Rating: 
Summary: Great transfer, wonderful extras !
Review: I bought the DVD set even though I already owned the series on tape. The extra footage seemed just too tempting ! I wasn't disappointed, not only is this an excellent transfer, it's a small miracle they have been able to dig up 2 hours of extra footage ! Each and every minute of it is worth watching, from the wonderful cast interviews to the Late Night Line-up program that so well documents the "Forsyte-madness" that struck millions and millions of Brits back in 1967. Only one word of criticism : Warner didn't do their homework when it came to write the cast's biographies. There are mistakes and omissions all over the place, i.e. Eric Porter is credited with work he never had anything to do with [an animated film by an Australian of the same name] and Nyree Dawn Porter is said to have "earned" an OBE [Officer of the British Empire] when it is wellknown that she got it because of a mistake made in Downing Street. The honour was to go to Eric Porter for services to television and the theatre [he was a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company] but went to Nyree instead because someone in the Prime Minister's Office got the 2 names mixed up. Let this not deter you, it's still a ***** set !!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent version, if dated
Review: I got this DVD set after first reading the book, then seeing the second version on PBS. While I love the 2002 production (and am one of those who admired Gina McKee as Irene) I admit to favoring this version. Mainly because of the length, which allows the viewer to see more of the growing love between Jolyon and Irene. (I'm still annoyed that the 2002 production only has TWO scenes Jo and Irene together after they fell in love!) On top of that, I have to say that the performance of Susan Hampshire as Fleur was an admirable move on the part of an excellent actress. She could have portrayed Fleur as an innocent victim, torn from her true love. Instead, she portrayed the character as written, warts and all. I admit, I've never understood why so many people see Jon and Fleur as star-crossed lovers, unless it is simply dislike for Irene. Fleur was a possessive, spoiled girl with much of her father in her. And like her father, she was determined to obtain and own the person she wanted, no matter the price. She lied to and manipulated family members. Her first reaction upon hearing of the death of Jon's father is not to comfort the man she supposedly loves, but to manipulate the situation to her own ends. Anyway. While this version is perhaps too dated (with the 1960's hairstyles and makeup); and it sometimes feels like the characters are lecturing to the audience, it is a wonderful show.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest televsion show of all time
Review: I have not seen the DVD yet, but I have been watching my old tapes (for the first time in 20 years). The original black-and-white 26-episode version of the Forsyte Saga remains the best television program I have ever seen. I do not understand why they felt it necessary to remake this series in color and sex.
Rating:
Summary: At Last!
Review: I received my Forsyte Saga - The Complete Series late last week and by Sunday night was into the third disk. It was as wonderful as I remembered it being, even though it is in black and white, obviously filmed for the most part on a sound stage, and, yes, most of the actors are older than the characters they portray. But what a cast! The wonderful Eric Porter makes Soames the rich character that Galsworthy called The Man of Property. That Soames truly loves Irene but cannot help treating her as a possession shows clearly on Porter's face and in his mannerisms. His reaction when Irene tells him she loaths him is difficult to watch -- you truly "feel his pain," as disbelief changes to shock and bewilderment. The lovely Nyree Dawn Porter is the perfect Irene, and younger than the sadly miscast actress who portrays the same character in the new version. This Irene is full of repressed emotions under a placid surface -- she is the spokeswoman for Galsworthy's belief that people should not be married unless there is a spark, an irresistable attraction that draws them together, which is totally lacking in her feelings for Soames. Kenneth Moore is a more than adequate Young Joloyn, although he was a little too old for the role at age 53. The rest of the cast is equally wonderful, especially the elderly character actors and actresses who portray the aunts and uncles -- they are as vital and interesting in this version as in the books, not afterthoughts, as they are in the 2002 adaptation. Unlike the new version, the script stays close to the original -- no gratuitous modern sexual innuendos from the female characters, for instance, which seemed to me to be an attempt to pander to a younger audience. Yes, I agree that the new version is inhanced by color, grander sets, and better makeup...the actresses in The Complete Series do make one wonder if there were any eyeliner and false eyelashes left in all of England by the time the series was completed! But those are minor complaints....the brilliant case and inspired writing make this DVD set well worth owning and viewing for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Set
Review: I wasn't a fan when it played in the 60s, and recalled only Kenneth More and Susan Hampshire, but I bought this set before it was published on the basis of the reviews I read here. It was a lost weekend, but we finished the set. What an enjoyable series, even though it's black and white, no wide screen, with the inevitable shaking walls when the door slams. Remember, this was a TV show, like Playhouse 90. But the acting is superb, especially that of Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter (how lovely! how graceful!) and Susan Hampshire. I loved the special features on the last disc. I had forgotten what a phenomenon it had been. It was the progenitor of Masterpiece Theatre, such was the demand. Go ahead and buy it. I'm not lending out!
Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than the 2002 Production
Review: If you love BBC productions, settle back and enjoy this one. It is SO much better than the 2002 production! Unlike Damian Lewis, Eric Porter as Soames manages to be very disagreeable without being absolutely hateful. Nyree Dawn Porter (no relation to Eric Porter) is perfect as Irene; she's beautiful and graceful both inside and out whereas Gina McKee's Irene (in the newer production) is awkward. This original production also covers a lot more ground than the newer one-it is based on the entire three-book series that John Galsworthy wrote about the Forsyte family; the 2002 production covers only the first book in the series. While Soames and Irene (pronounced "Irenee") are the main characters, the saga follows three generations of the Forsyte family, a wealthy non-aristocratic family in London, beginning in the latter half of the 19th century through World War I. Many of the other characters are also unforgettable, particularly Kenneth Moore as Jo Forsyte and Susan Hampshire as Soames' daughter Fleur. It is a masterful production of Galsworthy's portrait of the changing social mores in England's wealthy upper class over a 50-or-so-year period. The costumes, staging and casting are flawless. Be sure to watch the special features including interviews behind the scenes and especially "The Forsyte Phenomenon". When this series was originally aired in the UK in 1967, it took the country by storm. These special features give you a real feel for what it was like by way of original footage of interviews with the "average man in the street" and talk shows. I never saw the original series back then, but I read Galsworthy's books about five years ago and have been looking for the videos/DVDs ever since. It's been worth the wait!
Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than the 2002 Production
Review: If you love BBC productions, settle back and enjoy this one. It is SO much better than the 2002 production! Unlike Damian Lewis, Eric Porter as Soames manages to be very disagreeable without being absolutely hateful. Nyree Dawn Porter (no relation to Eric Porter) is perfect as Irene; she's beautiful and graceful both inside and out whereas Gina McKee's Irene (in the newer production) is awkward. This original production also covers a lot more ground than the newer one-it is based on the entire three-book series that John Galsworthy wrote about the Forsyte family; the 2002 production covers only the first book in the series. While Soames and Irene (pronounced "Irenee") are the main characters, the saga follows three generations of the Forsyte family, a wealthy non-aristocratic family in London, beginning in the latter half of the 19th century through World War I. Many of the other characters are also unforgettable, particularly Kenneth Moore as Jo Forsyte and Susan Hampshire as Soames' daughter Fleur. It is a masterful production of Galsworthy's portrait of the changing social mores in England's wealthy upper class over a 50-or-so-year period. The costumes, staging and casting are flawless. Be sure to watch the special features including interviews behind the scenes and especially "The Forsyte Phenomenon". When this series was originally aired in the UK in 1967, it took the country by storm. These special features give you a real feel for what it was like by way of original footage of interviews with the "average man in the street" and talk shows. I never saw the original series back then, but I read Galsworthy's books about five years ago and have been looking for the videos/DVDs ever since. It's been worth the wait!
Rating:
Summary: We have waited too long for this one!
Review: In the early years of the last century, John Galsworthy wrote nine novels, divided into three trilogies. "The Man of Property," "In Chancery" and "To Let" formed the first trilogy, which he called "The Forsyte Saga." The second group, "The White Monkey," "The Silver Swan" and "Swan Song" formed "A Modern Comedy." Finally "Maid in Waiting," "Flowering Wilderness" and "One More River" made up the last group called "End of the Chapter." The first three books concentrated on the property-driven first generation Forsyte men, whose world was broken up by a beautiful woman called Irene, "a concretion of disturbing Beauty impinging on a possessive world," as Galsworthy puts it in his preface. But it is also a saga that brings us from the Victorian world in the 1880s up to the 1920s when the new generation finds new values.
