Customer Reviews

Moll Flanders (2pc) (Mobile Masterpiece Theatre) [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the BBC/Masterpiece version of MOLL FLANDERS (most recent version) and definitely a film to buy if you are fond of English literature adapted for film. This is a long film 3 hours and 40 minutes, and was shown over several nights on our local PBS station. I own the DVD and it is excellent. The costumes, settings, etc. are fabulous and accurate and comparable to other Masterpiece dramas on DVD such as the recently released WIVES AND DAUGHTERS.

Moll Flanders (played by Alex Kingston) was an incredibly resourceful woman. Daniel Defoe (author of ROBINSON CRUSOE, 1719) wrote Moll Flanders and in some respects Moll is a mirror-twin to Robinson. While Robinson battled nature Moll battled civilization. Civilization in late 16th-early 17th Century England was ragged around the edges. We hear much about slavery during this period, but life for the ordinary working-class male and female was just as ugly. Through Moll we learn just how ugly life could be and what it meant to survive, especially for those not "To the Manor Born" and in some cases those who were. Poverty, illness, sexism, seduction, rape, murder--Moll sees it all. In spite of all this, Moll has her moments of gracious living, so you won't be watching a poor tattered Moll during the whole film. Moll is elegantly dressed most of the time, and the settings for the action in this film include everything from the finest drawing rooms in Tudor style manors to a plantation house in the English colony of Virginia.

Moll marries five times, and each marriage is perfectly logical, pragmatic, and a choice she makes to survive. Moll turns to the camera in each instance and asks, "What would you do" much as Defoe asked the reader the same question. Her marriages face incredible odds. Her favorite beau Jemmy, played by Daniel Craig (The Ice House), surfaces over and over. Are these two star-crossed lovers or destined to be together? The end will tell.

I like Moll, and though she's been characterized as a "bad girl" I don't think she was at all. Moll took what she was handed and made the best of it. Moll was street smart before the term was invented. More than one of us is descended from someone who faced these incredible odds of survival. Does Moll beat the odds, you'll have to see the film to find out. A special treat--the wonderful Diana Rigg as Mrs. Golightly.

This DVD (The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders) is renamed for a purpose: it is a different edit of the "Moll Flanders" that PBS put on a few years ago. This edit loses at least one scene (the garden scene with Moll and Roland in the strange, circular shrubbery) and some of the narration is either missing or moved. The result is a different product. The time gained by losing a scene (or more) and narration is spent in adding graphic sex scenes for nearly EVERYONE Moll sleeps with (yes, even the disgusting, drunken baronet, but thankfully, his pasty bottom is one of the few that isn't shown in the act). Why this edit adds so many more sex scenes and then does not add any new scenes or retain the old scenes is beyond my understanding. This edit results in a less satisfying story.
If that were not enough, the music is changed for this version. After a while, you can get used to it, but it is a much sweeter soundtrack and often doesn't seem to go that well with the scene as a result.
Don't buy this version if you watched it on TV and loved it.

This performance of Moll Flanders is an excellent show. When this was released there was a theatrical release with Robin Wright playing simultaneously. This one is by far the superior. It tells the whole story. Diana Rigg is excellent as her long lost mother in later years. The DVD includes Russell Baker's commentary from the telecast which is unusual for a pre-recorded Masterpiece Theatre, but far be it from me to complain. Grab it while you can. UPDATE: 8/4/2007: The 2 disc copy (not THIS one) has been edited, see my separate review on that one. Also, this program is what TV rates as TV MA (Mature Audience, small screen equivalent of NC 17) do NOT let anyone under 17 watch it.

I watched the miniseries when it came on PBS and I was excited when it came on DVD but have been disappointed. Several scenes have been omitted from the DVD version including Roland's first romantic overture to Moll in a beautiful circlular garden, and when she finds herself spiraling into wickedness she prays to God for help and then turns to the camera and says "do you think He helped me, has He ever helped you?" They're small omissions but I considered them important and with no subtitles of any kind, I can't recommend this edition and regret buying it myself instead of seeking out the PBS version.

I saw this version of Moll Flanders for the first time this past spring on PBS. I assumed it was going to be some sort of stuffy Masterpiece Theatre-type production, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was anything but. This saucy, fun film had me riveted to the tv screen the entire time-I don't think there was a single boring moment throughout.

Alex Kingston brings strength and integrity to the role of Moll Flanders. In this adaptation, Moll is seen not only as a character, but as a living, breathing person. As the story progresses, you get to see what's going on inside Moll's head when she turns to the camera and talks directly to the audience. This type of perspective is usally only found in books, and then only the best of books. What a refressing change to be included in the story line and not be just a spectator. As for the story, it's a heart-tearing tale of a girl born in a jail, raised by a mayor as "almost" one of his own. The story line follows with Moll first finding then losing, then finding her fortune. This is one of the greatest versions yet. Thanks, Alex.

