Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0883929012404
Format: Closed-captioned
Label: BBC Warner
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: BBC Warner
Release Date: 2008-05-20
Running Time: 295
Studio: BBC Warner
Theatrical Release Date: 2007

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Wonderful...
Comment: Watched three episodes of the Miniseries last year while visiting Ireland. Wonderful movie; cannot wait to see the last two episodes.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Come to Cranford....
Comment: 2008's "Cranford" is an outstanding Masterpiece Theater production, featuring a superb cast of actors set in a small village in the Midlands of 1840 England. At the center of the story is a group of single females led by the aging spinster sisters Miss Deborah and Miss Mattie, their younger niece Mary Smith, and Miss Pole, who collectively contribute both wisdom and humor to the story.

Cranford manages to contain considerable human interest despite its small size, or perhaps because of it. Rumors run wild, normally well ahead of the well-intentions efforts of villagers to get things done. Several themes thread through the series. One theme is the influence over village affairs exercised by the spinsters. A second is the assimilation of the young Doctor Harrison, who causes quite a stir by his unorthodox medical methods and by his good looks. A third is the pending disruption to the insular ways of Cranford by the advent of a railroad across the lands of the wealthy Lady Ludlow.

A number of charming subplots enliven each episode, which pull no punches when it comes to matters of love and death. Small romances thrive or fail. A estate steward attempts to teach a gypsy boy how to read. The village enjoys an annual party on the estate of Lady Ludlow. Valentine's Day becomes a source of potential confusion as mysterious cards arrive at varous homes in the village. Even prominent characters are not immune from disappointment, although there is hope from episode to episode that fate will be kind to most. Period costumes, customs and furnishings are spot-on. The direction keeps the story moving from family to family as the various themes are advanced.

"Cranford" is very highly recommended as excellent entertainment to fans of Elizabeth Gaskell's novels and of Masterpiece Theater.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Perfectly captures the eccentricities of a little hamlet in England
Comment: Cranford aka the Cranford Chronicles, based on Elizabeth Gaskell's story is a stellar production. It is a lush period drama and is very authentic in its portrayal of people living in a little hamlet called Cranford. The sets are beautiful as are the costumes, and of course the production is elevated to a level of excellence by its impeccable casting.

Writer Heidi Thomas does a wonderful job of adapting Elizabeth Gaskell's story [purportedly based on Gaskell's own hometown] and though liberties are taken, the stellar cast more than makes up for whatever deficiencies there may be in the faithfulness of the adaptation. Dame Eileen Atkins [Miss Deborah Jenkins] and Dame Judi Dench [Miss Matty Jenkins] portray two spinster sisters in 1842 who live in the little town of Cranford. Far from being a quiet little hamlet, this little town hums with activity and village gossips, especially a Miss Pole [Imelda Staunton]who flits around from one hearsay to another, avidly passing on any little nuggets of gossip to the other inhabitants.

Cranford is set aflutter by the arrival of a new doctor, Dr Harrison [Simon Woods] who is young, handsome, single and very much into trying new methods of treatment, to the initial consternation of the townspeople. Dr Harrison finds himself attracted to a beautiful local lass, Sophy [Kimberly Nixon] though he inadvertently attracts the romantic affections of other single women in Cranford.

But the story does not merely focus on romance, as there are other more serious themes underlying the series. For one, there is talk of a railroad being built that would go through Cranford, and disrupt the idyllic life in the village, giving rise to the inevitable battle between modernization and the desire for things to remain unchanged. The local rich lady, Lady Ludlow portrayed by Francesca Annis is very much opposed to change, and not only opposes the railroad but also any form of societal change, such as literacy amongst the lower classes [she refuses to hire a maid who is literate, saying the girl's parents did her a disservice by teaching her to read].

There is also the theme of lost love, death and grief. Miss Matty Jenkins[ Judi Dench] finds herself recounting the tale of her lost love [played by Michael Gambon]. This is what makes Cranford such an engaging viewing experience - the absurd [the story of the cat swallowing an anitque lace and how the lace is retrieved] is interlaced with tales of poignancy and everything unfolds leisurely. It is a tale that we wish will never end, and hope to revisit again and again.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Finally, a Series Worthy of the Term 'Masterpiece'!
Comment: I really was beginning to despair, watching the new seemingly paired-down-for-Yankee-taste version of the old Masterpiece Theatre. "Cranford," however, adapted from Elizabeth Gaskill's novel, has restored my faith.

By turns comic, poignant, tragic, and romantic, this series has everything that not only makes one feel awfully good but also keeps one wanting more. With its host of Dames and Baronets--e.g., Judy Dench, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon--the cast can hardly be termed 'peerless', but it is, nevertheless, faultless. Ensemble acting at its best!

"Cranford" is a scrumptious feast for the eyes, the mind, and the spirit.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Entertaining!
Comment: Finally, a period drama that's neither the same old story nor lost in translation.

I thought Cranford would be a subdued drawn out dramatization but I was pleasantly surprised to find it so engaging at every moment. The adaptation had managed to make every character useful and meaningful in a drama where everyone's a hero at the end of the day. And the actors - please don't make me choose between them. They were all plucked out of Cranford itself, I'm sure.

One theme stood out for me. The danger of conjecturing, the gossip it perpetuates and the lives they can destory. Even so, it was impossible to truly fault the culprits as Gaskell shows that a person should be judged as a whole and not by a single deed alone.

I won't dwell into the details as it is too colorful and summarizing would do it injustice but suffice it to say Cranford was very well written with much thought placed into the evolution of characters and the seamless integration of plots. It has everything a little old town can manage.

Do not hesitate. Watch it!

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Editorial Reviews:

The BBC drama series adapted from Mary Gaskells 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.Running Time: 295 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/BBC UPC: 883929012404 Manufacturer No: 1000037442