List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $12.48YOU SAVE $12.47!
Buy it
DVD The Mayor of Casterbridge
Common sense suggests that no good can come of auctioning off your wife in a drunken fit, but Thomas Hardy's classic novel The Mayor of Casterbridge turns this dark story, set in rural England in the mid-1800s, into a compelling, compulsive ride. The discarded wife (Juliet Aubrey) returns after 19 years with her daughter (Jodhi May) in tow, only to discover that her former husband, Michael Henchard (Ciarán Hinds) has risen as a merchant and a politician. But though he welcomes her back and arranges to renew their bond without public shame, Henchard's pride and fear remain intractable; the struggle for love and happiness collides with shame and secrets as Hardy's complex tale unfolds. While the 1978 miniseries with Alan Bates is much less abridged and gives a fuller immersion into the novel and life at the time, the swiftness of this two-part adaptation makes it more immediately emotionally engaging, and the superb, compact performances by the entire cast (including Polly Walker and James Purefoy) give this version a potent punch. --Bret Fetzer
I stumbled on this one by accident on A&E....what a surprise!
I too cannot top how the previous reviews described this movie. What caught my attention while I was channel flipping was the superb acting!! I loved the story. Can't wait to buy it as I never saw the beginning. Whish there were more out there like this one. It should be on the big screen!
Man is his own worst enemy
Cirian Hinds as Michael Henchard, Jodhi May as Elizabeth Jane appear in a film adaptation of one of Thomas Hardy's most famous novels of unrelenting human darkness. The Mayor of Casterbridge, limited to a TV production, belonged on the big screen as it is a big story.
Hinds is at his best, portraying the constant hard driven man of late 19th century southeastern England. May is his opposite, soft and gentle, accepting and demure. But it is Elizabeth Jane's resolute belief in goodness that brings out the best in Henchard and in this movie. On four different occasions one sees not only real tears but a complete breakdown to the suffering May has somehow absorbed and manifested to her portrayal of a simple but infinitely likeable character. Hardy often portrays his women as heroines; this is a very powerful example.
Solid supporting cast of James Purefoy as professional protagonist Donald Farfrae and Polly Walker as Lucetta Templeman, the pretty newcomer with a much hidden agenda. Wonderful period costumes, setting, and additional cast as the citizens of Casterbridge, believable in their accents and dialogue. Shot in Dorset County, England, this film looks and feels authentic.
The only thing missing for me is another twenty minutes of plot and the big screen it deserves. Play it for the fun of period drama but enjoy it forever for the powerful presentation of humanity as portrayed by a magnificent Hinds and the amazing Miss May.
Prideful To The End
Adore Ciaran Hinds and his portrayal of Michael Henchard; The Mayor of Casterbridge is one of his best. Here is a man so out of control within, but with a sense of right and wrong, continuing to make all the choices that lead to his end. His wife as well, seemed to get a bit of her own back before succumbing to whatever. I was so disappointed in when James Purefoy, as the Scotsman Donald Farfrae, re-channeled his affections to Lucetta, player by Polly Walker. Even so he remained a man of his word as well as his conscience. Excellent movie, excellent cast, great story.
The BBC has raised the mini-series to an astonishing creative peak. A prime example is the 1994 production of Middlemarch, based on the classic novel by George Eliot, which juxtaposes morals and money, grand ambitions with petty jealousies, and pursuits of the mind with bodily needs. A handsome young doctor named Lydgate (Douglas Hodge, Vanity Fair) comes to the provincial town of Middlemarch to start a new hospital; a headstrong young woman named Dorothea (Juliet Aubrey, The Mayor of Casterbridge) yearns to contribute to the greater good of the world. These idealists enter into marriages that derail all their intentions and lead them into lives they never imagined. The network of characters in this six-episode program, ranging up and down the societal ladder, create... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Anthony Page DVD Release Date: Released the 19 April 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.98 Your Price: $11.24YOU SAVE $3.74!
Buy it
George Eliot's accomplished but underrated last novel is effectively, often stirringly, adapted for this 2002 BBC production, which was scripted by old pro Andrew Davies (Middlemarch) and directed with wit and subtlety by Tom Hooper (Cold Feet). Set in the 1870s, Eliot's story concerns two strong-willed young people whose self-determination is under attack by legal constraints on their rights to an inheritance. The noble Daniel (Hugh Dancy) is of dubious birth; the fiery Gwendolen (Romola Garai) can't possess her late father's estate because she's a woman. They are sympathetic to one another, but not lovers: Gwendolen is obliged to marry into wealth and becomes an unhappy bride of the scoundrel Grandcourt (Hugh Bonneville), while Daniel must sort out his feelings about the... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tom Hooper (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 01 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $24.98 Your Price: $19.98YOU SAVE $5!
Buy it
Misguided stepmothers, romantic betrayals, secret marriages--these are not just the makings of modern soap operas; this is what makes the BBC's delightful four-episode miniseries Wives and Daughters come to life. Sweet Molly Gibson (played artfully by Justine Waddell, who communicates more with a squint of her eyes than most actresses can with pages of dialogue) was living life pleasantly when her widowed father (Bill Paterson) decides that, for the good of his daughter, he must remarry. In comes Claire, played to screeching perfection by Francesca Annis. Molly's life is turned upside down by the usually well meaning but off-the-mark Claire, who insists on things being done the proper way. Added to the stew is Claire's beautiful, educated daughter, Cynthia (Keeley Hawes),... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Annis - Gambon - Carmichael - Waddel - Francesca Annis DVD Release Date: Released the 24 April 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $39.98 Your Price: $29.99YOU SAVE $9.99!
Buy it
A classic coming-of-age tale on par with Anne of Avonlea and Little Women, Berkeley Square is worth watching over and over again. This 10-episode British miniseries will awe you with its erudite script, wonderfully believable characters, high-caliber production values, meticulous Edwardian details, and topnotch acting. In fact, you will join the growing multitudes who puzzle over why the BBC decided to stop after only 10 episodes.
In 1902 three young nannies find jobs in well-to-do London households and get to know each other. Naive farm girl Lydia finds an unfamiliar world both in city life and with the progressive-thinking family who employs her. Earnest, rule-abiding Matty is a hard-working East End girl who slowly learns to loosen up. And, after a tragic affair... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Wilkie - Smurfit DVD Release Date: Released the 12 December 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $39.98 Your Price: $31.98YOU SAVE $8!
Buy it
The first two episodes of this BBC miniseries only hint at the delights to come. A lawsuit aimed at church reform in the town of Barchester forces a decent middle-aged clergyman (the august Donald Pleasence, best known in the U.S. for the Halloween movies) into a moral crisis and a conflict with his son-in-law, a pompous archdeacon (Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George). The gracefully written and acted narrative shows glimpses of dry wit--but in episode 3, the arrival of a new bishop (Clive Swift, Keeping Up Appearances), his imperious wife (Geraldine McEwan, The Magdalene Sisters), and his devious chaplain (Alan Rickman, Truly Madly Deeply, the Harry Potter movies) launches The Barchester Chronicles into a satirical power... More Info about this DVD Director(s): David Giles (III) DVD Release Date: Released the 25 January 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $29.98 Your Price: $22.49YOU SAVE $7.49!
Buy it
