Rating: 
Summary: Is Something Missing?
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this series(VHS format) but the DVD version seems to be missing some scenes.
Has anyone else noticed this or is it my imagination?
Rating:
Summary: Fun for some, but poor-quality DVD
Review: I've been revisiting this wonderful mini-series on DVD, watching it on a hi-res screen, and note that the image-quality is really appalling. It looks like they took an old VHS tape, and strained it through a sieve. Which is probably pretty close to what actually happened, the "sieve" in this case being a really crude digital-compression system. Too bad, because it contains a lot of beautiful scenic photography, which has been turned to mush.
Rating:
Summary: Fun for some, but poor-quality DVD
Review: I've been revisiting this wonderful mini-series on DVD, watching it on a hi-res screen, and note that the image-quality is really appalling. It looks like they took an old VHS tape, and strained it through a sieve. Which is probably pretty close to what actually happened, the "sieve" in this case being a really crude digital-compression system. Too bad, because it contains a lot of beautiful scenic photography, which has been turned to mush.
Rating: 
Summary: A timeless classic for our library
Review: My wife and I REALLY enjoyed watching the films. We borrowed it from the library and my wife won't return them until we order our own copy!
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing!
Review: Not nearly what I expected when I got it. The scenery is ok. Its not funny at all and the characters seem very unpleasant and uptight. Its also very long and drawn out. I would recommend the book over the video.
Rating:
Summary: Judge the film on it's own merits
Review: Peope who expect a film like this to be identical to the book will have much difficulty watching it. However, for most of us who can enjoy a film on its own merits, without comparing it to the book too closely, it is a marvelous film. This DVD will no doubt be mandatory for the many John Thaw fans who will not be disapointed.
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Summary: leisurely-paced sentimental view of French folks, food
Review: Peter and Annie, a retired ad executive and a tax accountant, leave behind England's dreary weather, wilted vegetables, and ironical dinner parties, for Provence, a region of Southern France. They throw themselves wholeheartedly and usually with good humor into the mysteries of truffle hunting, grape pressing, and french conjugations. No need to worry about what you remember from French class, if anything--Peter and Annie translate as they go along. Personally, I could watch John Thaw open mail and be satisfied, but this video is great for re-establishing one's faith in community loyalty, fine dining, the British sense of "humour", and happy endings. Suitable for children.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this dvd!
Review: The movie totally misses the feel of the book which is upbeat and funny. They have Peter Mayle and his wife arguing and complaining the entire time. She even talks about cutting up the unwanted guest into a hundred pieces and putting him in the trash. Not quite the humor I was hoping for. The book protrays Peter Mayle as enjoying Provence and the characters he meets there. He acts like a angry, grumpy old man in the movie. The DVD even makes up story lines that weren't in the book. Plus, I hoped to see some of the countryside of France but there is hardly any shown. My husband and I couldn't even finish watching it because it was so bad and disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: What a sweet memory
Review: The scent of lavender and the gentle breeze from the southern France have made this book a sweet memory for all those who had lived there. I expecially enjoyed that how English look at the French in their own country...
Rating:
Summary: Better Than the Book!
Review: This 4-video set is one of those rare birds -- an adaptation that is better then the original book. Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence is good, but the screenplay made a few important changes that made all the difference.The addition of a wife for Mayle is the main difference. While Mayle has a wife in the book, she fades so far into the background as to be virtually invisible. I see from the dedication in the book that her name is Jenny, but since the screenwriter had to create a wife out of whole cloth here, he gave her a new name as well -- Annie. The addition of Annie and the casting of Lindsay Crouse make all the difference. Another difference was to subtract ex-spouses and grown children, which serves to streamline the story. Peter in the film is somewhat more short-tempered and loud than Peter in the book, but this makes a nice contrast with Annie. And who is going to make himself out to be a blowhard in his own book, after all? The rest of the story is much as Mayle wrote it. This set has become one of our family favorites. We borrowed the public library's copies several times, then finally bought our own and watch it at least once a year. It's broken down into twelve 30-minute chapters, one for each month. You can watch it in half hour chunks or 90-minute doses, a whole season (and tape) at a time. The chapters stand alone, but are also threaded together to make a real story. In fact, the story comes together so neatly, that one suspects that although these episodes may really have happened, perhaps they happened over a period of several years, or in a different order. Still, some of the best non-fiction writers out there are novelists at heart. The acting and the scenery in A Year in Provence are just great. The French characters are played by French actors and speak no English in the film. Since the Mayles are learning French, they are able to translate for us and it doesn't seem awkward. There you have it: entertaining writing, good acting, gorgeous scenery, and a free French lesson thrown in.
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