Product Details

• Actors: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Joanna Lumley, Ursula Howells, John Light
• Directors: Paul Seed
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: E1 Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PCNZF4
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,904 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "A Rather English Marriage" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The best part of ex-Royal Air Force squadron leader Reggie Cunningham-Jarvis's life was obviously World War II (just ask anyone at his local pub), when he and his comrades won the Battle of Britain from the cockpits of Spitfire fighter planes. After that, Reggie (Albert Finney) married into money and didn't do much else for the next 40 or so years, except turn into his own, blustering idea of a pillar of English resoluteness. Meanwhile, a fellow veteran, Roy Southgate (Tom Courtenay), who saw the war from the ground, spent his productive years quietly as a milkman, devoted husband, and tragically failed father. When the wives of each of these men die on the same day in the same hospital room, an unlikely bond is established, leading to an experiment in shared housing with a spurious yet, for Reggie and Roy, somehow comforting class division between them. This very rewarding British comedy-drama, based on a novel by Angela Lambert, is rich in character, beautifully crafted dialogue, and vital performances from two of the finest actors in the world. Just to gild the lily, Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous) is cast as one of the most sympathetic gold diggers in film history, but the real hook here for movie fans is the reuniting of Finney and Courtenay in roles not terribly dissimilar to those they played in the 1983 hit The Dresser. Not just for Anglophiles, A Rather English Marriage is a touching, vigorous delight. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

As seen on Masterpiece Theatre – Based on the novel by Angela Lambert

Winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Television Drama, this bittersweet tale of class and friendship stars Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay as two recently-widowed men coming to terms with the deaths of their wives. Skillfully adapted by Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Brideshead Revisited), this sharply-written drama is highlighted by the effortless chemistry of its outstanding ensemble cast.

After Reggie Conyngham-Jervis (Finney), a wealthy ex-fighter pilot, and Roy Southgate (Courtenay), a retired milkman, are both widowed on the same night, the “odd couple” decide to overlook their differences and move in together. At first the two become friends, until their unlikely relationship is threatened by the arrival of Liz Franks (Joanna Lumley), an alluring woman with a hidden agenda.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The classiest TV movie in years., November 16, 1999

By	M.Taylor (the United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rather English Marriage [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's easy to see why this movie won several TV British Academy Awards (BAFTAs). The acting is superb from all the actors (even down to the bit players), the music is superb, and the writing and direction are first-rate. The ending is also the best in any movie I have ever seen, and comes round too soon. For me, the story is about the relationship between two heterosexual men following the death of their wives - and how they both come to terms with their bereavement. Tom Courtney's Southgate (which won him the Best Actor BAFTA award) grieves immediately after his wife dies. However, Albert Finney's multi-layered Sgt.Major (also nominated for the Best Actor BAFTA) takes longer to come to terms with his life and loss. If you want to see the Best of British, this movie is one of those surprising little gems that only come around so often.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little gem of a film, July 18, 2001

By	MegaMegaWhiteThing! (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Rather English Marriage [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A story of two RAF World War II veterans who lost their wives in the same hospital on the same day, the film hatches into a work of reminiscence, mourning, moving on, deceit, and edges into a seemingly teasing plot of "what goes around comes around." Womanizing Squadron Leader Reggie invites the prudish and submissive Southgate to take over domestic duties and become a companion at the encouragement of a very sweet social worker. Whether dealing with the golddigging Joanna Lumley (remember Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous?) or coming to terms with a son's misery in prison, this film, while having low points, ends in a sweet, cheerful, and innocent manner. I definitely recommend it, and to think, I just found it by accident on a library shelf.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Movie, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rather English Marriage [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A Rather English Marriage was truly one of the best movies that I have seen in a while. Joanna Lumley is terrific as Liz and is absolutely effervescent. Without giving the entire story away, the plot was basically about 2 older men who come together after their wives die. Then a woman comes into the life of Sgt. Major and her motives are questioned. Not that the ending was disappointing, but I was just personally disappointed because the ending wasn't as , well...happy as it could have been. Oh well, C'est La Vie!