ratings han the movie (movie received a 85% on rotten tomato), but I am in total disbelief reading about the love of the series.
@@oppothumbs1 Compared to the series? Yes definitely
The series are an indisputable art piece that creates the whole structure and goes into details with subleties, acting and camera work. It's a work of light, time, color (or the lack of it), sound and even language. The movie pales in comparison and while it isn't bad per se, it simply isn't much of any of that. I get the nostalgia but I find it insane to truly believe the movie is a better work of cinematography unless you really just get a headache or are bored with any more ambitious art. Every scene in this series is a good scene, many of them... are great. And with how the cinema in general was last few years, it's really nice to finally (meaning mostly year 2023/2024) see a refreshment.
And yes it's slow and have much details because that's exactly how... with good eye and imagination you can create a masterpiece. Infantile art needs to be "mad" "outrageous" or dirty... ambitious art needs to be clean, raw and pedantic at times some films can safely be both but just a story alone doesn't make a good movie and isn't even close to making a great one. Just making the plot interesting is also mediocricity, there is much more to cinema than it is to a book and this series feels like a set of finely captured photos with a smoke of an expensive cigar, a fine drink at a fitting weather outside and a perfectly matched record on a vinyl player. And it shows much more than just the plot... it's an insight into a whole world of it's own. I could eat it with a spoon everynight and by season three I'd probably know some italian, but it's good it ended here and there, because otherwise it wouldn't be so good.
@@Garvin285 OK thanks. My feeling is the delightful witty banter is so much better in the movie. Maybe it's less realistic in that sense; plus I like the faster pace which may have sacrificed detail and realism but the lines are all so compelling and witty; I was very entertained and amused. The charming personalities throughout are all likeable even if evil. Matt, Jude, Philip, Gwyneth, Cate and Jude's dad are people you care about and with well-rounded personalities and flaws.
So many unforgettable scenes are in the movie, including the boat party with all the tension and Freddie Miles taunting Tommy with "How's the Peeping Tommy? tommy tommy tommy". Freddie's intro scene, Dickie and Tom tub scene. Im the movie you slowly see Tom's evil but you know it from the start in the video. Tom and Marge and Dickie are pretty bland in the series but playful and engaging in the movie. The movie's music score is great.
Sensory overloaded with beautiful precision.
This version was brilliant! Entire episodes dedicated to single murders.... Slow, exhausting and frustrating. Gave a lot of emphasis on the "why" of Ripley. Loved it.
"To incriminate the viewer." That is an excellent description of a key element of this story. I think that incriminating the reader is one of the most important elements of Highsmith's novel. This is just one of the critical elements of this excellent novel that Zaillian got so right.
This review explains exactly why no one could ever unsee this magnificent production and performance.
I think a "How Andrew Scott Perfected Ripley" video would be great.
It grabbed me from the first few frames. The b&w presentation was amazing! Every scene was carefully planned and lit, and the varying perspectives took my breath away. Best thing I've seen in ages.
I read Patricia Highsmith’s Talented Mr Ripley recently and these clips are brilliant visualisations of her scenes. This is not a remake. This looks like an excellent adaptation of the book as if the Matt Damon and John Malkovitch films didn’t exist or were disregarded completely.
I loved it so much!!! And shot so beautifully it hurt!!! Completely different than I expected. I'm so glad you showcased it!!! And Andrew Scott killed it, pun intended.
I'd watch the hell out of a "How Andrew Scott Perfected Ripley"-video.
@@Arcananine77 Ditto.
Andrew Scott was perfect as Ripley. Amazing performance. His face is so expressive. Do not even need words to feel the character.
The photography is spell binding. The beauty of the Italian town that is crumbling but still beautiful as it crumbles.
Expressive like a sociopath who is dispassionate about everything. Not an easy balance to strike
The method of storytelling reminded me of Breaking Bad. It focused a lot on ‘process’. I remember how Walt and Jesse were confronted with ‘body disposal’ problems.
Superbly shot, great acting, fantastic locations. A true masterpiece.
