Product Details

• Actors: Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Alfred Molina, Neville Phillips, Jim Broadbent
• Directors: Mike Newell
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Italian
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: April 13, 1994
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (223 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302728657
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,065 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This lovely, 1991 adaptation of Elizabeth Von Arnim's novel has a superb cast and a tone so mellow you can feel your pulse get slower. Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson play a pair of unhappily married women who rent an Italian villa for a month, sharing the rent with a crusty Englishwoman (Joan Plowright) and a lonely aristocrat (Polly Walker). Sun, rest, sinking into the green grass for long naps--they all have a soulful effect on the quartet, and then on the men in their lives who make a surprise visit. Mike Newell (Into the West) directs with seeming effortlessness, and it is impossible not to be swayed by the promise of restoration for these burdened characters--or for anyone alive. Wonderful performances all around, including a particularly sensitive one by Alfred Molina and a very funny one by Jim Broadbent. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

215 of 231 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting Film Will Have You Dreaming of Sunny Italy, April 12, 2001

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The movie opens in rain-drenched England as down-hearted and dispirited Lottie Wilkins trudges through her day. An advertisement in the paper promising "Wisteria and Sunshine" at an Italian castle catches her eye. She seeks out another forlorn soul, Rose Arbuthnot, and convinces her to share this villa for the month of April. Because of expenses, they are forced to also take in two strangers to share the load. Joining them will be Mrs. Fisher, an elderly woman who is hoping to remember "better times and better men," and the beautiful Lady Caroline who is tired of the constant attention she receives and longs for a restorative quiet time. When they arrive it is still raining, but at least as one of them so aptly puts it, "This is Italian rain." When morning dawns, the sun comes out and remains with them for the month.

Enchanted with the peace and tranquility of her new surroundings, Lottie longs to share her joy with her husband. When he arrives, Lottie urges Rose to invite her husband as well, but Rose fears that her husband, an author of racy novels under a pen name, will not come. Imagine her surprise when he shows up immediately. Of course, the catch is that he had no idea his wife was there but was hoping to have a dalliance with Lady Caroline.

In the peaceful Italian sun, marriages heal, new love blossoms, and unlikely friendships are born. The movie is light, filled with delicious humor and profound sentiments to stir your heart and soul.

Most enchanting of all may be the beautiful scenes filmed on location in Portofino. This is a great movie for self-medication in the gloom of winter when you want to seek greener pastures or just plain wonderful any day.

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good News, DVD To Be Released Soon!, July 18, 2008

By	Butterfly "Butterfly" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enchanted April (DVD)

Many thanks to another review that provided a contact name and email address. I sent an email to Stuart Snaith many weeks ago, and just received a reply today (18 July 2008) from Liz Hammond. Liz said the problems over film rights have been resolved and the Enchanted April DVD is due to be released as soon as December 2008 or possibly as late as Spring 2009. I trust our long wait is coming to a close.

101 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be Enchanted..., August 8, 2005

By	Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Okinawa, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Mike Newell's film casts a seductive, mesmerizing spell on its audience. I strongly encourage you to see it if you have not.

Josie Lawrence leads a strong cast as Lottie Wilkins, a dowdy London housewife who we meet in the film's first frames trudging through post-WW I London. We meet Alfred Molina as her overbearing husband, Mellersh, who eyes all relationships as potential business opportunities, and sees his wife as not much more than a pet.

Lottie is riding on the bus in the dreary rain one day when she sees an advertisement on the back of the paper for an Italian Castle to be let for the month of April among the "Wisteria and Sunshine". Lottie's life hasn't allowed her much love or friendship, but she decides that she MUST take this April Holiday at San Salvatori. She approaches Rose Arbuthnot, who she barely knows, but has seen looking sad at Church services.

Rose is played by Miranda Richardson in a performance that suggests, if anything, that she has had her happiness even more suppressed than Lottie. Her husband, Arthur, is played by Jim Broadbent in full ruddy-faced glory. Arthur is a hedonistic author who writes pulpy trash novels with names like "Theodocia, the Slave Princess". He also chases after other young women who come closer to meeting his ideal of fun than his pious wife.

Lottie and Rose secure the rent of the villa and decide to advertise for a couple of other ladies to share the expense. Joan Plowright plays Mrs. Fisher, an older lady who grew up bouncing on the knee of the great English Poets of the day. Blundering Lottie asks "Oh, did you know Keats?" a century and a half after Keat's day.

"No", Mrs. Fisher replies with disdain. "And I didn't know Shakespeare or Chaucer either."

Polly Walker is the poster-girl of the group as Lady Caroline Dester, daughter of an extremely rich and aristocratic English Lord. Caroline moves in the most social of circles, but she has grown tired of being around men who paw and grab after her. She just wants a little time to "smooth her feathers".

Michael Kitchen plays George Briggs, the owner of the Italian Castle. Mr. Briggs is something of a mystery, as it appears that he is a wealthy English businessman, but he is also a gifted musician in addition to owning an Italian Castle, complete with a full staff. He is extremely short-sighted and doesn't bother to keep his immediate surroundings tidy. His few scenes are among the best of the movie.

These 4 ladies converge upon the Italian Castle and there... magic happens. I could go into detail, but I'd spoil you the pleasure of finding out for yourself. There are several times when the plot throws a wrench into the works, and in a different, lesser story, the movie would have degenerated into hysterical "drama". The way this film reveals and resolves these confrontations is like.... a breath of fresh Italian breeze through the Wisteria. I would ask only that you consider the shots of the moon in the penultimate scene - consider what the size and location of the moon means with regard to the tone of what is happening in the scene in the foreground. It is delightful.

If you can watch "Enchanted April" and not be charmed I feel truly sorry for you. It is on my very short list of very favorite films.

It is inexcusable that such a fine, recent release is not available on dvd.