Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27961 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-10-20
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 264 minutes

Synopsis
In 'Genevieve' two friendly rivals engage in a race on their return journey from the London to Brighton veteran car rally. In 'Blithe Spirit' a happily married author writing a novel on mediums, invites one to supper one evening. 'The Importance Of Being Earnest', follows Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners. Set in England during the Victorian era, this story revolves around a pun on the name Ernest.

Customer Reviews

Sunday afternoon viewing
These are three gentle British comedies, each different in their own way, and perfect for those wet Sunday afternoons, when nothing else is on the television, and nothing else needs doing. They are not very demanding to watch, and being on dvd, easy to pick up again after that short snooze following Sunday lunch.

Some would say these are classics, but that, I feel, that would be hard to justify. Enjoyable though each one is, the subject matter, the acting performances and the general direction and production, break no new ground. There is nothing controversial or memorable in each one, and yet I still watch them time and time again. They are films I can happily show to my children, (no doubt someone will post a comment about their political incorrectness re. sexism and the way women were stereotyped in the 50's).

Genevieve is about an unsanctioned race between two vintage cars. Although the cars are the stars, the real competition is between two men, one married and settled, the other, a bachelor about town. No doubt, filmed in the early fifties, the hidden message is that family life is the path all young men should follow. Not that there is any sex scene in this movie, the nearest to a screen goddess is a superb cameo played by Joyce Grenfell, woolly jumper and all.

Rex Harrison plays the lead in Blithe Spirit. He is a man fought over by two women, one dead, one alive, (but not for long). Within five minutes of the start you know the plot, and probably you can work out the ending. But that is the joy of all three of these films. Unlike modern films, they do not rely on twists, special effects, (although there are ghosts in this one), or cliff hanger endings. The strain of following the film, looking for subplots, is all taken away, and you are left with enjoying a piece of silly fun.

The Importance Of Being Ernest stands by the superb writing of Oscar Wilde. The film is more like a stage production when compared to more modern versions, but the combination of Wilde, Edith Evans and Margaret Rutherford was a marriage made in heaven, and, 'In married life three is company and two none'. This is one where you can lay back and listen, rather than watch, but beware of the excesses of that roast lunch!