I have seen this movie many times. I own a VHS copy of it, however, I do want this new, special edition DVD. Alex Kingston performs superbly as the lead performance of Moll Flanders: our sexy, lusty and resourceful heroine. She is a woman who grows up with a strong passion for sexual enjoyment, looking for the best and richest of all men. When she marries them, she serves them with sexual pleasures. Usually, her husbands die, so she is left with their fortune. Daniel Craig is Moll's greatest love, Jemmy Seagrave. Originally, she meant to do the same thing with him: gain power and become a grand gentlewoman. However, as Moll says in the finished film, "Jemmy spoke to my heart, and to other parts too." There are many sex scenes in this BBC film, and many people call them repetitive. However, if you watch the movie, and listen to Moll when she turns to the camera and speaks to you, you will find that the sexual interaction only adds to the personal nature of the film. There is one thing I want to know about this special edition DVD set. The following is my question: does this edition of the BBC film include the extra sequences like in the UK video release? I saw this Moll Flanders on PBS and there was some scenes I didn't see after buying it on video. I really wish somebody would tell me if those scenes are on this DVD... One of these extra sequences is a shot of Jemmy and Moll on their wedding night of Jemmy kissing Moll's breasts. On the VHS version I own, this breast-kissing shot is replaced with a shot of Moll holding up her arm and then Jemmy running his hand down it and holding her breasts. I really prefer the breast-kissing as it was the shot I originally saw when I first saw this film. Someone tell me if that is on this DVD!!
Overall, this movie is probably one of my favourite movies of all time. Every genre comes together to make a mastepiece! Every frame is amazing! Not a single scene is boring! A real treat for all!

....well if it were made then then I wouldn't have been able to see it so it might just be a bit more recent than that. Alex Kingston is superb as fiesty, earthy Moll a wily woman-of-the-world who is determined to get a secure and revered place in 19th century London society after having been born in Newgate prison to a convict and then having endured an impoverished an insecure childhood. She brings warmth, charm and a very real sense of tragedy and likeabilty to the part and makes it very much her own. Despite being an opportunist, thief, bigamist (and an incestuous one at that) and liar who abandons all six of her children, you can't help but root for her and follow her journey through life with interest and sympathy. And she gets terrific support from a good cast who certainly get into the spirit of this bawdy romp. It is a bit ITV-ish so there is a sense of brashness and commercialism which spoils it a bit (on the whole it comes across has having an air of tackiness about it) but overall it is good fun and nicely done with some interesting interpretations which fit in surprisingly well.

Based on a true story.

ITV is an independent British television channel.

I'll go into this review assuming you know the story of Moll Flanders, all right? That saves me time for my soap boxing climbing which is coming up in a moment. Moll Flanders is among my favorite books of all. (If you don't believe me, check out my review of it.) Purists might object that this 1996 film version strays a bit from the original, but as is the case in some other rare instances (the 1991 motion picture version of The Last of the Mohicans, for instance) it actually enhances the tale in so doing therefore the sacrifice of authenticity is more or less worth it. What is shocking about this production, which aired on PBS's Masterpiece Theater back in the `90's, is the extent to which the filmmakers chose to focus less on Moll as a survivor against all odds and more on those erotic elements left understated by Defoe. Here by my estimate perhaps one in four scenes in the movie contain both nudity and sex: sometimes downright raunchy, rutting-like-beasts-in-heat sort of sex, too. It blows my mind how back in those happier days of the 1990's, before that dictatorial anachronism that is the FCC was quite so draconian about flexing its Puritanical muscle, this version of Moll Flanders actually aired in prime time. As I said up there in my title: WOW! Don't see the Robin Wright Penn adaptation that misguidedly sets this story in the 1700's instead of the 1600's, see this one. Or better yet, read the book. It's truly great literature.

This is a doulbe cassette video that gets a repeat performance often in my home, and any excuse to view it again is a good one! Not for the faint of heart; romantic, spicy, sassy, sultry, and in the British/PBS fashion still respectable enough to watch in the company of others. My mother, my sister, and other friends coming in from out of town have all enjoyed the laughter, twists, turns, and painful moments of Moll as portrayed by a marvelous actor, Alex Kingston. It is the best version of Moll Flanders available by far, and a great way to spend a rainy night. What would you do? A mischevious film that still brings a smile to my face at the thought of viewing it again.