Customer Reviews

Coming Home [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have read "Coming Home" twice and have listened to the audio tape several times, so when I saw that the novel was available on video I was delighted...I finally found it on VHS on sale and ordered it, just to see for myself, and watched it this past week. What a joy! I loved every minute of it, and the fact that it didn't cover every page of the book didn't bother me at all. Even "Little Women" switched Amy and Beth's position in the family in the 1949 version but it was still a wonderful movie. I am very glad that I have "Coming Home" in my video collection and plan to watch it again soon.

Having recently finished a second reading of Rosamunde Pilcher's remarkable novel, I was anxious to watch this while the novel was still fresh in my mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this for its spot-on casting, magnificent scenery, and even the surprising twists the movie took with the novel's plot.

Most surprising was the different direction the love affair between Judith and Edward took. Though completely different than the novel's, the revamped storyline was no less appealing and emotional. Liberties were also taken with the character of Gus, but the end result was just as satisfying. As might be expected, huge amounts of the nearly 1000-page novel had to be eliminated, so don't look for Biddy, Heather Warren, Rupert, and some others. All that being said, this was still an awesome viewing experience for me. Having loved the novel, I was thrilled to see Nancherrow more glorious than I had ever imagined it, the hut, Lavinia's house, the Mews house and so many more fabulous parts of the novel springing to life. A definite must-see for those who love Rosamunde Pilcher's work and revel in the English lifestyle circa WWII.

After reading the other reviews I decided to order the video and see for myself what the movie was really like. I have read the book at least three times. This video was fantastic! It is very difficult to turn a book into a movie successfully and I am pleased to say that this is a success. Sure there are some differences and some things are left out. It would be a 60 volume set if they were all included. The movie was so well done I felt like I was inside Rosamunds world once again. The scenery breathtaking and the story as richly told. My hats off to this video!

I have not read Pilcher's book but I found the movie version of Coming Home excellent. I saw the whole film on WE Entertainment and could not tear myself away. Yes, this movie is surreal and at times hard to believe. But that's why movies are make -believe ! They are supposed to transport us from out hum-drum everyday lives into some place magical. This is a magical movie! Peter O'Toole is wonderful. Emily Mortimer is captivating ! Joanne Lumley shows us that she is more that ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!
I cried and laughed at this movie. And at the end I smiled. That's what I look for in a movie. Something to make me feel good. So buy it. You won't regret it !

I've looked at this a few times over the years but decided not to get it because of the previous bad reviews. I finally picked it up from the library and loved it! I've read all Rosamund Pilcher's novels, many of them several times. I enjoyed this adaptation.

I totally disagree with Kerrville TX USA when she slated Coming Home. It is a fabulous film and I would not be without it in my DVD collection. Since when has any film made been exactly like the book, I personally preferred the film to the book, if it had every single detail in the film as it did in the book you would be sat in front of the tv for hours on end.There is nothing worse than watching a film which goes on and on forever. Anyone who buys it would certainly NOT be wasting their money. Even if they are Rosamunde Pilchers biggest fan I am sure they would still love it if they had any taste.

This adaptation of COMING HOME is absolutely captivating! Though the story is a little different from the novel (in the same way that "Message in a Bottle" differed), I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the series. The cast was brilliant, and the scenery was breathtaking.

A friend of mine in the UK recommended this video to me after it aired there and received rave reviews, and I am stunned American television has not picked it up yet. It should air on Masterpiece Theatre, especially since it was produced by producers of "Rebecca." The quality is as exquisite, if not more so.

If you like period drama, if you are a Pilcher fan, if you are an MPT fan, if you liked Emily Mortimer in the recent Academy Award-nominated film "Elizabeth," or if you are just looking for a wonderful movie for the weekend, THIS IS IT!

The scenery was stunning, the acting quite decent, and the story pure romantic escapism. Still the overall impression was less than impressive. I am not sure whether it is an advantage to have read the book or not. Having read it, I was able to fill in a lot of the details. On the other hand, I was constantly aware of how much was missing. Still, I enjoyed watching it and, although I could have found more worthwhile uses for the purchase price, I am not sorry that I acquired the video.

As an advid Rosamund Pilcher fan I was overjoyed to find that Coming Home had been developed into a mini series. However, I was soon disapponted. The cast did a marvelous job of acting and the scenery was breath taking. (Althought the Dower House did seem a bit too grand.) However, the story line was was too adulterated. The screenwriters would have been far better off to develop a longer series and keep many of the characters that we loved in the novel and give more depth to the characters. Judith and Loveday often came across as shallow and we know that this was not the case. To paraphrase a previous reviewer, I wish I would have saved my money.

I haven't read the novel, Coming Home, nor any of Pilcher's work, so I can't compare the film to the book. Having read the other viewers' reviews, I gather that true Pilcher novel fans might be disappointed in the film. For others, who just want an entertaining few hours, this might do well. I picked it up because Peter O'Toole's face was on the cover and I figured he wouldn't be a part of anything that was too bad.

The story covers a period in the life of a young girl, Judith Dunbar, as she enters boarding school in England when her mother and sister go to Singapore to join her father. It is in the years leading up to WWII. (In the early scenes she is played by the radiantly gorgeous young Keira Knightly.) At school she becomes best friends with Loveday Carey-Lewis, a spirited girl from a fabulously wealthy family in Cornwall. She spends most of her holidays with this family and they take her in as one of their own. We are treated to magnificent views of the area and the pleasures of the lifestyle of the privileged. Peter O'Toole plays a small role as the father of Loveday but he steals every scene he appears in. It's almost worth sitting through the very long video to see him.
Joanna Lumley is almost his equal as his glamourous, amazing wife.

The story progresses as Judith matures, and faces the problems that beset a young woman. (The transition from Keira Knightly to the much less beautiful Emily Mortimer is a shock, but we soon grow used to her and come to admire her excellent moral qualities, which sort of make up for the lack of luster.) When the war breaks out life changes for everyone and the difficulties become enormous. At one point I wondered how poor Judith could take one more blow, but she shows, as they all do, the amazing quality of staunch fortitude for which the British have become famous. One of the main things I took away from the video was the experience of everyday people during that war. As an American who has not had any first hand experience with war, I am truly humbled to think of what others have endured.

There are some moments which, for me, were overly melodramatic, most notably the suicide. And it seemed that Judith's choice of eventual mate was telegraphed early on in the film so there was no surprise there. (I understand that it was different in the book.)

This is not Shakespeare and if you don't expect King Lear you might be pleasantly surprised by an earnest presentation of a story that contains some interesting characterizations of what could have been real people in an era not that far removed from our time. I enjoyed it.