Product Details

• Actors: Geraldine Somerville, Elizabeth McGovern, Janet McTeer, Jenny Howe, Christopher Malcolm
• Directors: Clare Beavan
• Writers: Amy Jenkins, Margaret Forster
• Producers: Kim Thomas
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: May 27, 2008
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001451HVG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,053 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Daphne" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

DAPHNE - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Romancer, September 10, 2008

By 

Jay Dickson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Daphne (DVD)

Daphne du Maurier provided nothing if not great stories, both in her novels (which continue to be underappreciated for their intelligence and subtleties, particularly in the United States) and in her tumultuous life. The adored second child of the great man of the theatre Gerald du Maurier, Daphne internalized her father's homophobia and spent most of her life tormented by her yearnings for women and by her sense of herself as a "boy in a box"; though married to "Tommy" browning with whom she raised three adored children at the great Cornish house she rented for much of her life, Menabilly, she was distracted by the parts of herself that did not fit so neatly into that life.

This beautifully produced BBC drama covers Du Maurier's life from after the Second World War, when her husband returned home from service, to the early 1950s, and involves three of the major relationships of her life: her relationship with her husband (at this point strained and devoid of physical passion); her unrequired love for her friend Ellen Doubleday, the socialite wife of her American publisher; and her most sexually satisfying relationship with the great actress Gertrude Lawrence. The sets and the lighting for this sumptuously mounted production are first-rate, as is the actress playing Du Maurier, Geraldine Somerville, who brings much nuance and intelligence to the part. But Somerville is let down here both by the screenplay and by her co-stars. The story here emphasizes the somewhat crankier parts of Du Maurier, including her sense of being constantly besieged by her fans (which here makes her seem a bit of an ingrate) and her particular frustration at only being known for writing REBECCA. But the screenwriters and producers only have her friends and Daphne herself ever mention REBECCA among all of her novels she had written up to this point (they apparently didn't trust their audience would remember even FRENCHMAN'S CREEK or JAMAICA INN), and since Daphne seems to be constantly comparing people and events in her life to those in REBECCA she seems something of a hypocrite rather than just at odds with herself (as the real Du Maurier was). Worse, Elizabeth McGovern and Janet McTeer seem quite miscast as Du Maurier's two new loves, Ellen Doubleday and Gertrude Lawrence (respectively). McGovern seems much too frivolous and ditsy to play Doubleday, given that Du Maurier here sees her friend as a dazzling and glamorous figure comparable to Rebecca de Winter herself; and while McTeer can bring off the coarser aspects of Lawrence well enough, and even her frustrated disappointments in Du Maurier, she fails to make us see why this woman would have been seen as the most charismatic and sophisticated woman in the British theatre in her day. You feel as if the whole undertaking doesn't quite live up to what it could have been, or capture your attention and your sympathies in the way Du Maurier's story deserves.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The secret love life of Daphne du Maurier based on personal letters, June 5, 2008

By 

Petra Camilla "Petra" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Daphne (DVD)

In this BBC biopic, Daphne's secret love life is explored, who is the author
of Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, and many more popular beloved novels. She is one
of the best-loved writers of all time. The film is based on personal letters
and various biographies. Daphne calls herself "a boy in a box" and this
revealing drama shows how her incendiary love life informed her writing. The
film charts the story of Daphne's unrequited passion for the beautiful, wealthy
and glamorous American heiress Ellen Doubleday, and how the play she wrote
about this forbidden desire led her to a life-changing love affair with the
irreverent, fun loving actress Gertrude Lawrence. Gertrude is played by
Janet McTeer, a British Actor who has become well known in America, and
is known for her ease of playing characters so diverse in her films,
sometimes she is completely unrecognizable from film to film. The movie
has a magnificent cast, with the setting in the 1940's and 1950's.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Geraldine Somerville plays the role perfectly, September 4, 2011

By 

Nancy Abrams "nanhum" (california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Daphne (DVD)

This BBC drama which is luscious in its sets, costumes and compelling soundtrack of period music, begins when Du Maurier's husband Tommy returns from the war. They have three children, one away at boarding school. The relationship is strained and unsatisfying for both, when he returns. But this is just the backdrop for the story of her unrequited love for her friend Ellen Doubleday, the socialite wife of her American publisher whom she meets on the ship taking her to New York for the trial when she is sued by another writer for plagiarism (she prevails). Upon first site of Ellen, Daphne falls, hopelessly, wordlessly in love and the relationship that develops turns her life upside down. She later meets the Broadway actress, Gertrude Lawrence at a party at the Doubledays' home where she is put off by her coarse manner. Later, when she is cast in a role in Du Murier's play, Daphne is not happy, saying she is all wrong, calling her "a dyed haired tart", but later acknowledges Lawrence's great acting in the play. I found McTeer's portrayal of Lawrence so over the top it put me off --particularly in their intimate scenes, and cannot imagine what about her would attract Daphne despite her sweet efforts at courtship. The relationship develops into a sexual one which holds a special place for Daphne but she never gets over her love for Ellen. Geraldine Somerville, the Irish actress, brings a sad vulnerability to the part which brings the viewer into the torment Du Maureir is going through. Not just through the unrequited love but her conflict over her sexuality, informed by the times and her upbringing. She cannot bear to use the term lesbian and refuses to call herself such, but uses the euphemism Venetian. Watch how Somerville uses her hands--her fingers--to help us understand the emotions she is going through; how she struggles with her emotions as seen in her eyes. Frankly, I have rarely seen such a compelling performance. I do think that both Ellen and "Gertie" were miscast--or at least misplayed. Ellen Doubleday by Elizabeth McGovern--was she really so saucy? Is this coquette the sort of woman Du Maurier was so drawn to? A serious Du Maurier, it is hard to imagine. But more wrong was Janet McTeer's Gertrude Lawrence, as mentioned. But the costumes (I particularly loved the "butch" outfits worn by Somerville),the sets, the music, a story line that moves us along to the end of the story which is the writing of her book "My Cousin Rachel" -- and most of all, Somerville's compelling performance makes me love this film in spite of its casting flaws. I watched it three times in three days--something I never do--but there is much there to draw you to it.