Product Details

• Actors: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Daniel Brühl, Freddie Jones, Gregor Henderson-Begg
• Directors: Charles Dance
• Writers: Charles Dance, William J. Locke
• Producers: Charles Dance, Bill Allan, Bill Shephard, Elizabeth Karlsen, Emma Hayter
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: December 6, 2005
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (169 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BITVAG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,912 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #82 in Movies & TV > DVD > Romance
• Learn more about "Ladies in Lavender" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A couple of old Dames make the slender story of Ladies in Lavender surprisingly moving. Janet and Ursula (Maggie Smith and Judi Dench), a pair of elderly sisters living on the Cornish coast, discover a young Polish man named Andrea (Daniel Bruhl, Goodbye Lenin!) washed ashore and barely alive. They nurse him back to health and discover that he's a talented violinist--a fact also recognized by a mysterious young woman (Natascha McElhone, The Truman Show), who may woo Andrea away from them. The core of the movie is not its plot but the skillful and delicate play of emotions underlying how the sisters treat Andrea; Ursula, a spinster, finds herself sliding from maternal affection to an embarrassing but irresistible schoolgirl crush. Ladies in Lavender captures something that few contemporary movies bother to consider: Older men and women are as capable of passion and desire as the young, but the young carelessly (and sometimes cruelly) disregard the old. In the hands of Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris) and Smith (California Suite, Gosford Park)--as well as David Warner (Time After Time) as a bitter doctor--Ladies in Lavender becomes a bit like a violin concerto itself: Discreet and subtle, but finding in the smallest movements a richness of feeling. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Starring Academy Award winners Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, Ladies in Lavender is a heartwarming film about two sisters who find their lives changed by a young man, Andrea, (Daniel Brhl, The Edukators, Good Bye Lenin!) who has been washed ashore and badly injured. Upon taking him in, his presencequietly invokes Ursula's (Dench) abandoned feelings of longing and Janet's (Smith) maternal instincts, while also arousing suspicion and fear in the township during pre-war times in Europe. But throughout Andrea's stay, the two sisters discover his true origins, his talents as a gifted violinist and embark on a journey they had never imagined for themselves.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

172 of 187 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Competition for Love on the English Coast June 24, 2005

By Debbie Lee Wesselmann TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

This quiet British film starring two of Britain's most acclaimed actresses, Dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, is unabashedly a vehicle for these two leading ladies. Janet (Smith) and Ursula (Dench) are two unmarried sisters living on the coast. When one morning after a storm they discover an unconscious young man (Daniel Bruhl) on the rocky shore, their daily rhythms change as each woman develops a crush on the helpless man. Each vies for his complete attention. When Janet is able to finally communicate with Andrea in German (he is Polish), Ursula becomes consumed with jealousy and compensates by pampering him. Both, however, are pushed aside as it turns out that Andrea is a virtuoso violinist (music played by Joshua Bell), and the entire town in drawn to him. Even worse for the sisters, a beautiful visitor, Olga, discovers him as well, drawing him away from Janet and Ursula, into her own world.

Judi Dench is given more to work with than her co-star, and so comes across as the more complicated woman, but Maggie Smith turns in a fine, reserved performance as the more hard-edged sister. Daniel Bruhl is a little awkward in his role; while Natascha McElrone turn in a more memorable performance, though hardly as commanding as Dench and Smith. The cinematography lends affection to the English countryside and coast, and it highlights the isolation of the small town.

This film is slow-moving and carefully articulated, without much happening beyond what is revealed in the actresses' faces. Without Dench and Smith, it would have no appeal, and so should be seen more for the two stars than for the film itself. 3+ stars.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bedazzled by Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Daniel Bruhl! June 1, 2005

By Wing Lee

Ladies In Lavender is a delightful romantic comedy featuring two of England's finest actresses as the leading ladies. This film is going to have a strong following of female audiences over forty, and it's a must see for all Maggie Smith and Judi Dench fans! Also, the captivating landscape of the seashore and the violin score is very pleasing.

Janet(Smith) and Ursula(Dench) are sisters living in a village by the sea, and their peaceful and mundane lives are changed when they rescued a handsome stranger(Andrea/Daniel Bruhl) washed up onto the shore after a severe storm. Ursula instantly had a crush on the foreigner who spoke no English and soon learnd that he was Polish. Janet could speak some German, and communicated to him, while Ursula had to used sign language and eventually taught him some English.

When Andrea gradually recovered from his leg injury, he had the opportunity to play the violin when the sisters invited an amateur violinist friend to visit. Everyone were dazzled to see that Andrea was a great violinist, and his music instantly captured the attention of a travelling Russian artist named Olga(Natascha McElhone) whose brother happens to be a renowned violinist. She became interested in persuading him to leave the village and join his brother so he could launch his music career. The sisters were unprepared for his unannounced departure....

Natascha McElhone is wonderful and looked beautiful as an artist, and she delivered her lines in Polish and English, but she had limited screentime. Mariam Margolyes(Being Julia) was a comic relief as the sisters' housemaid. Daniel Bruhl looks so much like Jake Gyllenhaal. He had some great moments acting with Smith and Dench, and he was gorgeous and mesmerizing in the concert scene. Maggie Smith is great as usual, and she held her own opposite Dench, but the script had Dench doing more of the emotional scenes that was a heartfelt experience. The moment when Maggie Smith held Judi Dench together when she had her breakdown was an emotionally impacting scene.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant, heartwarming, exquisite violin by Joshua Bell May 19, 2005

By Thunderofsilence

I loved this movie! It was so sweet, and so poignant. It reminds me of the saying, "Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." This movie about about 2 old sisters in 1936 Cornwall, England who rescues a young man washed ashore on the beach. They take him into their home and nurse him back to health. One of the sisters falls secretly in love with him. This is an enchanting movie, well directed, well acted, and the music soundtrack is exquisitely orchestrated, especially the violinist, Joshua Bell. I saw the movie twice.