Product Details

• Actors: Judi Dench
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007
• Run Time: 260 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000LV6OKI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,129 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Judi Dench is one of those actors who rarely seem to make a false move, handling wrenching drama, madcap farce, and witty comedy with equal aplomb. Among the BBC productions of classic and original plays available in the The Judi Dench Collection, she stars as Anya in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, a 1962 production translated by, and starring, John Gielgud and, as Madame Ranesvky, Peggy Ashcroft. Ashcroft is a hard act to follow, but Dench pulls it off in a 1981 production in which she assumes the role of the irresponsible aristocrat, also included here. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description
This two-disc set presents both BBC's 1962 and 1981 productions of The Cherry Orchard Set in fin-de-siecle Russia, these adaptations of Anton Chekhov's famous play chronicles a noblewoman's return to her family estate after a five-year absence. She finds that the family fortune has dwindled to practically nothing, and that she and her brother are faced with the difficult choice of selling the family's treasured cherry orchard or losing everything.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chekhov brought to life, July 9, 2007

By	nyc_tm (US) - See all my reviews

The cast in both versions handle Chekhov's material with the utmost care. The direction in the 1962 M. St.Denis version is rather beautiful. One can't really go wrong with a cast like Gielgud, Ashcroft, Dench, Tutin, etc. They all just give the most stunning performances of this material. Chekhov is actually incredibly timeless, and the cast is absolutely thrilling to watch. Richard Eyre's 1981 version is a bit more stoic, but his choice to bring Judi Dench on as Mdme. Ranevsky was like finishing a luxurious necklace with the Hope Diamond. Judi Dench has the unbelievable ability to let a story and character filter through herself like an incredibly adept translator. Both of these versions are magical. The more theatrical version of 1962, and the "made for film" version of 1981. Both should not be missed, if even only for the experience of the remarkable performances, but certainly for the well handled telling of the genius Chekhov.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the astonishing growth of a great actor, May 12, 2007

By	Deborah Peifer (San Rafael CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Watching Judi Dench play Anna in the earlier production and then Madame Ranevsky twenty years later offers an opportunity to see a good actor become great. Her mature skills are extraordinary, but her ability twenty years earlier to play with such art is truly amazing. Also, each production of The Cherry Orchard is great, entirely worthy of Chekhov's greatest play.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2 historical performancs, November 30, 2008

By	André Brassard "ARTISTE" (MONTREAL) - See all my reviews

c'est une excellente idée de nous offrir ces deux versions de La Cerisaie
dans la première, Judi Dench joue le rôle de la jeune Ania
dans la deuxième, plus récente, c'est elle qui joue le rôle central
cela fait de ce DVD un objet historique fascinant