Nicely observed. On a pedantic level, the series isn't a "remake" of the Mingella film, but another adaptation of the novel, but it does bring up questions I had after watching it. Are the dissimilar plot points in "Talented" a screenwriter creation, or do some of those events take place in subsequent entries of the book series? It's not like scripts won't make major changes, but if the ending is a Hollywood creation - showing him as a character capable of falling in love right on the heels of his murders - that's a pretty major departure from the impenetrable cold-as-ice sociopath we watched in Ripley. I searched, but couldn't find anyone commenting on the changes one way or the other. Talented is a tragedy of hubris. Ripley is a straight, chilling character study.
To my knowledge, in the novels Ripley never overtly expresses any kind of queer identity or affection for Dickie - but this is Patricia Highsmith we're talking about so it's safe to assume the subtext is there. I think the two Ripleys of the movie and miniseries respectively represent ends of a spectrum - Damon's Ripley being impulsive, emotional, and chaotic, whereas Scott's Ripley is devoid of feelings except those of resentment and envy, and filled instead with machinations. Personally I find the choice to age him up and make him more canny and world-weary is extremely evocative of our current times, whereas in the Minghella film it's very representative of the much different attitude that pervaded the 90s.
We live in different times...
Minghella actually changed a lot from the book. Peter Smith-Kingsley is mentioned once or twice in the book as a friend Tom makes in Venice but nothing past that. Meredith Logue just straight up isn’t in the book from my memory. Also the person who commented above that queer desire isn’t apparent in the book isn’t quite right. Tom out and out claims to like men and women to his New York friends: “I can’t make up my mind whether I like men or women, so I’m thinking of giving them both up”.
This claim is backed up by the very apparent lust he has for Dickie, which we see even after he’s decided to kill him on the boat, “he could have hit Dickie, sprung on him, or kissed him”. He also has a wife in the later books who he is also sexually attracted to, although arguably not in love with her
I would also like to say that Minghella’s Ripley is not the exact same character as the books and does not intend to be. I’ve seen quotes from Minghella saying that he wanted to create a more sympathetic character than the one Patricia Highsmith wrote, and that changes a lot the character intentions, for better or for worse (better in my opinion). Tom isn’t explicitly shown to be a criminal/scammer at the start of the movie, he’s just quite a talented and skilled liar. He is a lot less of a cold blooded killer too, as the situation with Dickie is more of a crime of passion. I would argue Minghellas version absolutely had the capacity to love- both Dickie and Peter- while Highsmith’s and the 2024 Ripley do not
@@dorkbaitart I found Scott's Ripley very expressive for the fact that he was trying to cover himself from the crime of murder by appearing so distant & calm & measured. He was a puzzle that the police could not completely finish.
as an italian, watching the series in original language, i must add the perfection of the dialogues spoken in italian by the various characters (both italians and americans)
Scott's ability to learn to speak Italian so lovely.
I’ve watched this series 3 times.
Beautiful cinematography and fascinating with the Caravaggio nod.
Loved this take on ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’.
I firmly believe that all the criticism this adaptation got is from the people who wrongly understood that this is a remake of the 1999 film, when in reality it is yet another adaptation of a novel.
@@umbertoaguiar This show is yet another adaptation of a book, the same way all the previous movies were. The 1999 took A LOT of liberties in crafting characters and stories that are very different and sometimes not even part of the original book. This show follows the book plot more closely but chose to make the characters older and that entails changes, too.
Also, literally all the criticism I saw as soon as it came out was about how this negatively compares to the 1999 movie, even in published film reviews. So no, I am not mistaken. You are free to your opinion, though.
@@umbertoaguiar You chose to not accept my comment from a few weeks ago (when most of the criticism I saw was about comparing this to the TTMR film) and argue with it. All adaptations differ from the original source, the 1999 film is widely different, much more so than this. You think the actors were miscast, fine, your prerrogative, but YOU sought to fight in my comment, YOU are the one not accepting other views. Also, personages is not a word. Have a good day.
Watching this has caused me to not only read all the novels but also watch all the Ripley related movies. This series is the best adaptation of any of the Highsmith stories
Exactly right. Although Malkovich made a great Ripley in Ripley's Game.
It was a masterclass in what film making should be.
The telephone! That phone! Also towards the end of the series, again! Brings back memories of a bygone era when you. didn't. know. who. was. calling.
I’ve watched the entire thing twice. It’s insanely beautiful.
I don’t usually comment on videos but you have done such a good job on analyzing each detail and putting into words the significance of each scene that I just had to commend you! I immediately liked and subscribe!
