Customer Reviews

The Round Tower [Region 2]

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

 

 

"The Round Tower" is one of the best Catherine Cookson adaptations ever! It is lush, well-acted, romantic and a must for any Cookson or British drama fan. The story centers around young, strong-willed, wealthy Vanessa Ratcliffe (Emilia Fox - "Pride & Prejudice," "Rebecca") and ambitious, handsome, poor Angus Cotton (Ben Miles). Both are good friends, despite objections from her snobbish parents. When Angus is wrongly accused in Vanessa's pregnancy, the turn of events brings them closer together but later threaten to break them apart. This addresses such themes as ambition, class conflict and prejudices, personal vs. familial responsibility, and love. A touching, sweet love story! I loved every minute of it!

I have always loved Catherine Cookson, and The Round Tower is my all time favorite of her books. I was so happy to discover that it had been made into a movie. Emilia Fox is wonderful in the role of Vanessa. Although Ben Miles doesn't physically resemble the character of the book, he still made a wonderful Angus. Also good were Jill Halfpenny as Rosie, Keith Barron as Jonathan Ratcliffe, and Jan Harvey as Jane Ratcliffe. Isabelle Amyes makes a wonderfully bitchy Irene Brett (just as I pictured her), and Catherine Terris was also perfect as Emily Cotton. If you are a fan of Catherine Cookson, you'll probably like this movie. My neighbor has borrowed it 3 times already :)

I am a fan of Cookson's stories, which involve character-driven plots and generally uplifting sagas, something hard to come by in movies today. The Round Tower is probably my favorite of all of hers (and I own them all). Its story of the unhappy little rich girl and the hardscrabble but able hero who ultimately rescues her (and vice versa)is nothing we haven't encountered before in one form or another but it is well written and well acted and presents a reasonably accurate picture of the British class system and the contrast between the lives of the haves and have-nots. Emelia Fox and Ben Miles are particularly good as the central couple and have gone on to greater fame in such things as "Coupling"(Miles) and "Rebecca"(Fox). The supporting cast are also excellent and the setting gives the story a feeling of reality. In all, if you like the old novels of struggle, romance and surmounting the odds, you will like this. If you need violence, car chases and mayhem, forget it.

I was able to play the Part 1 just fine. However Part 2 would not play and even unraveled inside my VCR. The case was also cracked and the box did not look new. I have sent back the video but as yet I have not received a refund. Linda Hodson

This movie is lacking in many ways and the price is far above a two star rate movie, as far as I am concerned. Some may like the movie more than I and think the price is worthly. It could have been better directed and the actors did well with their parts. It lacked in many directions and I am sorry I bought it based on the high reviews it received. Maybe I expect more. Sorry to anyone who rated this movie so highly, but I do not consider it worth paying the price to have in my library of movies.