Customer Reviews

Poldark 1 [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My sister has always raved about the Poldark series that was shown on Masterpiece Theatre in the mid nineteen seventies. When it first became available on video, though it was expensive, she promptly bought the first set of six tapes and has yet to tire of watching them. Knowing how much I love period pieces, she urged me to watch it, telling me that she was sure that I, too, would love it. Well, she was right.

This is a first rate period piece, set in late eighteenth century Cornwall. It focuses on Ross Poldark, scion of a well known Cornish family. He is a member of the established gentry and a gentleman. Having been gone from Cornwall for a time to fight against the colonists, he returns battle scarred only to find that his father has died and left the family estate in ruins and in debt. He also finds that the love of his life, Elizabeth, believing that Ross had been killed in battle, has become engaged to his first cousin, Francis Poldark. He also discovers to his dismay that the upstart but wealthy Warleggan family, for whom Poldark has no love, is trying to buy the Poldark family mine. This mightily upsets Ross, as the Poldarks represent old money and the established gentry, while the Warleggans represent new money and are social upstarts.

As Ross Poldark tries to rebuild his estate and family fortune, he takes in a red headed, feisty, young street urchin who turns out to be a hoyden with the unlikely name of Demelza. Firmly ensconcing herself on the Poldark estate, she helps Poldark rebuild his estate, scrubbing. cleaning, all while falling in love with the brooding Ross, as he moons for Elizabeth and fends off the Warleggans who appear to conspire to ruin Poldark at every turn. A night of passion, however, finally finds Poldark looking at Demelza with new eyes, and his sense of honor compels him to marry her, little knowing that he would be getting the bargain of his life in doing so.

This is the story of Ross Poldark and Demelza, their families and friends, their loves and enemies. It is a story of sweeping proportions and a fine dynastic saga. It is also a story of the intense rivalry between the Poldarks and the Warleggans, a rivalry that would pit the scions of each of these families, Ross Poldark and George Warleggan, in a life long personal battle that nearly destroys them both. Based upon a series of books by Winston Graham, the Poldark series does honor to the author's work.

Robin Ellis is outstanding as the honorable, though brooding, Ross Poldark. When the viewer first sees him, the viewer wonders what on earth all the fuss is about. Within minutes, however, the viewer finds oneself half falling in love with his character. Angharad Rees is delightful as the feisty, impish little red head and is guaranteed to win the heart of every viewer. Robert Bates gives an affecting performance as Poldark's enemy, George Warleggan, a despicable yet, at the same time, curiously touching, individual. Jill Townsend is appropriately cool and aloof as the ever unattainable Elizabeth of Ross' dreams. Richard Morant gives a stellar performance as the kind and compassionate Dr. Enys, a close friend of Ross Poldark. The rest of the supporting cast is also quite strong and contributes to the success of this tale of romance and adventure in the Cornish countryside.

This is a video set well worth having in one's personal collection. Bravo!

The Poldark series is vastly under-rated and in my opinion is easily the best Masterpiece Theatre series ever produced. The time period is 1780's to 1790's set in Cornwall. The scenery is magnificent and the acting is very well accomplished - with social stratification for the period intact. Capt Poldark is returning to Britain after being captured and reported to be killed in the "Colonial Wars" in America. He returns "as if from the dead" to find his former fiance now married to another man, his father dead, and sole inheritor of a family estate in great disrepair.

To make some sort of life is the task set before him. I assume that his experience with the "freedoms" in the colonies has embued him with a certain desire to try to provide a sense of social justice in his dealings with the tenants on his land and others of different social strata.

The whole story is a marvelous window back in time to a previous era in Britain, prior to the Napoleonic Wars. It is truely well worth the price for this series.

This is a wonderful series. I own both Poldark I and Poldark II in VHS. One reviewer from Australia indicates that it is now available on DVD down under. PLEASE release this on DVD in the US -- and hopefully not edited as the VHS edition was.

This excellent series was first broadcast on Masterpiece Theater back in 1975 and is based on the novels by Winston Graham. It plays out much like an 18th Century soap opera. Ross Poldark (Robin Ellis) is the story's central character; after being injured during the Revolutionary War, he returns to his home in England (Cornwall). What he discovers ignites a chain of events that is brilliantly designed to grab and hold the viewer's attention until the very end. You do not need an elaborate understanding of England's history during this time-period to follow or enjoy the Poldark series...it is no more than an countless string of captivating subplots complete with daring rescues and dangerous liaisons, each carefully woven to support but never overshadow the story's crux: a complex, intricate love triangle that would stupefy Pythagoras himself.

Overall, I found the series to be more entertaining than Graham's books, which at times were slow and uninvolving. However, the story does not end with Poldark 2: Graham continues the saga with several more books (including "The Loving Cup," which is currently out of print), but alas, except for "Stranger from the Sea," these were never adapted to the small screen. If nothing else, I suggest you watch the series to get to know Demelza (Angharad Rees), one of the most stunningly beautiful women I have ever seen.

For those of you waiting for the DVD, the first two series are
available but only, it would seem, in PAL format.

Check out http://www.amazon.co.uk

I LOVED this story when I first watched it on PBS in the late 70's. I bought the VHS--but was somewhat disappointed with
editing. A DVD of the original series (no editing) is absolutely necessary! Please!

Poldark is an adaptation of the first four of Winston Graham's novels set in Cornwall in the late eighteenth century. This is a great story of love and loss. Ross Poldark arrives home after years in the British army in the America (How often do we Americans see a redcoat as a hero?) to find his father dead and his beloved Elizabeth engaged to his cousin Francis. Ross endures intense depression, then finds two new loves, his future wife Demelza and his copper mines. He defends both and comes close to losing both in one scheme after another. All the time his unrequited love for Elizabeth hangs over him and his family.

The Poldark story is a good picture of late eighteenth century England as the old gentry, represented by the Poldarks, struggles for control against the up and coming new commercial elite, represented here by the Warleggan family. It is a grand story of romance and adventure.

The story may take place in the 18th centrury, but this is 2004 -- where's the DVD? If it were available on DVD, I'd be buying it right now, instead of writing this reveiw!

I did see the series on television a couple times, and it is great fun! Great character development, and, like the soaps, there are those you love to hate and even some you hate to love.

I couldn't wait any longer for a DVD to be issued and ordered the series on VHS. Although I haven't seen the series on PBS in years, I immediatedly noticed many of the scenes were trimmed. Even though I was happy to see the Poldark saga again, I was disappointed by the editing. The episodes are 1 hour with 2 episodes per tape. The TV network style editing was unwarranted. I hope when Poldark comes out on DVD, there will be no edits.

After waiting for this to come out of DVD, I got tired of waiting and recently purchased it on video. I'm so glad I did! I watched this series in 1975 when it was first broadcast on PBS. I was 13. Unlike some of the other BBC productions of that time, this one holds up amazingly well. It's just as wonderful as I remember. The acting is suberb, the story strong and intriguing and the viewer is never bored. The details aid in geting the feeling of the period. The main thread of the story, along with many of the subplots, will stay with you for a long time. I was amazed at how much of the series I remembered after 25 years! That's staying with you!