I have to agree Ripley is in my top series for this year - Shogun takes the top spot though for now
Ripley is sooo much better. Another ball park completely
@@Alerrrt Shogun is good but not nearly this good.
Great series! So glad you did a video, was looking forward to your keen eye and insightful take on it. Keep em coming!
One of the best to come along in awhile.
Love your breakdown explaining why I enjoyed this show so much. Thanks!
I can only compare the two movies, the first one starring Alain Delon (same story) called "Purple Noon" ("Plein Soleil" in French) and the famous one starring Jude Law and Matt Damon. They have many points of intersection (being both of them the very same story) and yet they couldn't be more different. Some characters brought to life in The Talented Mr. Ripley simply can't be found in Purple Noon. But what really makes Purple Noon's atmosphere unique is the presence of Delon, the whole nostalgia of French Nouvelle Vague (it is more of a tribute to the Nouvelle Vague) and the shocking final scene, much better than the open epilogue of The Talented Mr. Ripley, in my humble opinion.
Dead-on commentary/analysis, as usual, and couldn't agree more -- it's quite the most evocative and authentic feeling takedown of Patricia Highsmith we've seen to date, and certainly the most intriguing television show of 2024 thus far. Engrossing, unnerving, and enveloping. Thanks ever so much.
I watched it specifically so I can watch this video and it was so beautifully filmed! Every shot is cinematic, gorgeous!
I loveee how detailed, thorough, and critically engaged this video essay is!!!!!
I need to watch this show!!!
Ooooh! Thanks for the recommendation! I needed something new to watch :)
A really enjoyable video, as always!
Great analysis for a superb series. Andrew Scott can do no wrong. If you haven't already, watch him in All of Us Strangers - beyond words
Yes! I’ve been waiting for a channel I like to talk about this. If you do any more about this show I will watch them all.
I've been obsessed since watching the show and have sought many reviews such as this. And as much as I thought I could learn thing nothing new you threw in a few great observations. Your focus on the lift was great.
Extremely well done overview of Ripleys world.
My significant other and I watched this, and we were obsessed. We've loved familiar dramas like Six Feet Under or True detective, severance, but after watching The Lighthouse, i was excited to watch something in black and white that captured acting and storytelling beautifully - and this was it.
I wasn't aware of the series, but I am now, thanks for that 👍✌
A must!
So glad you made this. I was trying to tell people how good this was after seeing it, because I was so surprised. The cinematography in black-and-white is just perfect. The acting is amazing and the series does not rush, which is so refreshing. Brilliant, and better than the film.
Excellent analysis of an excellent series!
Very nice video, i felt everything you described while watching the show as soon as it was released…also, while digging up info, i found out there is an even older adaptation of the book, making that the original one, in the form of the french movie Purple Noon, can’t wait to watch that one as well! 🤗
Thoughtful analysis! Thank you. But I'm puzzled by the characterization of this as a remake. It's a translation of the novel to the screen, not a reworking of the Minghella film.
Loved this show - the scenes were so beautiful. Something about HD black and white.
Definitely a great watch! The composition was 👌🏻✨✨✨✨
Great observation! Not "Just an Observation".. Kudos, for educating on how to view and appreciate good cinematic art.
Excellent review. Ripley is gripping television. My only point of difference is your use of the term “Gothic architecture”. Very little Gothic architecture is seen in this series. There is a predominance of ancient Roman, medieval, Renaissance and later centuries, all of which help to make Italy a historian’s dream to visit.
I watched the first episode and really enjoyed it, but I had just finished reading the novel a few months earlier and just couldn't bring myself to get back into Tom's perverse headspace.
May have to renew my subscription for this one. Just from the first few minutes of this video, it reminded me of Reed, Antonioni, Resnais, and Hitchcock. And a little bit of Greenaway. This is the kind of filmmaking I fell in love with.
Very well done. Thank you Sir. I look forward to watching it myself.
Thank you and enjoy!
@@JustanObservationHello, can you also take a look into the purple noon 1960, which was the original mr. Ripley starribg Alain Delon
The three adaptations of Patricia Highsmith's novel are really great: Purple Noon (1960), The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), and Ripley.
