Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant, captivating movie!
Review: A sensitive, profound love story, excellent actors (I am wondering why Anthony Howell is not a big international star yet!), shot in a lovely environment! In my eyes even better than 'Price and Prejudice'. Highly recommendable to every woman who is fond of dramas.
Rating:
Summary: Wives and Daughters is Wonderful
Review: I had no idea of what to expect when I purchased this DVD on a recommendation from a friend. I had never read the book, but enjoy movies in this genre. I invited several neighbor ladies over for a "Wives and Daughters" DVD party - and every one of them was enchanted. We loved the story, and the cinematography was beautiful. I don't think the cast could have been any better. I suggest you block out an entire evening, gather a few friends with good taste, and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Delightfully Witty! If you like J. Austen, you'll LOVE it!!
Review: Fabulous! Sweet and charming! For anyone who loves the story of Pride and Prejudice, you will love this too! I bought it for my mom-in-law, who is *very* selective about the movies she see and she loved it! Enjoy with a daughter, mother, or any loved one!
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Cost. Wonderful Film
Review: I purchased this DVD because I am a huge fan of British Period Drama. I was not disappointed. All the reviews for this flim are correct. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Molly's life evolve (I will not go in detail because other reviewers have done so).I have not read the novel, but I feel the director did a fabulous job of making this beautiful story come to life. The extras you get are amazing. The price is a little high, but is worth it since I will view this film many times over.
Rating:
Summary: A study in the value of honesty
Review: A delightful, delicious, romantic period piece. Perhaps the most beautifully couched and photoghraphed love story I've ever watched. The value of virtue rises to a new level in cinema.
Persistance and watchful waiting transcend immediate gratification and bring peace and joy to all...including the viewer.
(A perfect boxed gift for my daughters birthday!)
Rating:
Summary: Another winner for the BBC
Review: Another winning masterpiece for the BBC. This 6 hour (you won't realize it is 6 hours - you won't be able to stop watching) mini-series is fantastic. It follows the life of a young woman who is growing up to be a forward and intelligent woman, and her trials and tribulations with a new step mother and step sister. By the end of the first section you are cheering for her and cursing the males in the story for being "dunderheads". If you liked Pride and Prejudice you will love this movie also.
Rating: 
Summary: Great series - shame about the mutilation
Review: This miniseries was originally broadcast in the UK as a widescreen (16:9) version. When released on DVD in the UK and Australia it retained the widescreen anamorphic format. Sadly, BBC and Warners don't feel the American public is ready or deserving of such an innovation. Instead we are being sold a horrible reduction that has been crudely cropped at the edges. Instead of a lovely anamorphic widescreen picture it is a grainy, pixillated, slightly matted full frame (about 4.5:3). This wouldn't matter so much if the director and cinematographer hadn't clearly lavished so much care on composing their scenes to fit the widescreen format. The consequence is that in many shots the characters have half their faces missing and often appear to be talking to empty space. If you don't find this sort of thing a distraction, then I strongly reccommend this series - lavish production values, beautifully acted and the usual witty script with a contemporary (but not anachronisitic) feel from Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards etc etc). All the more reson I think to blow a big fat rasberry to the BBC for needlessly and crudely mutilating so outstanding an achievement - and not even having the courage to 'fess up on the DVD case!!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful!
Review: I loved this movie! While I have read many novels from the Victorian era of literature, I have never read any by Elizabeth Gaskell. Perhaps this movie will increase awareness of a very gifted and underrated storyteller.
The story centers around Molly and her widower father, a country doctor. The two are inseparable and getting along very happily when her father gets it into his head to marry the self-absorbed and greedy Hyacinth. Hyacinth moves into the doctor's home and brings with her a beautiful, friendly, but sneaky daughter Cynthia, who brings a truckload of baggage along with her (both literally and figuratively). The story centers around Molly's relationship with her father, step-mother, and step-sister, and Molly and Cynthia's respective quests for love and happiness.
The actors give wonderful performances, and I love the characters because, for the most part they are not one-dimensional (with the possible exception of Hyacinth--the name is kind of a give-away). The costumes and set are wonderful as well. Even my husband, who generally keeps as far away from movies in which people have English accents as possible, was hooked!
Rating: 
Summary: Cast makes it a joy to watch
Review: Although it is not as good and Pride and Prejudice of Our Mutual Friend, there's plenty to enjoy in this five hour Masterpiece Theatre production. The story is engaging, if a little long-winded for the essentially simple tale it has to tell, and the characters are all three-dimensional, finely-drawn people, not the costume drama stock characters that are often found in lesser productions. The screenplay is well done, as is the music (by the same composer as the Horation Hornblower series, and often reminiscent of that music). Above all, however, the cast are a joy to watch. The older cast--Michael Gambon, Francesca Annis, Ian Carmichael, Barbara Flynn, and especially Bill Paterson--are excellent, and it is testament to the talent of the younger group that they consistently draw our attention to themselves. Justine Wadell turns in another flawless performance, and carries the weight of the whole production in the central role of Molly Gibson. Keeley Hawes is unexpectedly great as a flake with some deeper problems. Anthony Howell is charismatic as Roger Hamley, and Tom Hollander is especially good as Osborne (you can also see him in a great little part in Gosford Park). Iain Glen rounds things out nicely as Mr. Preston: both likeable and unlikeable.
A really enjoyable period piece.
Rating:
Summary: A movie you can sip your tea with
Review: If you like Pride & Prejudice then you will love this movie. Elegant movie, you will go from being sad, mad to happy. A movie you can watch over & over again. You will not be disappointed.
|
