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Whistle Stopper - Cranford
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List Price: $34.98
Our Price: $25.00
Your Save: $ 9.98 ( 29% )
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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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Charming perfection
Comment: The BBC has truly outdone itself with the wonderful production of "Cranford". The triumverate of Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and Imelda Staunton makes the series a sheer force of cinematic strength. All three of these leading lights prove incandescent, but their luminous brilliance does not vie for favor--rather, each actress perfectly coplements the other.
Nor is the skill limited to this trio. The supporting cast is also well-matched, with legends Michael Gambon and Francesca Annis lending their assistance, as well as Simon Woods (whom I recognized from "Rome"), the lovely Lesley Manville ("The Cazalets", "North & South"--the 2nd being another Mrs. Gaskell adaptation), and the darling Claudie Blakely ("Gosford Park", as well as 2005's "Pride & Prejudice"), to name but a few.
Purists may squirm that this film is not a verbatim reproduction of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel of the same name, but incorporates much of that book's plotline while adding in those of two other books by her, namely, "Mr. Harrison's Confessions" and "My Lady Ludlow". I found the result to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Cranford's society is dominated by a cadre of thoroughly proper ladies, domineered by the righteous Miss Deborah Jenkyns (Atkins). Her sister, Miss Mathilda (popularly known as Matty) Jenkyns, is softer-hearted; while Deborah is generally unyielding and stern, her sense of compassion and duty does ingratiate her character to the audience eventually. Miss Pole (Staunton) is easily the grande-dame of the village's gossip circuit and her near-hysterical antics in making certain she is "THE FIRST" to pass along juicy tidbits makes for several laugh-out-loud incidents.
While often light-hearted and amusing, "Cranford" does address more sobering issues, such as the rigorous class structure's inherent refusal to allow a person to better himself. This is best played out by Lady Ludlow's (Annis) disgust at learning her head clerk, Mr. Carter, has taught young Harry Gregson (the son of a local squatter/poacher) to read and write. Literacy, according to Lady Ludlow, is a privilege solely reserved for the upper classes; if the lower orders were to attain it, they would not remember their place.
The imminent arrival of the railway in Cranford is another focal point of the storyline. The majority of the village's citizenry loathe the idea and are terrified of the great changes it will surely herald for them all.
Romances, demises, losses of fortune, family squabbles, the bleaching of lace collars, and the manner in which to consume an orange with the greatest degree of propriety [quite seriously--and the results are most amusing!]: "Cranford" affords all this and much more, and will assuredly leave the viewer with gleeful smile and a full heart.
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.
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Editorial Reviews:
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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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