Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4087 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-27
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Colour
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 9
• Running time: 861 minutes

DVD Description
Includes : Caught on a Train, Perfect Strangers, Shooting the Past, The Lost Prince, Friends and Crocodiles, Gideon's Daughter.

Synopsis
This updated box set of Stephen Poliakoff's acclaimed dramas for the BBC includes his work from 2005 and 2006. Titles are "Caught on a Train", "Perfect Strangers", "Shooting the Past", "The Lost Prince", "Friends and Crocodiles" and "Gideon's Daughter".

"The Lost Prince" - Drama telling the little-known story of Prince John, the youngest child of George V and Queen Mary, whose short life spanned one of the more momentous periods in history. Set against the backdrop of unprecedented upheaval in Britain, The Lost Prince tells the very human story of a unique family and an extraordinary boy. Prince John was diagnosed as an epileptic and suffered from autism-like learning difficulties making him unable to participate in public life and as a result he became increasingly isolated from his family.

"Perfect Strangers" - A darkly comic tale of a young man who comes face to face with his huge family - a variety of eccentrics, all of whom are hiding secrets from their pasts. At a family reunion Raymond is presented with a copy of the family tree and is absolutely amazed by the complexity of his family ties.

"Caught on a Train" - Oscar-winning actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft stars as an elderly Austrian woman travelling across Europe by train, who, over the course of one overnight journey, has an unsettling influence on a young Englishman.

"Shooting the Past" - Winner of the Prix Italia, an extraordinary story about a country house on the outskirts of London which houses a unique photographic collection of the last century. Christopher Anderson is a representative of a U.S. corporation who plan on turning the property into a business school. But the staff who have cared for the photographs are determined that the collection should not be broken up and do everything in their power to keep the collection intact.

"Friends and Crocodiles" - Paul Reynolds is a Gatsby-like figure: owner of a magnificent house, a host to great parties, and a collector of interesting people. He persuades Lizzie Thomas, a secretary in a local estate agent's, to come and work for him as his assistant, to bring a little order to the chaos. He inspires her with his enthusiasm and imagination, and frustrates her with his apparent carelessness and destructiveness, which culminates her calling the police as a great party is turned over by local troublemakers, seemingly with Paul's tacit approval. But their paths are destined to cross again and again as Lizzie, with help from some of those she met at Paul's house, rises through the changing landscape of corporate Britain. This is a story of a meaningful and powerful relationship that isn't a love story; it's about those rare people who profoundly influence and shape our lives.

"Gideon's Daughter" - Gideon Warner is a hugely successful public relations consultant to the wealthy, to politicians, to businessmen and rising starlets. Their hair, their clothes, where they go and with who - Gideon advises them on everything. With all his skills, he is the perfect man to package the Millennium celebrations and sell them to the rest of the world. But, disillusioned with the world in which he works and increasingly concerned over the growing distance between him and his daughter, Gideon takes less and less notice of his business, just as clients seem to want him more and more. He clings to his slowly fourishing relationship with Stella - a mother grieving for her dead son - as his world spins further out of control. Only together can they make it stop...

Customer Reviews

Wonderful dramas

Shooting The Past - A country house full of some delightful and memorable characters. They face a fight to keep an amazing photographic collection intact. Like Perfect Strangers, this is all about history and family, and how the past affects us. Compelling.

The Lost Prince - Interesting and poignant drama telling the little-known story of Prince John, the youngest child of George V and Queen Mary. His illnesses mean he is kept away from society. The incredible world events of the time are glimpsed through the eyes of this boy in his hidden world. Sad and riveting.

Perfect Strangers - A rich, affecting and comic story of young man from the suburbs of West London who goes to a huge family reunion (effectively all strangers to him as his father has become estranged from) and meets a variety of eccentrics all with stories to tell. "Every family has three really good stories to tell" and some of these are astonishing yet believable. Gripping and humane, none of the characters are two-dimensional and the drama shows how little we often know about people, and how humanity always has the capacity for change. Some similarities with Shooting the Past - ie how so much can be contained within a photograph but that it just needs explaining. Great acting from Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Skinner, Timothy Spall etc. My favourite.

Caught on a Train - well liked by the critics but I found this a diverting though not gripping story of a young man and an elderly woman on an overnight train journey across Europe. A bit stagey.

Friends And Crocodiles - More affluence and country houses! A charismatic Great Gatsby-type man collects interesting people and has delightful parties. He gets an assistant to organise his chaos. We see their lives changing over the years after the parties end...

Gideon's Daughter - A PR consultant to the rich, famous and influential becomes disillusioned with his life as his daughter drifts away from him. Like Friends and Crocodiles I didn't find this as affecting as some of the earlier works but it's still an interesting study of love, family and relationships.

All in all I think this is an excellent collection of dramas relying on human interaction and relationships (often in adversity) for the thrills, rather than Hollywood-style action. I got this in a sale for a bargain £30 a while back and it was well worth it. In my mind it would have been worth it just for Perfect Strangers, Shooting the Past and The Lost Prince.

only half-memorable
i enjoyed only parts of this.

"shooting the past" was brilliant. watchable from start to finish and engrossing till the end.

"caught on a train" was okay, mainly because it was short enough to involve me until the credits rolled. however, that old lady needs a good slap, let me tell you. for some reason the dvd extra features have failed to include that vitally missed deleted scene. the young man also needs a slap too, for he just let her walk all over him.

"perfect strangers" did not entertain at all, and, since it's been a year since i watched it, i can't even remember what it was about there was obviously something missing. i remember that i fastforwarded to the end though, and on seeing what was happening was glad that i hadn't bothered to watch the whole thing. like many so-called geniuses, poliakoff is still capable of weaker moments.