Cranford

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DVD details

Actor: Alex Etel, Deborah Findlay, Imelda Staunton, Judi Dench, Julia McKenzie
Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
Writer: Sue Birtwistle
Writer: Susie Conklin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 291 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-05-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Warner

DVD Reviews of Cranford

DVD Review: Absolutely perfect
Summary: 5 Stars

I have heard so much about BBC programs, but had never seen one until Crandford. It was exceptionally acted and so well done that I purchased another one from Amazon.com and now I am hooked on these wonderful programs.

DVD Review: PBS Films
Summary: 5 Stars

The DVD Cranford was family entertainment!!!

A story of compassion, family secrets, rules to break, some to keep. It has many twist and turns. True family relationships which pertain today 2009.

Enjoy a simple era that stirs the mind as well as the heart.

DVD Review: Truly a Classic Movie
Summary: 5 Stars

I would give this movie more than five stars, if possible. Beautiful scenery, costumes and intriguing story line. This movie has it all. Great acting, comedy, drama. This is just the kind of movie that you can enjoy with the entire family (but probably more appealing to women). I am searching for movies with content and acting just like this. I highly recommend this movie!

DVD Review: Put me in "Cranford"
Summary: 5 Stars

What an amazing simple, sweet , sad and funny story . All those emotions into one package, along with Dame Judy Dench who shines. " Sister doesn't approve of that word... Suck " speaking about how oranges should be eaten in the privacy of your own bedroom with a plate and a napkin. Never "sucked" out. they don't make 'em like this anymore. It's a small scenic painting that you have looked at in your Grandma's house on the parlor room wall for years that has come to life. And when the tears are all dried up ( the poor sisters' deaths ) , and the stomach ceases to hurt from laughter over trying to get the cat to do his "business" so that you can retrieve your antique lace , you'll wish you could open your own front door and walk right into .... Cranford.

DVD Review: Superlative
Summary: 5 Stars

I stumbled across this superlative BBC drama series which explores the trials and tribulations of a close-knit Victorian community in 1840's England. Excellent acting and many memorable characters. Comparable in quality to "John Adams". Highly Recommended.

Description of Cranford

The BBC drama series adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novels of small town gossip, secrets and romance. 1842. Cranford, a market town in the North West of England, is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. It seems that life has always been conducted according to their social rules, but Cranford is on the cusp of change. For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness in Cranford, and Matty, her demurring sister, the town is a hub of intrigue - a handsome new doctor Frank Harrison from London has arrived; a retired Captain and his daughters have moved in to a house opposite and the preparations for Lady Ludlows garden party are underway. Everyone - from charming rogue Dr Marshland to mean Mrs Jamieson and her lap dog talks, and is talked about, behind closed doors. The town also has its secrets which it slowly reveals: Mattys encounter with an old flame at the garden party; Lady Ludlows gardener, Mr Carter, teaching a gypsy lad to read and write; the wild expectations of the May Day celebrations and - news that shakes the town when it is revealed - a railway line from Manchester is coming to Cranford.

Adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's novels, the five-episode miniseries Cranford focuses on female characters in the 19th-century British town to thematically contemplate encroaching modernity in rural England. With the camera roving house to house, each drama within the grander story is constructed of scenes featuring dialogue between several gossipy ladies obsessed with moral code, romantic ideas about courtship, and social occasions. Three main characters, the ever-appropriate Deborah Jenkyns (Eileen Atkins), her sweet sister, Matilda (Judi Dench), and their younger, more savvy relative, Miss Smith (Lisa Dillon), continuously weigh in on situations, providing a dependable view when other ladies, like the nosey Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton) are too judgmental. In fine period dress, the women of Cranford remind the viewer of how little action was needed in their small-town lives to provide unceasing entertainment. The series'most intriguing aspect lies not in the ample female conversation but rather in its display of earlier technologies and ways of life. Part One, for example, quickly launches a main narrative thread that runs throughout the series, namely the arrival and assimilation of London doctor, Frank Harrison (Simon Woods), into village society. Dr. Harrison's medical practices, such as his refusal to amputate a man's arm because it's broken, are all the more radical because they are so fundamental by today's standards. In subsequent episodes, he recommends Miss Smith get spectacles to cure her headaches, and saves his love's life by cooling her fever after conservative doctor, Dr. Morgan (John Bowe), recommends the old school practice of burying her in blankets in front of a raging fire. In Part Two, Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis) throws a garden party at her estate, treating all the women in their fancy hats to a new novelty: ice cream. This scene foreshadows Ludlow's future concern at a railroad plan involving her land that would connect Cranford to Manchester, symbolizing the ruin of this idyllic setting.

In fact, fluffy and clever as some scenes are, death and rebirth assert themselves in each showing, both physically and idealistically. Part Four shows an auctioning off of a deceased man's antiques, and focuses on issues of class and women's education, as Mr. Carter teaches a peasant boy to read while his assistant fumes at her trappings as a seamstress. Part Five ushers in a new period of medical emergencies, securing Dr. Harrison's shaky position in town. In total, Cranford offers a powerful, if sentimental, look at how death begets life, love, and passion. --Trinie Dalton

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