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Summary: -"My lady"...say it again, Sean!!!
Review: Brilliant! I bought this movie because of Sean Bean (I just wanted to hear him saying "lass"...) and because I love british drama. I just finished it and I am not disappointed. What a great story! I do believe that the sex scenes are far from being shocking, they are justified, intense and beautiful. The previous reviews say it all - great story, adaptation, characters... over 200 minutes very, very well spent.I'll let the tears dry now.
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Summary: Lady Chatterley
Review: D. H. Lawrence's classic and erotic novel, "Lady Chatterley's Lover",is beautifully filmed and retold in this Ken Russell video production.
Lovely Joley Richardson plays Lady Constance Chatterley, in the title role, as a sexually and socially repressed young English woman in the early 1920's. She is married to Sir Clifford Chatterley, played by Michael Wilby,as a titled, WW1 British officer, whose war injuries have paralized him from the waist down.
We watch as Constance accepts her fate at first, and loyally looks after her demanding,upper-class husband. The isolation and Sir Clifford's constant need for care take its' toll, and soon Lady Chatterley's mental and physical health is in question. A nurse-companion, Mrs. Bolton, is hired from the local colliery town of Tevershall, thus relieving Connie of her duties, giving her more time to visit with her family members and,to go for long walks in the near-by woods. Soon, her wanderings cross paths with Sir Clifford's reclusive,irrasible,lowly bred game keeper, Oliver Mellors.
Actor Sean Bean, with his rakish and sensual "bad boy" good looks, plays Mellors with great intensity and honest passion. He is perfectly cast as the angry, down trodden man who finds new life and "the only freedom" he has ever known,in the love he shares with the independant, and equally passionate Lady Chatterley.
This adaptation follows the literary novel closely. (Please read the book, if you haven't already, as some of the warmly passionate and meaningful scenes have been left out for the sake of censorship and the movies length). The video "fleshes out" (pardon the pun!)the novel that features lots of dialogue in the book. The comparisons between priviliged and idealic country life, and the "blackened" buildings that serve as social "traps", rather than homes to the low-born class,gives one pause for thought, even 80 years later.Even Sir Clifford is able to gain our sympathies now and then,as he tries to control what little of his life he can, but in the end, he needs to rely on others.It was interesting to see the stories characters juxtaposed in front of the cathedral windows, or in the front doorway at Wragby Hall;a subtle way of letting the viewer know "who is in control now!".
I highly recommend this video. Although this (surprisingly) un-rated BBC production aired on British TV (....and we think the Brits are "stuffy", not a chance!!!), it is not for the prudes or immature viewers among us! It is an honest and moving portrait of a love that conquers all!
Rating: 
Summary: Oh my goodness! Can they show this on British TV?
Review: In all honesty, this version of the familiar story is a bit too much. A bit too much graphic sex that is. I was actually embarassed for the actors while watching the sex scenes. And running about the meadow naked? That's a brave pair of actors!!!And while I think most women have no objection to seeing Mr. Bean's (Sean that is-NOT Rowan Atkinson) backside, I did not relish seeing it in constant motion (if you know what I mean). I think all of the sex got in the way of the love story. I didn't feel the love growing between Mellors and Lady Chatterly. The relationship seemed to go from sexual obscession devoid of love to sacrificial love in 0-3 seconds.
Parts of this film were reminiscent of cheesy old pornos with all of the noisy sex and unfitting music.
I suppose if titilating sex scenes are your interest, then you will like this film. But if you are easily embarassed or offended by the above described material you would do better to avoid seeing this one.
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Summary: Sean Bean in Top Form (Acting and Otherwise!)
Review: It is rare that a novel can successfully be adapted to the screen without losing much of its force. Lady Chatterley, Ken Russell's adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, however, loses almost none of the force of the original source. The novel was banned when it came out, and one viewing of Lady Chatterley will explain why. The British VHS box for Lady Chatterley boasts that it is filled with "very, very erotic sex." That is about the most accurate statement you can make about this movie. Lest one get the wrong idea, however, this made-for-TV movie is not pornography. It utilizes the original plot, cutting out some of the more social aspects of the novel, to tell a beautiful story about one woman's search for love -- sexual and otherwise -- outside of her marriage and class. Joely Richardson, best known in the U.S. for cavorting with Mel Gibson in "The Patriot," here bares it all early and often with Sean Bean. Both of them shine in their respective roles. Ms. Richardson is brilliant as a strong, independent woman whose husband is crippled during WWI, thus basically ending her sexual life prematurely. Sean Bean plays her lowly, gamekeeper lover, Oliver Mellors. The dirty, scruffy, growling Mellors is the perfect vehicle for Sean Bean's talent -- part bad guy, part sensual lover, in many ways a guilty pleasure (much like Sean Bean himself!) This is not a movie for immature audiences -- it is as beautiful a story as it is erotic, much the way D. H. Lawrence wrote it. Nor is it for the faint of heart -- the sex scenes are revealing and very intense. It is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and overall, is an amazing cinematic experience. The 3.5 hours are well worth watching, at least for fans of Joely Richardson or Sean Bean. Although the movie is extremely good, I would definitely recommend reading the original novel as well, particularly the unexpurgated version. Some of the best scenes in the novel were cut for censorship considerations and their inability to work onscreen. Nonetheless, fans of the novel will not be disappointed -- and those unacquainted with the novel will certainly be more than a little surprised at the force and eroticism of this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: BRILLIANTLY ARTISTIC, NAKEDLY HOT AND NOT OBSCENE
Review: Joely Richardson is repressed Constance Chatterly, married to an embittered, paralyzed man (James Wilby) who suggests she take on a lover, the earthy, lowly, gamekeeper Oliver Mellors (Sean Bean).
