Product Details

• Actors: Helen Mirren, Iain Cuthbertson, John Kavanagh, Lorelei King, Michael Maloney
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: February 24, 2009
• Run Time: 198 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001JXPC6O
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,257 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Helen Mirren fans will delight in this 1997 Brit-mystery TV film (originally a miniseries) that reportedly was written expressly for her by its writer, Allan Cubitt. Painted Lady equal parts a character study of a remarkable woman (faded blues singer Maggie Sheridan, played by Mirren) and an enthralling murder mystery involving the European art underworld. And a grisly world that is. Mirren’s reclusive Sheridan has taken up residence at the grand Irish estate of her friend Sir Charles Stafford and his troubled son, Sebastian (Iain Glen), and seems content to make her music for a much smaller audience than in her heyday--a handsome young boy toy who may or may not have ulterior motives. When Sir Charles is murdered, Maggie is compelled to help track him down, which means donning a disguise as a wealthy art patron trolling through the art underground looking for a painting stolen at the time of the slaying. Mirren is as deft at playing Maggie the talented almost-has-been singer as she is a fired-up but naïve private investigator. Maggie has none of the street smarts of Mirren’s Prime Suspect character, Jane Tennison--but there’s a steely determination the characters share. Painted Lady is a gripping crime thriller starring one of the best actresses ever. Fancy that? --A.T. Hurley

Product Description

As seen on Masterpiece Theatre

Semi-retired, with wine glass in one hand and cigarette in the other, former ’60s rock singer Maggie Sheridan (Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect, The Queen) seems resigned to life on a crumbling country estate, ruminating about her past. But everything changes when a botched robbery leaves her friend Sir Charles Stafford dead and one of his prized paintings missing. Determined to retrieve the masterpiece and find the killer, Maggie plunges into the murky underworld of the art trade. Posing as a wealthy Polish countess, she sets off on a treacherous path from Ireland to London to New York and back again. Meanwhile, Sir Charles’s troubled son, Sebastian, embarks on his own path of discovery. Where the two trails meet, life begins to imitate art to deadly effect.

Oscar®-winner Helen Mirren delivers a tour-de-force performance with strong supporting turns by Iain Glen (Adam Bede), Lesley Manville (All or Nothing), Michael Maloney (Truly Madly Deeply), and Franco Nero (Camelot).

DVD FEATURE INCLUDES biography of Helen Mirren.

Nudity and sexual situations

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Likely a 4 1/2 or 5 for avid mystery fans., February 11, 2009

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Painted Lady (DVD)

"Painted Lady" is 100% unpredictable. This one is impossible to get to the root of (solve) the mystery till the very end, so don't cheat yourself and skip immediately to the last scene selection. The facts behind who-dun-it and the ever changing mystery of why, are what makes this movie. That is why the Chicago Tribune labeled it "Deliciously Complex." That it is. For 190 minutes of its 198 minute length, you'll constantly wonder who or why.

Helen Mirren, is wonderful, in and out of her clothing. Her character, ex-singer Maggie Sheridan, seems to make friends with many, but it is the murder of Sir Charles, whom Maggie considered "like a father", that sets her on the hunt for the killer. And a search for a lost painting. The mystery becomes a tapestry of clues related to drugs, homosexual activity, murder, art trade (legal and illegal), and robbery. Maggie uses anyone and everyone in her quest. All she seems to find are more questions. She uses anyone, legal or illegal, man or woman, crook or cop, enemies and family, in her search for answers. She uses her own created alias of an art-loving rich countess. Her sister helps her learn a bit of art history, but just enough to get herself into many fixes.

The movie does get a little graphic in places, so it's not for the squeamish or the kiddies. Nothing like an attackers brains being blown across her pretty face to wake up Maggie to more danger. In Maggie's effort to help Sir Charles' son with his financial woes, he gets strung up clad only in his briefs, then used for crossbow target practice. Well, get the picture? This British mystery, unrated, is NOT G. The cover includes a splat and run of blood in the upper right corner--there's a reason for that.

Extras include subtitles although even though most of the activity takes place in England, it is easy to understand, not strong accent. Helen Mirren also has a written bio to read and a huge list of credits to her career.

