Product Details

• Actors: Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie, Alex Etel, Deborah Findlay
• Writers: Sue Birtwistle, Susie Conklin
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: May 20, 2008
• Run Time: 291 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00140PK6O
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #757 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #9 in	Movies & TV > Television > Made-for-TV Movies
  #10 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > British Cinema > Drama
  #14 in	Movies & TV > Television > Miniseries

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's 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 (Lisa Dillon), 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

Product Description
The BBC drama series adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

198 of 202 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cranford, March 14, 2008

By	Kendra - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I ordered this from Amazon UK to be able to view this prior to its release date. I was not disappointed! Sadly, I had to watch it by myself because my husband didn't think he'd like it. He would have been wrong, by the way. It was exquisite in every way.

I watched it over 2 nights. It's a 5 hour miniseries and it is broken up into five 1 hour-long episodes.

The first 3 hours were very very good. Excellent, even. But the last 2 hours were absolutely perfect.

In Cranford, we meet many of its residents with most of the focus on 2 spinster sisters and their surrounding friends and relatives. Everyone is kind here and look out for their neighbors and generally want to live correctly and do the right thing. Their village has been like this for ages and the citizens have all known eachother since birth. It is an idyllic place and a happy place. They welcome new residents, too, with every bit of friendliness.

Cranford has existed in the same way for years, even though times are changing. A railroad may come through the town and most residents are against this type of change. For with the positive changes-- such as information, goods, and knowledge, there would also be negative changes-- more transients, less safety, etc.

The intertwined story lines here involve the two sisters, class distinctions, entitlements and expectations, a very funny love triangle, and accepting change and modernity.

One of the best stories involves the young son of a poacher (one who kills animals on others' land). The manager of the aristocrat's large estate takes the young boy under his wing and wants to teach him to read and write. The aristocratic Lady finds out and believes that those of this underclass should not attempt to learn skills outside their "class". Maybe worse, the boy's father finds out of the boy's desire to read and also disapproves. We find out later that the Lady isn't cold-hearted. On the contrary. She's kind-hearted and full of pain, yet it's difficult for her to recognize the times are changing and that some of her ways must change, too.

When a new handsome doctor moves to town, he immediately falls for Sophy. Sophy returns his admiration, yet so do 2 others who misunderstand his general kindness for more romantic intentions. This culminates in expected confusion, but the outcome is happy at the end.

Those watching Cranford from the beginning may take it to be an old-fashioned chick-flick. It's really not, though. It does focus on the women of Cranford more than the men, but the stories depicted cross gender lines. Change-- industrialization-- is the antagonist here, along with fear of change. However, as new medical practices save several lives, and a member of the trade class saves a member of the Upper class, it's also obvious that change, by itself, isn't bad. It can be positive for everyone involved.

This is a fantastic series. The only disappointment was that it was only five hours! I definitely could have watched another few episodes with the same interest these five held. Beautifully acted, filmed, and scored. The entire film was thoroughly enjoyable.

119 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What The Cat Does with the Antique Lace!!!, February 24, 2008

By	C. Stokes "Born an Anglophile" (Louisville, Ky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a wonderful, rich and cozy experience, but you'll have to wait and see what the cat does with the lace. It's the funniest bit I have seen in a BBC film yet! While this film has not been shown on American TV as yet I was lucky enough to stumble across the entire film on youtube where it was shown in 9 minute segments. Its a quiet film with rich and wonderful characters long remembered. I was afraid that Judi Dench would overpower her role but nothing like it. She was perfect in her poignantly sad but joyfully rising role. It's about the town Cranford, that is fearful of changes being brought by the arrival of the railway. No one of course wants the charm of Old English ways to change and one gets very attached to the warm and sad and silly and funny characters in Cranford. Cranford really is a place one wishes to live and to never leave nor have change. I loved it, anglophile that I am, so this is a creation made just for me and I can't wait to own it when it is released. Another beautiful English costume romance by the people who really know how to do it well!! BRAVO!!!