Great analysis
Recently rewatched the film, but am half way through Ripley and it is stunning. A perfect dissection of murder
I loved this show so much that immediately after I started reading the book. And it's amazing how the book is even more dense. I think the show is still more gritty and dark, but both work in their own way/midia. In the book we are 100% inside Ripley's head, whereas in the show we only see his thoughts through his eyes (AMAZING performance by Andrew btw).
Yes. Scott's eyes were everything. They are dark & mysterious & expressive to a degree that is mesmerizes the viewer.
Most excellent review.
Thanks! I had the same reaction (not another remake...) but this looks beautiful! And not just because I have a very soft spot for 40s-60s movies.
I really liked it ...excellent video
As someone who read the books many years ago. And has seen TTMR multiple times. I’m a little shocked I didn’t know about this series.
Thanks for the heads up.
I would say that the 1999 film was the one that was like a Hitchcock. It very much has that location-as-character technicolor '50s glamor thing you get from VERTIGO, TO CATCH A THEIF and MARNEE. The Netflix series is more like '50s Film Noir meets Look Magazine photos. Although, the story itself is something you'd expect Hitchcock to tackle himself.
Hitchcock directed Highsmith's _Strangers on a Train_ rather than any of the Ripley books.
It is much much closer in feel and tone to the novel. Ridley’s deadly pragmatism and awkward distance comes through well, although this version plays down slightly his craft of becoming someone else. The B&W cinematography is gorgeous and effective. It does trade the color which is really intrinsic to actually being in Italy for its stark contrasts, effective framing, and period feel. A stylistic trade and effective.
A sociopath does not live in color.
The boat scene was perfect
I can't wait to see this now thank you
I loved every part of this show…except the scene where the detective interviewed Ripley as himself, after the suspicion was subverted into Dickie. That fake wig was so obvious I burst out laughing, I couldn’ t tell if they were trying to be ironic or not.
I can agree with that. But episodes 3-6 are masterpieces
It was pretty faithful to the book. I think Highsmith wanted to show what a large role luck played in getting away with a crime. Ripley made some serious blunders but also caught some lucky breaks that allowed him to slip away.
After watching this, the question should be why do filmmakers make films in color. Props to digital technology to capture so many shades of grey 😅. Watch it on a good OLED TV.
With one tiny splotch of red.
Gorgeous work and how the shadows represented more due to the Caravaggio nod.
It added cleaning up after the murder another reason to not commit that crime.
Another 'bomb' I liked was the blood stain on the bathtub when Inspector Ravini first visits Ripley.
This show is a MASTERPIECE.!
Great video.
The pacing of the show is perfect. I didn't know this was a remake of an existing story. The fact that I can't fathom how the story squeezed into a 2h19m film says a lot about Zaillian's version.
Andrew Scott makes anything brilliant.
Excellent intro, I felt the same way when I saw it, ho hum, a remake of the movie, I’ll check it out, binged it out in about a day and a half…oddly realized I was silently rooting for Tom.
Ripley was really, really good 👍🏿
Not to harp on a small point, but this isn't a remake of either of the two existing films, it's the first full series adaptation of the novel. Am I crazy for thinking that's an important distinction? Like, with that logic the 1999 film is a remake of Purple Noon.
Absolutely right. Zaillian didn't start this project by reading through the movie script several times.
Incredible deconstruction of this series. It's one of the more amazing series I've seen, maybe ever.
the 22 and 25 minutes murder scene almost make me quit...but so happy I stick
Never heard of it before this, but Andrew Scott is great.
I watched it in original version and I loved the fact that all italians characters actually speak italian! In the spanish version for example the italians are dubbed in spanish.. it's so bad. Anyway, always watch in original version guys!
Btw, your review is perfect, very interesting!
Esta serie es simplemente una genialidad...una obra de arte, y como tal, puede que muchos no logren apreciar su dimensión...Es como cuando miras un cuadro sin entender bien la magnitud del arte que tienes delante...Espero que hagan una 2da temporada, pero si no fuera así, seguiré mirando y descubriendo detalles de esta magnífica joya. Escribo este comentario desde Atrani!😉
It is not a remake, it is an adaptation of the novel. It is faithful to the novel but not slavishly. However, the dealing with the body emphasis is there and part of what makes the book so good. The second in the book series, Ripley Underground, turns this up further. Patricia Smith imbues these scenes with a black humor while also giving great insight into Ripley. Tom's thinking is horrifying, hilarious and fascinating-I find the books oddly relaxing, something about viewing the world through Tom''s eyes. Maybe because his world view is simple, because he is, when all is said and done, a sociopath. The movie is a terrible adaptation of the novel as is Purple Noon (the earlier French adaption), both films simplify the character of Ripley in different ways.
