March 3 (1979-03-03) – March 24, 1979 (1979-03-24)
The Scarlet Letter is a 1979 miniseries based on the 1850 novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne: it aired on WGBH from March 3, 1979 to March 24, 1979. The series is four episodes long, 60 minutes each. Part 2 won the 1979 Emmy Award for Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Limited Series or Special for film editors Ken Denisoff, Janet McFadden and Tucker Wiard.[2]
Plot
Hester Prynne (Meg Foster) is a young, Puritan woman who commits adultery while her husband is in Europe, and, upon the birth of her illegitimate child, is subsequently condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. Her secret partner, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale (John Heard), writhes in private torment as he deals with hiding his sin. The person of Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth (Kevin Conway) completes this grim triangle as the mysterious situation leads to a shattering climax. The story follows the main characters as they grapple with sin, forgiveness, and redemption.[3]
Critical response to The Scarlet Letter miniseries was mixed.[3]Marvin Kitman conceded that it might be "heresy" to criticize such ambitious programming, but he faulted the first episode's pacing, saying "it moves like a gastropod" and "there is a lot of sewing going on." He found Foster's performance too repressed.[6]Gannett's Maggie Maurice appreciated Foster's work; "If anyone can smoulder, it's Meg Foster."[9] Because the production was expensive, no similar adaptions of American literary classics followed from WGBH; "It would be great if it was the first of many, but it's not likely," admitted director Rick Hauser.[10]
^Franks, Don (2004). Entertainment Awards: A Music, Cinema, Theatre and Broadcasting Guide, 1928 through 2003, 3d ed. p.408. McFarland. ISBN978-0-7864-1798-8.
^ abDunne, Michael. "The Scarlet Letter on Film: Ninety Years of Revisioning" Literature/Film Quarterly 35(1)(1997): 30-39. via Proquest
