Product Details

• Actors: Jemma Redgrave, Ruth Sheen, David Calder, Kevin McMonagle, Keeley Gainey
• Writers: Harriet Davison, Jonathan Rich, Lucy Gannon, Tim Whitby
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (PCM Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: SHANACHIE
• DVD Release Date: August 9, 2005
• Run Time: 54 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009NZ76U
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,766 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Bramwell - The Complete First Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre, this 1995 miniseries chronicles the professional and personal challenges of a determined female physician in late 19th century England. With extraordinary depth and vitality, Jemma Redgrave plays Dr. Eleanor Bramwell, an ambitious doctor intent on becoming a surgeon who struggles to make her mark in the medical world while mocked by her male counterparts. In the season opener, Eleanor works at East London hospital under the patronizing tutelage of Sir Herbert Hamilton until she no longer can tolerate his barbaric medical practices—especially toward women. Against the wishes of her protective father (David Calder), Eleanor strikes out on her own to run the charitable Thrift Infirmary in London’s impoverished East End, thanks to the generosity of a widowed patroness, Lady Cora Peters. Subsequent dramas unfold, with each of the seven episodes building upon the last, as Eleanor grapples with issues of class, race, poverty-induced crime, family expectations, and the politics of patronage. In one story, Eleanor’s upper-crust outlook gets a jolt when she discovers that Lady Cora’s pregnant laundry maid is married to a black man; in another, a belligerent patient under her care attempts a sexual assault. This well-written and skillfully acted period drama provides a provocative glimpse at turn-of-the-century women’s rights as well as social commentary on the culture of Victorian England. Redgrave gives an intelligent performance, developing her character at many levels, as a deeply compassionate, headstrong, flawed individual who remains true to her convictions. The season ends with the possibility of a budding romance between Eleanor and one of her colleagues. Not suitable for young children due to mature themes. --Lynn Gibson

Product Description

Dr. Eleanor Bramwell struggles against society's odds to become a leading female surgeon in 1895 London.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 9-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good series...terrible format, October 3, 2005

By 

J.D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bramwell - The Complete First Season (DVD)

The series content is very good, however the company that produced the DVD did a terrible job of formating the episodes/scenes. They split a one-hour show across two DVD's to save using a fourth disk in the series. In doing this, the scene access for the second half of an episode will not play; it jumps to the beginnig of the next episode. The only way to view the 2nd part is to fast-backwards all the way to just after the start of the scene and play from there. If you go all the way back, it takes off at the begining of the next episode. Very Frustrating to deal with the formating faults on this DVD. I will think twice about ordering another DVD from this studio.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beware of Format, January 5, 2007

By 

Buster49 (Utica, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bramwell - The Complete First Season (DVD)

Bramwell is an outstanding series. The rating of 2 stars is for the following reason. To add to AGPym's formatting issue, Shanachie has also issued 7 episodes and labeled the dvd as season 1. According to the PBS web site I printed out with the Bramwell retrospective, listing all seasons and episodes, this dvd combines seasons 1 and 2 (which originally totalled 8 episodes)and leaves off the final episode of season 2. This missing episode involves a subway (underground) train crash which I did originally see when the series was new. Also check my customer review for the so-called season 4.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal!, November 11, 2006

By 

W. Rodriguez (Watsonville, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bramwell - The Complete First Season (DVD)

I absolutely love this series. Set at the turn of the century in England, it has great accuracy in showing medicine and surgery before the discovery of penicillin and modern anaesthesia. The characters are richly protrayed and deep...never one-dimentional. If you enjoy period films and excellent drama, this one is a sure keeper!