Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-07
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 582 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The BBC’s costume drama juggernaut struck gold once more when it decided to tackle the work of Flora Thompson. And in adapting her books in the form of the television production Lark Rise To Candleford, it has brought another compelling piece of drama to the screen.

Lark Rise To Candleford is set at the end of the 19th century, and it follows the story of two communities in the midst of a developing Oxfordshire. One is a fast-growing market town, the other a sleepier, quieter place that’s holding more onto the past. Centred on Laura, the eldest daughter in the Timmins house, as she leaves the quieter life for work in the market town, the stage is then set for a quality drama series.

All ten episodes are present and correct on the Lark Rise To Candleford DVD set, and there’s a lot to enjoy. The cast, for instance, is simply terrific, with Julia Sawalha, Dawn French and Olivia Hallinan rightly taking plaudits. And the journey of their characters, along with those of the strong supporting cast, is simply wonderful television.

Mixing in humour, drama and the production values we seem to take for granted from the BBC, Lark Rise To Candleford really is quite a treat. And what’s more, it’s proof positive that when it comes to television period drama, there really isn’t anyway doing it better. Super stuff. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
Flora Thompson's charming love letter to a vanished corner of rural England is brought to life in this warm-hearted adaptation. Set in the Oxfordshire countryside in the 1880s, this rich, funny and emotive BBC series follows the relationship of two contrasting communities: Lark Rise, the small hamlet gently holding on to the past, and Candleford, the small market town bustling into the future.

Seen through the eyes of young Laura (Olivia Hallinan - Sugar Rush, Torchwood) the inhabitants endure many upheavals and struggles as the change inexorably comes; their stories by turns poignant, spirited and uplifting. And Laura herself must face great change. Taking a job in the Post Office in Candleford, run by the mercurial Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha - Cranford, Pride and Prejudice), Laura turns her back on her childhood hamlet to make her way in the world. With her loyalties divided, she must choose her own path to womanhood...

Dawn French, Julia Sawalha and Liz Smith star alongside Olivia Hallinan in this ten-part adaptation of Flora Thompson's magical memoir of her Oxfordshire childhood.

Synopsis
This ten-part adaptation of Flora Thompson's classic novel tells the story of two Oxfordshire communities at the end of the 19th century. The birth of a new baby brings financial hardship to the Timmins household, obliging eldest daughter Laura (Olivia Hallinan) to leave her home in the quiet hamlet of Lark Rise and embark on a new life in the busy, neighbouring market town of Candleford. Her adventurous cousin, postmistress Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha), takes Laura under her wing, and they soon become firm friends, experiencing together the romances, rivalries and comedies of close-knit rural life.

Customer Reviews

A breath of fresh air
I loved everything about this production based on a book I had always meant to read, but somehow had never got around to it.

The series was like a breath of fresh air - an escape from the never-ending diet of real-life violence and murder stories, and the dreaded cheap reality shows that seem to be all pervasive these days. I found myself so looking forward to it, I rearranged my social life so as not to miss it. This is real quality TV, and I only wish there was more of it. This is British drama at its best. Julia Sawalha was absolutely brilliant, as always, and the ladies' costumes were outstanding. I don't usually buy DVD's because I tend to not watch programmes more than once - but this is a classic and I will definitely be watching it again and again.

TRULY SUPERB!
A must for your DVD collection, my husband has enjoyed watching it with me. We have watched an episode each evening (two sometimes)its just so good you just have to keep watching.Good Wholesome entertainment so sadly lacking on TV today....thank Goodness the BBC keep making such Excellent Drama....another triumph for the good old BBC. A Truly Superb series,fantastic casting a must for all who love costume Dramas.

An Excellently Done Period Piece Is My One Weakness!
"Lark Rise to Candleford" is another exemplary production that follows the heels of "Cranford" in what seems to be an ongoing revival of period series adapted from the English classics. It is, in every bit of its moments, PURE and JOYFUL IMMERSION into a bygone era of rural England, set in the Victorian 1880s. Based on Flora Thompson's "Lark Rise to Candleford" Trilogy, which was published in the late 1930s and early 1940s, this (loose) film adaptation is at times funny, always perceptive, and ultimately bittersweet. Unfortunately, its obvious sins are sometimes being maudlin (and thus, contrived) and corny, too, which can really make viewers squirm uncomfortably in their seats. This is evident in some (not all) of its dramatic and "funny" sequences. Plus, it is mostly sunny golden at the hamlet of Lark Rise and its neighboring market town Candleford. This is not your rainy and damp England.

