Product Details

• Actors: Eric Porter, Margaret Tyzack, Nyree Dawn Porter, June Barry, Kenneth More
• Directors: James Cellan Jones
• Writers: Lennox Phillips
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 6
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: January 14, 2003
• Run Time: 603 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000714F7
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,583 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #88 in	Video > Classics > Classic TV
  #93 in	Video > Boxed Sets > Television

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This first half of the 1967 original, 26-episode British television series (which aired on PBS two years later and inspired the creation of Masterpiece Theatre) is both literary soap opera and sprawling, Dickensian tale of love, money, and destiny fatefully intertwined. Set in the late Victorian era, the early chapters of The Forsyte Saga (based on several works by John Galsworthy) merrily buzz with a large and hopelessly confusing roster of Forsyte kin, most creaking with age and cackling ridiculously over family gossip. As these elders pass on, a core cast including Eric Porter as Soames, an acquisitive "man of property," Nyree Dawn Porter as the ethereal Irene, and Kenneth More as Jolyon--the family's artistic black sheep--becomes our key players, wrestling with their definitions of "value" (i.e., that which can be measured versus that which can't), procreating, and stumbling in the dark for happiness. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
The miniseries that started in all! In 1969, a internationally-acclaimed BBC show began airing on the fledgling public broadcasting network. The Forsyte Saga, in telling the remarkable story of a nouveau riche English family, introduced America to a new kind of TV. Millions of Americans devoted the next half-year of their lives to following the frank treatment of all sins, foibles and peccadillos of the Forsytes and their circle. The series was so popular that Masterpiece Theatre was created to meet the new demand for great literary adaptations. With a cast of 150, 2000 separate costumes and over 100 sets, this sprawling yet intimate saga continues to move, provoke and entrance viewers today. In 1879, Jo Forsyte(Kenneth More) initiates the first rift in the Forsyte clan by leaving his wife to live illicitly with Helene (Lana Morris), who was governess to his daughter. Jo's cousin Soames (Eric Porter) sets his mind to marry Irene (Nyree Dawn Porter), who accepts him only after many refusals. These and other decisions made in the Victorian age will shape the family's destiny for decades to come.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive screen adaptation, March 14, 2003

By	W. Gross "winkg" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Forsyte Saga - The Complete Series (DVD)

Possibly the greatest TV miniseries of all time, it is wonderful that it has been released with great care and pride in this marvelous DVD set.

What sets this particular adaptation apart from others, especially the recent (2002) version, is the outstanding ensemble acting and rich characterizations. For example, as Soames, compare Eric Porter's crisp, impeccable diction in this version with Damian Lewis's mushy delivery in the 2002 version. Compare the delightful, comic realization of James (Soames's father), played by John Welsh in 1969, with the indistinguishable-from-all-the-other-Forsytes character in 2002. Most compelling, compare Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene in 1969, with... well, there really is no comparison here.

Of course, visually, this version suffers compared to last year's. It's shot in black and white, mostly on stage sets. Clearly, they used very few takes (another tribute to the actors), as minor defects like coats falling off racks, cameras getting bumped, slightly muffed lines are retained. But, really, who cares when you're watching the finest combination of acting and screenwriting ever put on TV?

This DVD not only contains the entire set of 26 fifty-minute episodes, but also additional material: cast interviews, behind-the-scenes, even deleted scenes and outtakes. Altogether, a beautiful job.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TV Serial that is High Art, November 15, 2005

By	John Austin "[e-mail]" (Kangaroo Ground, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Forsyte Saga - The Complete Series (DVD)

Now available on 7 DVDs, comprising all 26 episodes plus several hours of additional features, this most celebrated and splendid of BBC TV serials was the brainchild of adapter and producer Donald Wilson. Its world-wide success is known to all, but some might not be aware of the following: -

Donald Wilson was denied funds to produce it for ten years. Had there been a delay of a further year the series would have been filmed in colour, as he wished, rather than black and white.

The first of the John Galsworthy novels on which the series is based contains almost no dialogue. BBC script writers supplied the dialogue that helped make the ten siblings in the eldest Forsyte generation so memorable.

Galsworthy intended the Forsytes to represent the rapaciousness, greed and snobbery of the English upper middle class. In this adaptation they are much more endearing.

Being filmed in black and white made it possible to interpolate archival film of Queen Victoria's funeral procession and of combat scenes from WW1.

Joseph O'Conor who plays the part of Old Jolyon was two years younger than Kenneth More who plays his son.

Eric Porter and Margaret Tyzack, who play Soames Forsyte and his sister Winifred, are in each episode and are required to age almost 50 years.

Although never credited, the music that opens and closes each episode is the first movement, "Halcyon Days", from the suite "The Three Elizabeths" written in the early 1940s by Eric Coates.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Caution about The Caution, December 31, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Forsyte Saga - The Complete Series (DVD)

There is a major factual error in the review written by A Viewer in Arlington VA which may result in confusion to persons wishing to purchase this DVD.

This DVD series includes all 26 episodes of the original version of The Forsyte Saga, and runs approximately 21.75 hours. I believe the technical information concerning a runtime of approximately 660 minutes listed by Amazon.com is incorrect, leading to the confusion by A Viewer in Arlington VA.

With the help of a friend I checked numerous other sites offering the same DVD for sale, including the BBC which produced the series, and all sites stated this was the complete 26-episode version, with a running time as I stated above.

I write this only to clear up any confusion that might occur as a result of both the improper run time listed by Amazon.com, and the incorrect review that resulted from that incorrect information.