Product Details

• Actors: Charlotte Coleman, Margery Withers, Tania Rodrigues, Ken Kitson, James Duggan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 165 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WGBC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #377,712 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars oranges are not the only fruit, February 14, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first saw this movie years ago in the early 90s when I happened to be up late one night channel-surfing. PBS aired the film from 12-3am, undoubtedly due to its homosexual content. Little did I know I was about to view one of the best gay-themed films I have seen to date. Although I am neither a lesbian (although I am gay), nor a product of a fundamentalist Pentecostal upbringing (I was brought up Catholic, "they're the worst" according to Jess' mother!), I strongly believe that any viewer, male or female, gay or straight, religious or secular, can identify with the plight of Jess, the obstinately stubborn and yet valiantly lovable protagonist who finds the self-determination to be true to herself and her God in the midst of the worst sort of persecution and ostracization one can endure- that which comes from those closest to you, your family and community.

Jess, the protagonist, is everyone's hero. She is in fact an ur-hero. She speaks not only to lesbians and gay men who have faced rejection, but to ALL people who have had to find the courage to be who they are and do what they want to do despite the immediate people and circumstances that prevent, forbid, oppress or threaten them from doing so.

The cast displays stellar performances: Geraldine McEwan is unmatched in her portrayal of the zealous Bible-thunping mother. She stabs naked fear and loathing into your heart from the very first scene in which she towers over the 5-year-old Jess and grills her with biblical questions, followed by a smack on the head. Yet somehow you come to respect and admire the fervent tenacity to which she clings to her system of beliefs. Melanie, Jess' first love, is the type of girl you would expect to find in a fairy tale: dripping with innocence and sweet as honey, the perfect poison apple to set up a broken heart. The preacher who leads this flock to which Jess and her mom belong is incredible as a despicable British version of Jimmy Swaggart.

The most striking aspect of the film for me is how the director has woven such teasing, subtle and yet insanely hilarious (British!) humor into a movie that has scenes so painful that it hurts to watch them. Every time I see this movie, I get a little more humor out of it than the previous time, and it makes me love the film all the more, even though it's intent as a whole is certainly not to amuse- that is purely incidental. Yet on second thought, maybe it isn't. Maybe the humor makes us appreciate the somber theme of the movie all the more each time we see it. And we admire Jess all the more, and the ending all the more because of it. It just gets better and better!

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb representation of the book of the same name, April 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video is a collection of the three programmes screened by the BBC which take the larger than life characters form the book and make them flesh. A commanding performance by Charlotte Coleman (Four Weddings and A Funeral) as the teenage Jess, set against a worhty interpretation of her mother by Geraldine McEwan (Robin Hood, Pince of Thieves) make this an essential accompaniment to any fans of the book. Set in a mill town in the North West of England, the young Jess is "begotten" into an Evangelical church family where she is drafted in to join her mother's tag match with the sinners of the world. Her mother's religious fanaticism is unquestioned at first, until Jess hits puberty and falls in love. The discovery of her illicit affair will ring true to anybody who has been involved in a closed community, with a convincing if not sinister portrayal of her church pastor played by Kenneth Cranham (Shine on Harvey Moon). There is a great deal of authentic North West England dialogue which may be difficult for American viewers to understand, the humour is dry and dark and the supporting characters are suitably authentic, including Celia Imrie as Miss Dewsbury. For me the video and the book are less about a young girl falling in love with the wrong sort of person, more about a journey of self discovery and having the courage to change your own destiny. The filming locations and the fashions of the 60's and 70's in England are also wonderfully portrayed, this BBC production won three BAFTA awards for best actress and best serial, and a jammed switchboard when it was screened. "Innovative in style, its humour by turns punchy and tender, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is a fews days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession. It's a love story too." END

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonder and Adventurous Film about Life and Growing Up!, May 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video is a true classic representation about not only life in Northern England but about discovering yourself! It will truly lighten the spirits of anyone who is a nonconformist. The story is beautiful, heartwarming and full of life! The acting is brilliant and the cinematography captures scenes from the North of England that one rarely sees without living there! This is a timeless classic and indeed true to the book of the same tittle!