Ken Russell's LADY CHATTERLY (Acorn), is a faithful adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's controversial novel that was the center of the 20th Century's most celebrated obscenity trial. Russell's film does not shy away from bold, passionate love scenes that include full frontal nudity. He pulls out all the appropriate stops in this nearly four hour (2 disc) BBC production that lets us not only understand but sympathize with all the principals in the adulterous affair.
Don't be misled into thinking this is a staid and proper (read boring) British mini-series. Joely Richardson's brave performance as the repressed wife whose passions are awakened made this one of the most talked about TV movies of the 90s.
Don't miss this exquisite, intelligent adaptation of a true literary classic with all the heat intact.
Rating:
Summary: Where is the gameskeeping?
Review: Ken Russell is still the master of D.H. Lawrence on film - at least for now. If you like the original purple prose, which I do, you should like the purple in this series. (You might also consider buying "Women in Love.") Sean Bean, as Oliver Mellors is always a good excuse to watch a movie. He and Joely Richardson, as Constance Chatterley, offer really nice performances - even James Wilby as her priggish "Clifford" is very angering in a believable way. I had to make peace with the lousy soundtrack that intruded on the dialogue and action and saps the oxygen from the passion Russell wants to portray. I was not crazy about the unevenness of the script, ranging from juvenile to thoughtful dialogue on the meaning of love, compassion and class. Think of the first disc as exposition and the second disc offering a truer soul of the story and worth buying the series. Would this have been better as a shorter feature film? Just remember that the book articulates Mellors' complexity as a veteran of WWI and a member of the working class who has educated himself even though he tries to fit in with his peers and English social structure. Also, Russell takes a liberty with the ending. If you want better instruction on gameskeeping, read the novel. "Angels and Insects" would make a great little film festival on the same themes presented as or more sensually than "Lady Chatterley." Really, hearing Bean say "lass" is just heaven even to this feminist mind.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully filmed, sympathetic characters
Review: Lady Chatterly is the story of a rich young aristocrat who takes her gamekeeper for a lover after her husband returns from the war, paralyzed. Despite the subject matter (adultery), I really enjoyed this film. The screenplay is written in such a way that you quite understand why Lady Chatterly has an affair. AND all four of the main leads were quite sympathetic, even though the husband is at times emotionally abusive. While, personally I fast forwarded all of the sex scenes, I thought the film was beautifully filmed and directed. Five stars for an excellent and entertaining film.
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Summary: The story of a young and sexually repressed woman
Review: Now available in a DVD format, Lady Chatterley is the dramatic and passionate BBC miniseries directed by Ken Russell and based upon the D.H. Lawrence novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" which gave rise to what was perhaps the most famous obscenity trial of the 20th Century and continues to appear on various banned books lists for it subject matter. It's the story of a young and sexually repressed woman of the British upper class who is unhappily married to a paralyzed husband. She encounters a gamekeeper on her estates whose scandalous attentions awaken her senses. This BBC production is technically flawless and hallmarked with beautiful outdoor scenes, authentically detailed indoor sets, brilliant acting, and outstanding direction. Available in VHS (11457, $29.95), Lady Chatterley has a running time of 205 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the splash of cash
Review: Oooooh! This is one great video! It's hot, it's spicy, and it's seriously well made and well written, which gives you a great excuse to watch it--you can say you're watching it for its artistic merit, instead of just admitting that you bought it to perve on Sean Bean's (Lord of the Rings) gorgeous bottom! (Or Joely Richardson's bits, if you'd rather.)
The cast is lovely, the script intelligent, the scenery opulent, and the plot intriguing. Need I say more? Watch it, preferably with your significant other. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Well acted, fairly explicit, not on Masterpiece Theatre soon
Review: This adaption of D.H. Lawrence has fairly explicit content, for a BBC adaption, and certainly won't be on Masterpiece Theatre, any time soon; at least, without some heavy editing. Ms. Richardson displays quite a bit of flesh, in this adaption, as does Mr. Bean
(not the one played by Rowan Atkinson) and there are a few suprising inclusions of the most infamous word (we all know what that is) in the English language. Wilby is sufficiently stuff, bitter, and arrogant as Lord Chatterley. Bean is rough, yet tender, as Mellors; and Richardson is delicate but very sexy, as Lady Chatterley, and she has an attractive but stuffy sister, who could do with a bit of what Constance got. Worth a definite look.
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