And yet, despite these drawbacks, "Lark R to C" is always redeemed by the highly likeable cast, strong performances by the same, a clever screenplay, and high-class meticulous attention to production details (the latter deserves more than honorable mention.) The story development also gets better with the passing of each episode. It brims with an earnest celebrative attitude towards rural life with songs and camaraderie, and there's no mistaking the love and care which the filmmakers have put into the production. It is perhaps this quality which makes the viewing so enjoyable (certainly more than enough to cover up its small sins.)

The eponymous rural hamlet of Lark Rise and its busier eight-mile neighbor town Candleford are where the events take place. The tales are a strung-up assortment of sorts concerning country family life and traditions, rural attitudes about education, romantic rivalries, unrequited love, domestic violence and jealousy, lost fathers, and some Dickensian topics such as the harshness of the workhouse and child abuse. Seemingly at the center of these all is Olivia Hallinan's Laura Timmins, a young woman who hails from Lark Rise and who has subsequently come to Candleford to be under the charge of her more urbane cousin Dorcas Lane. It is Laura Timmins' journal that unravels the episodes. We hear a more adult version of her narrate events in a firsthand account. As such, the focus of the stories does not chiefly concern Laura's coming-of-age and her temporary disdain for her humble origins, but also looks into the lives of the other characters as well; in particular, her cousin Dorcas Lane.

The effervescent Julia Sawalha, who has her own brand of sparkle, plays Dorcas Lane, the town postmistress who really has one weakness too many. In "Pride & Prejudice," Julia Sawalha plays Lydia Bennett, the sister who's prone to mischief; while in "Cranford," she's the long-suffering Jessie Brown. In "Lark R to C," she has both of these personalities in a well-balanced tow: forbearing and resigned to fate, but always with an infectious impishness lurking beneath. Notice the twinkle in her eyes, there's something impertinent about it that makes her portrayal very unique and a true enjoyment to watch. Her character, sarcastically referred to as "St. Dorcas" in one instance, is oftentimes the life of the town (she has around 60% of Dolly Levi in her.)

Julia Sawalha is flanked by a great supporting cast. Notable among them are Brendan Coyle (whom we love in "North and South") and Claudie Blakely as Mr. and Mrs. Timmins, Ben Miles and the beautiful Olivia Grant as Squire and Lady Midwinter, Karl Johnson and Linda Bassett as the Turrills, Dawn French as the tipsy Caroline Arless, Liz Smith as the cranky housekeeper Zillah, newcomer John Dagleish as the lovelorn Alfie, and newcomer heartthrob Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Phillip the assistant gamekeeper. And who could resist the sumptuous location and production design?! The BBC outdoes itself again! The (manmade) locale and costumes are perfect and impeccable when it should be; very conducive to giving flesh and personality to Flora Thompson's sunny country novels.

Some other minor complaints I have are:
1. The UK packaging. There are four discs in all, but divided into two overlapping stacks on each side of the inner case. Note the words "overlapping stacks." This not only increases the chance of the discs getting scratches, but also becomes an impractical nuisance when taking them out again by chronology. I hope the upcoming US edition addresses this problem, for the sake of collectors.
2. The Bonus Material, which only features "The Making of Lark Rise to Candleford." I wish they added a documentary about Flora Thompson and how she came to write these semi-autobiographical novels. It would also have been nice to add something about the workings of the postal service of olden days, the role of a Squire, the tradition of penny reading, or even provide the recipes for wine jelly and Banbury Cake. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm asking for too much. (^_^)

To cap the review, I will repeat my introductory statement. "Lark R to C" is, in every bit of its moments, PURE and JOYFUL IMMERSION. People who delight in English country settings and tales from a slower era will no doubt rewatch this many times over. Perfect for chilling out on a lazy or rainy weekend afternoon with friends or loved ones. Also perfect for burning that midnight oil, just don't do it during weekdays. (-_^)

"Arse is not a civil word." ~ Caroline Arless (Dawn French)

"Love rarely crosses the great divide of social classes." ~ Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha)

"I'm sure you won't always want to be bogged down in a backwater place like Candleford." ~ Mr. Rushton, the postal inspector, to Laura.

*Ten episodes of anglophilic bliss, with English subtitles.