Customer Reviews

Uncle Vanya (translation by Constance Garnett) [VHS]

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Olivier's Chichester Festival production of Uncle Vanya received outstanding reviews at the time. Harold Hobson of the (London) Sunday Times described it as "the admitted master achievement in British twentieth-century theatre" while the New Yorker called it "probably the best 'Vanya' in English we shall ever see". The black-and-white film made of the production captures much of its quality. The cast featured a number of the big names of British theatre at the time: Oliver himself as Dr. Astrov, Michael Redgrave as Vanya, and so on. There is hardly a weak performance in here, although it is a mystery why Fay Compton, as Vanya's mother, speaks -- alone of the characters -- in a clumsily fake Russian accent. Aside from fine performances by Olivier and Redgrave, the two female leads also make their characters convincing. Olivier's wife Joan Plowright makes us feel for Sonya, and Rosemary Harris makes Elena a more three-dimensional character than the rich bitch ice-maiden of some more recent productions. Image quality may not be up to the best modern standards, but watch it anyway -- for the acting.