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Cranford | 
 enlarge | Director: Simon Curtis
Actors: Francesca Annis, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, Philip Glenister
Studio: BBC Warner
Category: DVD
List Price: $34.98
Buy New: $25.82
You Save: $9.16 (26%)
New (33) Used (10) from $16.97
Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 361
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 291
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 1000037442
UPC: 883929012404
EAN: 0883929012404
ASIN: B00140PK6O
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: May 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW sealed shipped daily. International Shipping via Air Mail.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Adapted from Elizabeth Gaskells' 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, 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
Product Description
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 68 more reviews...
Wonderfully adapted and acted August 29, 2008
Such an entertaining mini-series. You get so connected to the characters. There are some very sad parts (true to Gaskell style) and some amazingly funny parts. Well acted and extremely well written. Always a happy ending, which I love. :)
Cranford August 25, 2008
One of the best series ever watched. Only England could do such a period piece - wonderful.
Fantastic! August 20, 2008
Many good and thorough reviews have already been written on the movie but I wanted to just add my 5 stars to the rest.
I've been buying period movies from time to time trying to find a classic like Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth), Wives and Daughters and Sense and Sensability (with Emma T) and I have been sadly frustrated with my purchases lately. Then I bought this and it was TOTALLY worth it. It was wonderful and I enjoyed every minute of it. Lots of different story lines intertwined and most come to a happy ending. I'm very glad I bought this movie and listened to the good reviews!
WOW, another perfect BBC production August 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This show was just plain perfection. The acting was wonderful (as was the casting) and the seamless story (a compilation of 3 of Gaskell's stories) was just impecably done.
This was such a pleasure to watch. I cannot rave enough about how well done this production was. There is just not a lot more to say about this fabulous show....
Hey: Cranford Doesn't Suck! August 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Let me make something perfectly clear, OK? I'm a guy. Like most guys, my favorite kind of movie has plenty of action, with fights, car chases, explosions, hot babes, and violence, with a little blood or gore sprinkled in. So why did I give this one five stars? Let me try to explain.
Going in, your typical red-blooded American male might be put off a bit; judging by it's cover, Cranford appears to be just another in a long line of boring English bonnet romances, full of people in wigs and weird clothes sitting around in parlours talking to each other. If you're looking for a testosterone-fueled trip through hell, a la Tarantino, Peckinpah or Woo, you might be disappointed. I waited and waited, but I could find not one fist fight, stabbing, shooting, rape, steamy sex scene, unexposed nipple or horrible murder in the whole dang thing!
But gents, don't automatically dismiss this one: if you look, you will find a surprising amount of death, gore and violence: in one scene, a kid smashes in the skull of a defenseless rabbit. In another, a cat pukes up some hand-knit lace. And then a cow falls into a lime pit and gets all it's hide burned off. So I guess you could say that animals have a tough time in this miniseries.
But the people have some rough patches as well. In the first twenty minutes the young carpenter Jem falls from a ladder and suffers a compound fracture of his right forearm, which is pretty gruesome. You wouldn't think that there would be many deaths in this one either, but it seems like people are keeling over every other minute. A very young kid dies of croup, a crippled young woman dies of who knows what, one of the main characters, Deborah Jenkyns (Eileen Atkins), strokes out, and the great Michael Gambon's character, the lovelorn Mr. Holbrook, contracts pneumonia and bites it before he has a chance to marry his long lost love, Mattie Jenkyns ((there is nothin' like a DAME) Judy Dench). The local shopkeeper Mr. Johnson is clubbed on the back of his head and robbed. A family of squatters is forced to live in abject squalor while the father must poach game to keep his family from starvation.
There is a top-notch "babe" in the series too. Kimberly Nixon plays the young daughter of the local parson. She is a "pretty as a picture" actress, first-rate eye candy, a perfect rosy-cheeked beauty seemingly born for this type of film, who will have a long and very bright future in the many inevitable English period romances to be produced over the next ten years. I hoped and prayed for a scene of her swimming naked in a sylvan lake or even a brief glimpse of her in the boudoir, but alas it never happened. I guess you will have to use your imagination.
Another huge negative: it appeared there were no "pavement princesses" or brothels in the town of Cranford. Or they chose not to show us. Damn!
Nor were there coach chases, bloody shootouts, pub brawls, adulterers, adulteresses or dispicable villains in Cranford.
However, you do get a lot of humor, color, poignancy, romance, emotion, beauty, magnificent costumes, fabulous photography, and wonderful character development and acting. With all that, I guess I can overlook the absence of fist fights and sex. I hate to admit that; it's not very manly of me, but it's true. Cranford did not suck.
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