Rating: 
Summary: absolutely wonderful!
Review: Having read the books and now having seen both the 69 version and the 2000 version I am somewhat mystified by some of the reviews. First let me say that I am generally a fan of "original" works rather than remakes. I love black and white and am not at all bothered by dated production values or styles. This said, the 2000 version is far and away superior to the 69 version. The performances here are vastly more nuanced and subtle, especially Damien Lewis as Soams. His predecessor was not only too old for the role but I find his performance very self-conciouse and one note. As for the huge uproar over the casting of Irene, I expected to be bowled over by the original, I was not. Here again a very stagey and also vacant performance. Gina McKee is an Irene who attracts not only with her grace and beauty. She is attractive because of her sensitvity her insight and her unwilingness to bow to Victorian social standards. The very things that attract Soams to Irene are the things that make it impossible for their marriage to work. The other characters are also, with rare exception, played better here than in the original especially June, Young Jolyon, Bossiney and Winifred. Do not let a bow to nostalgia cloud your judgement. This is by far a superior piece of work.
Rating:
Summary: Best in OLD WORLD COMEDY DRAMA
Review: I absolutely loved this movie. I don't want it to end. I want to see Soames' daughter Fleur grow up and reform her father in his old age. I want to see baby Jon grew up to make his mother Irene proud. This movie was very captivating and funny. I laughed, cried, got angry at..., was happy for... It was great!!! I hope they consider a sequel even if the book stopped at the birth of Soame's daughter Fleur. By the way, I don't think you can get any more dysfunctional than the Forsytes. Smile.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best period servies EVER produced....
Review: This six disc DVD series with 2 espisodes per disc, a full 'nine' hour story was so exciting that my wife and I we had a veritable group show up at the house demanding that we can't finish the series without them being there to witness and enjoy every moment ..... And that's what happened, we not only went through the nine hours of Series one but also the more than 6 hours of Series two making it a FABULOUS weekend of 15 hours of exiting, thoughtfull, thrilling and tender stories of love, hate, revenege and posession ..... Trust me you are talking to a guy that falls asleep in most of today's movie theaters after the first half hour so for me to hang in there for a full 15 hourse makes this and absolute MUST recommendation to purchase for your DVD collection.... Oddy enough, I do however think that women from ages 19 and up will gobble up the love stories of the Forsythe saga while the men however MUST be at least 35 years old or older. I guess it has something to do with a lack of violence and explicit gratuitous sex, so, I suggest that you get a DVD of 'Kill Bill Vol1' and have them watch that in another room over and over .... OK I'm not going to go into the story or more details in this review since much has already been written about this famous series ... suffice it to say that I certainly identified with the plight of one of the main characters, Soames, the wealthy Forsyth that marries Ireene, a beutifull young woman that does not love him. Thats the devishness of the story, he suffers for the love of a woman he can't posess while she suffers for the love of men that get taken away from her...... WOW this is the best EVER in DVD and it will deliciously blow away a weekend with you, your friends and significant others ....
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding - Superb - Sublime
Review: I viewed the entire series on PBS and was hoping that this new version would be as good as the original 1969 BBC version. Unfortunately,it falls far below that landmark series.First, almost none of the actors are right for their roles.Damian Lewis as Soames has only one dimension:mean.Soames should be multi-faceted, played to perfection by the great Eric Porter in the original series.As Young Jolyon,Rupert Graves is TOO young,too cruel in the last series,and misses completely the irony of this pivotal character.The marvelous Kenneth More had this part pegged in the original.Gina McKee is a fine actress,but she is NOT Irene.Her performance is simply that of a completely langorous wimp.Irene's passive yet resolute spirit was played unforgettably by the wonderful Nyree Dawn Porter in the original.And finally,the actress who played Fleur was completely unbelievable,playing this role as rather dull and petulant, totally self centered.Fleur is a character of quicksilver,moody but bright,selfish but kind.The superb Susan Hampshire played this role to perfection in the original.The worst problem,however,was the adaptation.Complete scenes that were never in the books were created out of whole cloth,ruining the cohesiveness of the story.Other scenes were changed with ludicrous results.For this version,3 stars for effort.Not very good.Avoid it.Get the 1969 original version while it is still available.
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