Now this is very difficult stuff to reduce to a miniseries, but that is what BBC did quite successfully back in the 1960s and the television audience on both sides of the Atlanic went wild. For half a year, given a 50-minute episode each week for 26 weeks, they sat fascinated as they watched the fortunes of the Forsytes, man and woman, grasping, losing, growing older, having children who suffered from what their parents had done, some finding happiness at last, some settling for second best, but all interesting and very human. It is said that the idea of British miniseries based on famous novels is what prompted PBS to create Masterpiece Theatre to satisfy the demand. (Coincidentally, at the time of this writing, the very first Masterpiece Theatre, "The First Churchills," is due to come out on DVD from Acorn Media!) I am sure many of you have watched the first third of the new version of "The Forsyte Saga" complete with color, the obligatory scenes in bed, and horse manure carefully piled up in the streets of London. Be advised that the 1967 version is a studio version, with several location shots, in glorious black and white, with a cast that is simply hard to beat or even match, and a tendency to be wonderfully addictive. I have viewed the DVD version on 7 discs released by Warner Home Video on the BBC label. (Yes, that is 1300 minutes in all, followed by 2 hours of spellbinding, often extremely funny, "bonus" material on the 7th disc.) If you prefer video tapes, the series comes in two sets: The First Generation on 6 tapes, The Second Generation on 7 tapes. They do not contain any of the extra material, so be advised. Technically, the picture has been beautifully restored except for a second here and there when there is a slight blur, perhaps 10 seconds worth out of more than 21 hours hours, and now and then the sound does get a bit fuzzy. In fact, I remember that being true when this series was first telecast, so that is no fault of this restoration. The major stars are Eric Porter (Soames Forstye), Nyree Dawn Porter (Irene), Kenneth Moore (young Jolyon Forsyte), and a pretty actress who made her reputation in this series, Susan Hampshire. I cannot begin to list the rest, all of which you can catch during the end titles and much of which you can find on the Internet Movie Data Base. Porter plays to perfection the "unlovable" man who cannot understand why he is so; and as the story unfolds, his partial mellowing, as played by Porter, is an example to all "modern" actors. In the book, Irene is seen only through the consciousness of the other characters, and as good as Ms. Porter looks as Irene, her acting is a touch wooden for such a catalytic character. Still she looks far more striking than her counterpart in the 2002 version. Galsworthy has been compared with Thackery, but he does not quite have the sweep of that earlier author. Still, the scene at a party after a lawsuit in which the loser is attracting all the attention while the winners are being cold-shouldered by their so-called friends is both painful and telling. (In fact, if it makes you think of "Chicago," you can see how far ahead Galsworthy was in his estimation of how we treat "morality.") Of course this is high class soap opera, but the production values are quite good for a 1967 studio production, the acting superb, and the dialogue a bit more intelligent than you will find in the afternoon on commercial series. This set, on tapes or DVDs, is a real "grabbit." It afforded me nearly 22 hours of viewing pleasure and will do the same for you.
Rating:
Summary: HIGH PRAISE FOR HIGH DRAMA.
Review: It is wonderful that this landmark drama is finally available on dvd and video.Galsworthy's Saga was brilliantly adapted for the BBC in 1969,and no series has since matched it's achievement.All of the grandeur and pathos of the books is superbly expressed in this adaptation.The characters come vividly alive on the screen,and the era through which they pass is shown with all of it's faults and virtues.The acting is first rate, and all of the actors,from lead roles to small parts,are cast to perfection.
Kenneth More as Young Jolyon,Eric Porter as Soames,Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene,and Susan Hampshire as Fleur all give inspired performances,deep emotional characterizations that will move you greatly.In my opinion,they BECAME these characters.In addition,Margaret Tyzack as Winifred,Nicholas Pennell as Michael,Dalia Penn as Annette,and Caroline Blakiston as Marjorie Farrar give outstanding performances.The series was shot in black and white,but somehow that seems to add to the atmosphere,like old tintypes and photos of the era.I cannot praise this series high enough.It is sublime.
Rating:
Summary: VEDDY, VEDDY GOOD, BY JOE. OR IS THAT A BLOODY GOOD TIME?
Review: It was known as "appointment television" ---an imported reason for viewers to stay glued to their TV sets for 26 consecutive Sunday evenings. Indeed, "The Forsyte Saga," the epic miniseries based on John Galworthy's novels, was one of the first global small-screen phenomena; the sweeping Victorian epic that chronicles the trials and tribulations of a wealthy English family broke barriers as to how sandal, and yes, even sex was portrayed on TV. Veddy, veddy ahead of it time. The rarely-seen saga (it was rebroadcast only once in the U.S. since it original 1969 airing) is now available in a glorious box set --- seven discs that not only include 22 hours of viewing, but there are also rarely-seen interviews with the cast that were taped during the filming of the last "Saga" segment. Pop lots of corn, switch on the phone answering machine, order in ... and feast. And feast. And feast ...
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