Quantity:

More Buying Choices

7 new from �13.96

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

England, My England - The Story of Henry Purcell [DVD] [1995]

See larger image and other views

Share your own customer images

England, My England - The Story of Henry Purcell [DVD] [1995]

DVD ~ Simon Callow

2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

RRP:	�17.99
Price:	�13.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save:	�4.01 (22%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

7 new from �13.96

Christmas Offers--Up to 70% Off DVD and Blu-ray
Low-priced gift ideas, TV box sets, Blu-ray documentaries and recent drama, action and sci-fi hits. Go easy on your wallet this Christmas. Shop now

› See more product promotions

Rent DVDs from LOVEFiLM.com

Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

God Rot Tunbridge Wells - The Life Of Georg Frederic Handel [1985] [DVD]

O Thou Transcendent - The Life Of Ralph Vaughan Williams [2007] [DVD]

Total RRP: �57.97
Price For All Three: �48.45

Some of these items are dispatched sooner than the others. Show details

This item: England, My England - The Story of Henry Purcell [DVD] [1995] DVD ~ Simon Callow
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
God Rot Tunbridge Wells - The Life Of Georg Frederic Handel [1985] [DVD] DVD ~ Trevor Howard
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
O Thou Transcendent - The Life Of Ralph Vaughan Williams [2007] [DVD] DVD ~ Tony Palmer
Usually dispatched within 6 to 9 days.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	76% buy the item featured on this page: England, My England - The Story of Henry Purcell [DVD] [1995] 2.7 out of 5 stars (3) �13.98
	11% buy Purcell: England, My England [DVD] [1995] �11.98
	3% buy Michael Ball - This Time... It's Personal [DVD] [2000] 4.0 out of 5 stars (3) �8.98

Explore similar items

Product details

Actors: Simon Callow, Michael Ball, Colin Redgrave
Directors: Tony Palmer
Format: Classical, PAL
Language English
Subtitles: Spanish, Italian, German, English
Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: Exempt
Studio: Warner Music Entertainment
DVD Release Date: 30 Jul 2007
Run Time: 155 minutes

Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

ASIN: B000SKKCN2
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 27,859 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Synopsis

This British biopic attempts to chronicle the life of 17th-century tunesmith Henry Purcell. The filmmakers have had to do much speculating about Britain's first great composer, as little is known about his life back then. It is known that Purcell had been a chorister as a child and then became the court composer for three kings: Charles, James, and William. Before his death at age 37, Purcell penned over 1,000 songs and sired a few children, most of whom died at birth. While little is actually known of Purcell, the film successfully recreates the tumultuous era in which he lived. Running parallel to Purcell's story is a subplot set in the 1960s, when English society and values seemed to be rapidly eroding, much as they were in the composer's time. The story concerns a playwright's attempts to research the life of Purcell for his next play. In the last part of the film, several lavish musical numbers from Purcell's vast repertoire are presented.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

God Rot Tunbridge Wells - The Life Of Georg Frederic Handel [1985] [DVD]

DVD ~ Trevor Howard

4.0 out of 5 stars (1) �19.59

Michael Ball - Past And Present - 25th Anniversary Tour [DVD] [2009]

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) �12.98

Charles II [DVD] [2003]

DVD ~ Martin Turner

4.4 out of 5 stars (17) �8.88

O Thou Transcendent - The Life Of Ralph Vaughan Williams [2007] [DVD]

DVD ~ Tony Palmer

4.1 out of 5 stars (16) �14.88

Benjamin Britten - The Hidden Heart [DVD] [2008]

DVD ~ Teresa Griffiths

4.0 out of 5 stars (1) �6.98

› Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

henry purcell(1)

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

2.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A musical and visual treat, 21 Jun 2008

By	Mondoro (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

'England, My England' tells the story of our of our great composers and uses rich colours and settings to recreate the court of Charles II and his royal patron, Mary. It employs many of our leading actors, with Simon Callow as the mainstay, and singers; some of whom, like Susan Graham, are now at the summit of their profession. The choice of Purcell's music to illustrate episodes in his life is well-judged and always apt, and there are many discoveries to be made: the quality of music in 'King Arthur', especially. I particularly liked the final touch of the Britten 'Young Person's Guide' finale, based on Purcell- a tribute to another of our great composers.

Above all, Callow's film is an intelligent historical and social commentary on Purcell's world, and our apparently very different, world. The theme cutting across both is that of violence, lurking under the surface, and erupting at times into sectarianism and revolt: the film makes a direct link between the No Popery sectarianism that swept through England and the stridency of Ian Paisley and the Orange Order.

Callow comments also on the concept of English identity - part of Europe, but not part of it, unsure of its place, a 'hanger on'. My only slight reservation is the occasional tendency of Callow, playing the modern actor, to rant, rather than leaving us, his audience, to reach our own judgements.

Purcell the composer comes across as a beacon of English identity, writing music of genius that is neither French nor Italian (the competing factions at the time) but uniquely English. Yet even today only a handful of his works out of an enormous output, written in the same lifespan as Mozart's, are really well-known. This film goes some way towards rectifying this situation.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A badly mixed bag of ancient and modern, 29 Oct 2008

By	spud-the-mud (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews

I read the "A musical and visual treat" review given above and thought I would give this a go. I missed the minor comment about "modern". Be warned. Much of this film is set in the modern era, where the lead actor (plays King Charles in the ancient parts) rants like a drunken Shakespearean actor on stage. A pompous buffoon.
The bits set in Purcell's time are excellent - but they occupy only 60% (guesstimate) of the film. I was just getting into the Stuart atmospehere, and suddenly we are back in the modern world. One just gets into this -and whoops- you're back in the Stuart times again. Really irritating.
The music is an eye-opener - watch out for when the total musical output of Purcell is given; truly prodigous. His lack of general recognition is a shame on us all.
All that aside, the Purcellian part is a typically brilliant UK (I think this is a UK film!) costume drama, with proper costumes, scenery, and excellent dramatic photography etc. And the modern part is also good, in its own way. It's like they had ideas for two films but only the budget for one - so decide to do both together! Not, in my mind successfully.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Opera on DVD collector, 25 May 2009

By	Edita Camm (Nairobi, Kenya) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the 3rd Tony Palmer film I buy on DVD. The other two being "Puccini" and "God Rot in Tumbridge Wells' (Life of Handel). Both rotten! My mistake was never to take any notice of the name of the director/producer.
Now I have learned to BEWARE of the name Tony Palmer!!! and invite you all to beware!!
I could not watch any of them to the end. Such a mix of unconnected pictures with pompous pseudo intellectual dialogues, jumping from one scene to the other without any logic and - in this film - from modern times to ancient times....
This year is the anniversay of Purcell's birth and I was really looking forward to this film. I am so angry with myself that it should have been the 3rd Tony Palmer rabbish film that I fell into buying.
Just beware. They are boring incoherent,inconclusive and the little music that is in it is not enough to make up for it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
At last available!!!!	0	July 2007

› See all discussions...

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
drama Language & Subtitle Info	9	24 minutes ago
drama help me find this french tv series	2	38 minutes ago
drama Wandering Hand?	11	16 hours ago
drama Unreleased films.	1	16 hours ago
drama most memorable film openings	42	18 hours ago
drama Unreleased films.	0	21 hours ago
drama Unintentionall funny scenes in serious films	0	21 hours ago
drama Film noir	13	1 day ago