Thanks, I'll give it a shot next time I got Netflix handy.
The Machinist is also quite Hitchcockian, too, if yer inna that sorta thing.
The novel “The Innocent” by Ian McEwan is a fantastic book that has one of the best (and most grisly) examinations of the aftermath of a murder I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.
Yes yes yes.. Thank You!
I also love this show!
I AGREE!!!! Ioved the series more than the movie & I LOVED the movie!🖤
Andrew scott plays evil so well
Rarely I experience the engage I had with this series. I always wondered why. Sometimes I though it was the black and white photography or the beautiful set desing. Now I understand that I was being an accomplice in a mu8d38.
Andrew Scott is beyond brilliant in this film.
The "Whoever Did This" episode of the Sopranos S4E9 (2002) is one of the first TV I remember being focused on the disposal of dead body for a large portion of the episode. Fargo season 2 also does this in one episode
Yeah, the show mostly being a modern but yet classic Hitchcock-ian take on the classic where every b/w frame is an artwork in itself! God, or maybe the devil in this case, truly is in the details! Amazing!
Andrew Scott was excellent in the film 'The Beautiful Fantastic' you should check it out.
A brilliant TV show also my fave show so far of 2024!
Masterpiece
fineeee ill watch Ripley
The cinematography was gorgeous, but who would trust that Ripley for 30 seconds? I stopped after one episode because it was so unbelievable.
Andrew Scott made it believable.
@@g.flesch9731 No he didn't make it believable. He is the worst Ripley that ever appeared on screen. He is worse than the cowboy Dennis Hopper. Tom, in both Alain Delon (25) and Matt Damon (29) films is charming, funny, subservient and apparently harmless. They are the kind of young friend that the fun loving, spoiled Richard would like to have around him in a paradisiacal village with a beach.
The best way to see how weak and farcical is Scott's interpretation of Ripley is to watch Alain Delon in "Plein Soleil"
Patricia Highsmith was asked in a recorded conversation at the British Library why she had decided to write sequels to "The Talented Mr. Ripley" which was originally supposed to be a one off book. She replied ""Maybe, in a curious way, The French film affected me in a positive way because Alain Delon did such a good job … the right age ….One hundred percent correct"
But Scott's Ripley is a solitary psychopath right from the beginning. It's very different to the book and two films. He looks miserable and too serious all the time. Who would like to have him around? He looks like one of those serial killers in some Scandinavian noir series.
I guess this adoration for the miscast actor is caused by a numbness created by too much viewing of Scandinavian noir and other psychopaths in modern TV. Numbed people need an obvious villain.
The Netflix series is so different to the book ( despite many details from the book being present only in the series) and the two better films that I even think it's some sort of plagiarism to call this series "Ripley".
Renaissance rather than gothic architecture I’d say….
so waiting for season 2
Me too. But I worry we won’t get one as it apparently flopped by Netflix viewership standards
Hello, ca you also take a look into the purple noon, which was the original mr. Ripley starribg alain Delon
Just another observation: Freddie is dead in the car wearing his hat, and he is photogrphed that way. However, in the picture on newspapers, he is not wearing the hat.
I haven't watched any of this versions.... Should I watch the latest one or the 90's one????
I watched both… but the newer one would be better going in cold I reckon
I was in the same conomdrum. Should I watch the 90's version or the tv series? I decided for the latter and WOW... best series ive seen in a while, I highly doubt that the 90's movie gets to this heights of perfection in every department, acting, writing, directing, cinematography, editing... and the list goes on and on. An instant classic.
Read the book first! Makes the movies so much better.
The film is a really good movie. I had to pull up the Wikipedia entry to recall elements of the plot. The miniseries is exceptional, mesmerising and unforgettable.
If you're only going to watch one, definitely go for the series. If you're going to watch both, start with the 1999 movie so you can enjoy it for what it is before watching the far superior series.