For those of you who like movies of this ilk, usually British, period pieces usually set in the first half of the 20th century (or before), that deal with history (think archaeology), then âThe Digâ is for you. Throw in some cracker jack actors like Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan and Lily James, stream it on Netflix and wait for the buzz.
In 1939, Mrs. Edith Pretty (Mulligan) decided to hire an archaeologist to investigate, that is, dig into what looked to be burial mounds located on her Suffolk estate. She hired a man who came highly recommended, a self-taught archaeologist/excavator named Basil Brown (Fiennes). He demanded a higher salary than the one he had been paid by the local Ipswich Museum, and she was persuaded to pay it. He did, after all, come highly recommended.
Wasn t there an actor of the correct age? Netflix is slammed for casting Carey Mulligan, 35, as a 56-year-old in The Dig – as fans claim ‘women over 40 are invisible’ to movie makers
The Dig is based on John Preston s 2007 novel about the unearthing of the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo in 1939
Screen star Carey, 35, plays 56-year-old landowner Edith Pretty - a role originally intended for Nicole Kidman, 53 - in the movie
Viewers took to Twitter to question the network s decision, with one claiming: women over 40 are still invisible in the culture
Director Simon Stone has previously defended the thespian s portrayal of Edith, who passed away aged 59 after suffering a stroke in 1942
| UPDATED: 11:05, Thu, Feb 4, 2021
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Netflix brought the historic and wonderful story of the the Sutton Hoo treasure find to screen this month in The Dig. The little-known story of excavator Basil Brown has entranced viewers, but the portrayal of one of Britain’s top female archeologists has left some people feeling a little sour. In particular, archeologist Rebecca Wragg Sykes recently explained that the historical figure was actually “highly experienced” in her work, rather than the clumsy character shown in the movie.
Try finding a gentler escape from winter in a pandemic than spending 112 minutes in Suffolk’s waterways and sun-yellowed grasslands, the setting of
The Dig, a tale of buried treasure, romance and heroism. Directed by Simon Stone and based on a novel by John Preston, the film dramatises the true discovery in 1939 by Basil Brown and Edith Pretty of the richest medieval grave to be found in Europe to date.
History tells us that Mrs Pretty, an amateur archaeologist, owned a tract of land in Sutton Hoo beside the River Deben. Intrigued by a grassy archipelago of mounds on the land, she employed the services of local excavator Basil Brown to see what, if anything, they might yield. When Brown discovered the vast imprint of an early medieval ship in the soil of the largest, the significance of the excavation became clear. Archaeologists were sent by the British Museum and, together with Brown, unearthed a breath-taking array of treasures, including a golden belt buckle, golden shoulder
The Dig Review: Why the Treasure Hunt Drama Should Be on Your Watch List
Netflix welcomed The Dig on its catalog of films, and it quickly became a big hit among fans and critics.
The Simon Stone-directed film is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston. It tells the story of a group of excavators and what happened to them during the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo.
The treasure hunt drama features Carey Mulligan (Edith Pretty), Ralph Fiennes (Basil Brown), Lily James (Peggy Piggott), Johnny Flynn (Rory Lomax), Ben Chaplin (Stuart Piggott), Ken Stott (Charles Phillips), Archie Barnes (Robert Pretty) and Monica Dolan (May Brown).