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Cranford, March 19, 2008

By	Sir Robert "Order of the Anglophiles" (TAIWAN) - See all my reviews

"Cranford" is at once a delightful and winning BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's literary works. While lacking the narrative focus of "Wives and Daughters" and "North and South," "Cranford" still comes out to top crest owing largely to a collection of likeable characters played by veteran and other well-known British actors, and also owing to a masterful interweaving of several storylines taken from Mrs. Gaskell's novel "Cranford," and her other smaller works (novellas,) such as "My Lady Ludlow" and "Mr. Harrison's Confessions." What could have been a trite exercise comes out fresh because of these qualities.

At the onset, the bucolic and fictional town of Cranford seems quiet and trapped in a former century. But nothing is ever quiet especially where gossiping ladies are concerned; and no "backward" town can forever stay asleep, not when a proposed railway which will connect it with other busier counties (such as Manchester) is about to disturb the peace and change town life forever. This is the foundation with which the storylines of "Cranford" are set, told in an era where change has been steadily making headways, and the social strata seem to be balancing out.

It should be noted, however, that while "Cranford" imparts to its viewers a sense of things on the verge of change, romance and social satire are still the order of the day. Making up the romantic aspect of "Cranford" are pairs of lovers who are kept apart either by mischief of fate, familial obligations, or class difference. Complementing these are subplots about a sister's longing for a long-lost brother, a mother's longing for an absent son, and silly feminine passions that explode to embarrassing proportions on two occasions. "Cranford" is also replete with satire, as evidenced by its comedy of manners. It spends an amount of its time poking fun at cackling and gossiping ladies. Ultimately, these gossips harm not only their victims, but also the perpetrators themselves, in more ways than one. Other themes of the period are the upper-class bigotry against the education of the lower-class, and also the clinging on to traditions that do no good in the end (as evidenced by Lady Ludlow's decision with regards to a part of her land.) Comparison is also made between the professional attitudes (and aptitudes) of the elder Dr. Morgan and the younger Dr. Harrison.

The descriptions I gave above may mislead you readers to think of "Cranford" as dismal and small. On the contrary, "Cranford" has a big heart, in the way its inhabitants show charity, neighborliness and compassion when called for. "Nothing like this is ever done in London," comments our young Dr. Harrison on the ladies' generosity. Even the prejudiced Lady Ludlow (played by Francesca Annis) takes a good turn when she spoke to the magistrate on behalf of a poacher who was also wrongly accused of assaulting someone in the night. Amidst all these, Dame Judi Dench plays the younger Jenkyn sister and she somewhat embodies Cranford, which is now on the brink of breaking out to the wave of social changes happening in other places. She had lived under the shadow of her loving but stern sister for most of her life, and we always sense in her some wild undercurrent ready to break out of the mold.

Dames Eileen and Judi, playing the two Jenkyn sisters who never married, are truly a joy to watch. It's so nice to see them in bonnets and in more congenial surroundings. See veteran performances in action (I wished that Dame Maggie Smith were also here, I so much adore her as I do Dames Eileen and Judi.) These two formidable actresses aside, who can beat this roster of veteran actors and other well-knowns who took part in the production: Sir Michael Gambon, Francesca Annis, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, Julia McKenzie, Barbara Flynn, Deborah Findlay, Julia Sawalha, and others. The cast is top rate and so are the production values, which have always been the hallmark of the BBC television series enterprise. Fans of BBC's "Wives and Daughters" will not be disappointed with this one.

A point of interest: Hardcore literature buffs may not take kindly to the creative liberties that the filmmakers took with Mrs. Gaskell's works. In the Bonus Features Interview, they admit to changing the fates of certain characters: some died who were supposed to live, and some lived who were supposed to die. And yes, as with "Wives and Daughters" and "North and South," "Cranford" has its own lot of untimely and diseased deaths, in an era where modern medicine was just making early breakthroughs. One particular death scene near the end (where a leg needed to be amputated) might disturb younger viewers.

Speaking during the interview, producer Sue Birtwistle mentioned the possibility of a sequel should "Cranford" do very well. I'd be bold enough to speak in behalf of fans: We certainly hope that a follow-up comes soon. At five episodes, "Cranford" feels like a joyous ride that ended too soon. Fans certainly like to be "BBC-spoiled" now and then. If this were to come true, I hope to see more British veteran actors (particularly Dame Maggie) taking part in Mrs. Gaskell's insightful stories.

*Comes with English subtitles