Painted Lady is more than just a robbery gone bad ending in a murder. It is about the mysterious discoveries of a half dozen or more characters involved with the mishap. Each new discovery leads to who? what? when? where? and why?

Well, I tried to leave you a warning for those needing it related to nudity, blood, and sexual situations. But, also I'd encourage mystery fans. Bet you won't solve it any faster than Maggie did.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aging rock star becomes detective, September 11, 2009

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Painted Lady (DVD)

Helen Mirren's arguably one of the best actresses today. Who else could make Britain's Queen come to life on the screen with dignity and grace?

In Masterpiece Theatre's "Painted Lady," she plays Maggie Sheridan, an aging rock star who's taken shelter in the guest house of a family friend and father figure. When he's murdered over a painting, she goes undercover to solve the crime.

This is an intricate mystery that takes some deliciously unpredictable turns before the story comes to its conclusion. Definitely not a film you will want to see uninterrupted, you do not want to miss a thread or you will be lost.

Warning -- this is not family fare. You have nudity, gore, and some torture depicted in this film. "Painted Lady" is definitely an art treasure on its own, well worth watching and owning.

Rebecca Kyle, September 2009

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She Enjoys Painting the Town Red, February 13, 2009

By 

Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Painted Lady (DVD)

"Painted Lady," is a British mystery/crime thriller/drama, made as a television mini-series by Granada for the United Kingdom's associated independent television stations (ITV). It was shown here on the Public Broadcasting System's "Masterpiece Theatre" in 1998 and 2000. It stars Oscar, Emmy-winning, and highly-admired actress Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect - Complete Collection (10 Disc Set) ; The Queen), in a part that might have been written for her, and probably was, by the talented Allen Cubitt(Prime Suspect 2). It was helmed by the equally-talented Julian Jarrold (Brideshead Revisited; Becoming Jane). And Mirren herself, who undoubtedly had quite a lot to do with this production, takes an Associate Producer credit on it; as does Rebecca Eaton, of Boston Station WGBH, "Masterpiece Theatre's"long-time Executive Producer. It's a two-part series that runs approximately 198 minutes, and, wonderfully enough, it's got subtitles, too.

Mirren gives every sign of having a ball playing Maggie Sheridan, former 1960's British blues crooner, now semi-retired, living in the lushest green Irish countryside, with wine glass in one hand, cigarette in the other, and boy toy not far. She's got a "diamond" or whatever stud in her nose, and is at ease in her old hippie gear. Until, that is, a robbery goes very wrong,leaving her friend and benefactor Sir Charles Stafford (Ian Cuthbertson,Gorillas in the Mist) dead, one of his most valuable paintings stolen. Maggie wants to find her friend's masterpiece, and his killer, so she insinuates herself into the art trade. She poses as a wealthy Polish countess, and she's off to glamorous auctions, hotels, restaurants, and such, in London and New York. Gone is the hippie gear, in favor of smart suits and signature jewelry. Suspense mounts, particularly after Maggie hooks up again with her close friend, Sir Charles's deeply troubled son Sebastian (Iain Glen, Adam Bede). Other strong supporting turns are contributed by Lesley Manville (All Or Nothing) as her sister Susie Peel; Michael Maloney (Truly Madly Deeply) as her brother-in-law Oliver Peel; Franco Nero (Camelot)as Robert Tassi,an important Italian-American New York art dealer, and John Kavanagh (The Tudors - The Complete First Season), as Michael Longley, an Irish gangland chief. The mystery centers on a real painting by the real 17th century Italian Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman to make a name for herself in the heavily male-dominated art field, and a true feminist hero.

It so happens that once I met friends for a drink in the bar of New York's Algonquin Hotel, a theater district landmark made legendary for the wit of its "Round Table," of carousing writers and performers, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, the Marx Brothers and company; and there was Mirren, enjoying a drink or three, and chatting amiably with her neighbors. She appeared to have been enjoying painting the town red; even as she appears to be enjoying painting a couple of towns red in "Painted Lady." I enjoyed watching her, and expect you will, too.