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Holistic Guidance - Cranford
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List Price: $34.98
Our Price: $25.99
Your Save: $ 8.99 ( 26% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
Starring: Francesca Annis, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, Philip Glenister
Directed By: Simon Curtis
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
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
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-05-20
Running Time: 291
Studio: BBC Warner
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Editorial Reviews:
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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
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: wonderful!
Comment: We absolutely loved this series. It was very clever and entertaining. It was well cast and acted and my husband even loved it.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Cranford was a refreshing change.
Comment: Sometimes I just like to loose myself in a miniseries. Cranford had the usual pursuit of love and romance, but had the added bonus of strong female friendships. I planned to watch an installment each day, but I got hooked and watched all the installments in one day.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cranford Captivates
Comment: We had planned to watch the Cranford episodes as they unfolded on PBS, but because we had a houseguest, I taped them. When we finished viewing the series, my husband had found them so interesting and engaging that he asked to view them a second time. Consequently, I ordered the DVD and we thoroughly enjoyed watching the "Making of Cranford".
I first learned of Elizabeth Gaskell while reading Phyllis McGinley's Sixpence in Her Shoe, when I was newly married. Years later while visiting a London bookstore, I found several of the Gaskell novels and added them to my library. I couldn't resist rereading Cranford the week after seeing the final episode.
I liked the blending of three of Gaskell's novels into this telling of the story. My Lady Ludlow and Mr. Harrison's Confessions give the village a larger context and paint a more complete picture of England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However, nothing of the charm of the perfect English village is lost in this delightful retelling of the story. Each actor seems to catch his character's virtues and foibles perfectly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Getting to Know Cranston
Comment: Excellant viewing. I watched all the episodes in one evening. I had to see them all and was sad when it ended. I am gettting ready to watch them again before summer is over!It's a classic must see if you like Jane Austen too. I loved all the characters, they were well developed. You felt lilke you really knew them. It's a good clean, wholesome movie. Very rare.
Customer Rating:
Summary: As Cranford Turns
Comment: I saw this mini series on PBS and I was hooked immediately. The cast has many British actors seen in various Jane Austin movies and they are all wonderful. Great production!
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