Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #682 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-08-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 301 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Given the great success of Pride and Prejudice (1995) and that Jane Austen wrote so little, the BBC and screenwriter Andrew Davies looked elsewhere for material of comparable quality. Wives and Daughters by Mrs (Elizabeth) Gaskell is set around 1860 and tells the story of 17-year-old Molly (Justine Waddell), beloved daughter of the widowed Dr Gibson (Bill Paterson). A mercenary stepmother (Francesca Annis) and inconstant stepsister (Keeley Hawes) bring refined havoc to genteel country life, with complications ensuing when both young women fall in love with the youngest son of Squire Hamley (Michael Gambon). This is a wonderfully observed insight into Victorian village life, encompassing comedy, romance and high emotion in a four-episode, five-hour adaptation. Making the most of Davies' subtle and detailed screenplay, there are great, flamboyant performances by Michael Gambon and Francesca Annis. Keeley Hawes, Barbara Flynn and Ian Glen are excellent too, but the revelation is the beguiling central performance by Justine Waddell, also the star of Great Expectations (1999). The photography and production design are gorgeous, as is John Keane's music. Wives and Daughters is as compelling and entertaining as any Jane Austen, and possibly Andrew Davies' best literary adaptation to-date. --Gary S. Dalkin

Amazon.co.uk Review
Andrew Davies' 1999 adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's Wives and Daughters was hailed as the rediscovery of a "forgotten" classic novel and found the BBC on the crest of a wave with costume dramas--led by Pride and Prejudice. Handsome and beautifully filmed, if anything, it surpassed the quality of even that highly praised landmark production.

"We should all look pretty strange under a microscope," botanist Robert Hamley tells our heroine Molly Gibson and of course Mrs Gaskell places all her characters under intense scrutiny, with affection but without judgement. Davies' screenplay peals back the layers, giving full vent to the comedy, tragedy and satire that drive this tale of provincial life to its highly satisfactory conclusion. Justine Waddell imbues Molly with an increasingly exasperated but remarkably forbearing intelligence, while Francesca Annis, as the outrageously self-absorbed step-mother Hyacinth, paints a wonderful portrait of affectation without ever totally alienating our sympathy. Michael Gambon's immensely touching Squire Hamley won him a Best Actor BAFTA, but all the performances are uniformly excellent, contributing immeasurably to five hours of television drama of the highest calibre.

On the DVD: Presented in 16:9 format with a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack, this two-disc presentation retains all the hallmarks of the original BBC viewing experience. The picture quality is lush--the production lighting is excellent--and the sound quality sharp. The only gripe is with the extras: the Omnibus documentary "Who the Dickens is Mrs Gaskell?" is brutally truncated, cutting off talking heads like novelists Fay Weldon and Margaret Drabble in their prime and giving limited insight into how the production was made. As an audio bonus, there is also 30 minutes of John Keane's music.--Piers Ford

Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
DVD 5
English
English
Region 0
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Documentary
The Making Of
Music Edit
Dutch

Customer Reviews

Brilliant period drama that deserves more attention
It's almost impossible not to compare this with the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (which I also love). This is slightly harder work, I think -- it's not so immediately compelling, less of a confection and more of a meal. The nature of the storytelling is different, even if the scripts were in the same capable hands (Andrew Davies's) and the production values similar (though I suspect they had less money to throw at this).

Wives and Daughters is altogether darker, deeper, and more human than the frothy P&P. Here, we have racial and religious prejudice and its consequences, more than one death, and a far more cruel and direct portrayal of ruinous gossip than ever threatened the Bennet girls. Also, one of the most powerfully romantic moments I've ever seen dramatised: the offering of flowers to heroine Molly in the final episode, and the superb, heart-wrenching give-and-take dialogue that goes with it.

It's hard to fault the casting or acting. Justine Waddell is perfect and perfectly (if unconventionally) beautiful in the central role of Molly. The "mother" character has been compared to Austen's Mrs Bennet, but Francesca Annis as Molly's stepmother Hyacinth brought far more depth to her role. If you were irritated by Alison Steadman's shrieking Mrs Bennet, you might just end up actually wanting to strangle the colder, more devious Hyacinth :-)

To sum up, I can enjoy Pride and Prejudice over and over again without feeling sated, but it doesn't move me to tears the way this does.

Great tv series
I'm a real lover of series like this so i may be prejudiced. However i must say that if you want to see a movie based on one of the classics it's best to see a tv adaptation. Series like this are not confined to 2 hours so they are , most of the time, much more faithfull to the book. The players in this serie are great. But i must say that Francesca Annis really shines.Bravo for cast AND crew !
Sit down and make an evening of it !

A very good adaptation of a very good novel. Michael Gambon is brilliant.
After watching it may times over, this has become one of my favorite screen adaptations of classical novels. I never thought any movie could come close to Pride and Prejudice in that sense, but this one truly does. Elizabeth Gaskell (novelist) has no black and white characters, just like in George Eliot novels one learns to understand the misfortunes and good sides of the less sympathetic people(like the step mother and step daughter at the start) and one feels with all characters, which in my opinion gives more depth to a story. In this one the deep affection between the Heroine and her father is very beautifully described, as well as the growing love between the Heroine and her neighbor the Squires son. Equally much we get involved in the aging Squires worries and hopes for his two sons to make it in this world, beautifully acted by Michael Gambon. His performance is stunning and brings you to tears. No wonder he won a BAFTA for this one!

This movie is one of the best to describe both awakening love, peoples honest intentions and care for loved ones in the 19th century rural England. One just loves the whole story and the people in it very much!

Very highly recommended to everyone fond of the complex human nature, passion, relationships, good dialog and good acting. I wish there would be more adaptations like this, were all pieces fall into place equally well: very well directed, high quality production with acclaimed cast, costumes, scenery and footage. Don't miss it.