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Product Description
Based on Lucy M Boston s best selling novel The Chimneys of Green Knowe and directed by Oscar Winner & Writer of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey Julian Fellowes. Starring the inimitable Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville (both of Downton Abbey), Timothy Spall (Secrets & Lies) and Dominic West (The Wire) comes an engrossing family ghost story. In times of war two centuries apart, two distinct worlds are linked by a single family and the house in which they live. It is 1944 and thirteen year-old Tolly Oldknow (Alex Etel, Cranford) is sent to spend Christmas with his grandmother (Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey), whilst his mother searches for news of his father in wartime London. Spending his days exploring the sprawling ancestral estate, he begins to uncover family secrets and ghosts from the past as he becomes a witness to events during the Napoleonic wars and finds himself slowly drawn into participating in the drama. Invisible to most people in the past, yet able to move amongst them, he begins to unravel the mystery which has bewildered his family for two centuries. The solution to the puzzle leads him into his greatest adventure yet... A wonderful heart-warming story of a young boy learning the value of his family and its history.
About the Director
Downton Abbey, Gosford Park
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
97 of 98 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Loved this when it was on over Christmas so have just put my order in. With Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville in it what's not to like? However, be warned - those of you expecting an adaptation of The Children of Green Knowe will be disappointed. This film is based on The Chimneys of Green Knowe, a later book in the series. The Children of Green Knowe is the first book and was made by the BBC into a wonderful children's series in around 1988 but which, for reasons best known to the them, has never been released on video or DVD (I read somewhere they wiped the tape!). The series starred Daphne Oxenford and Alec Christie and it was actually filmed in Lucy M Boston's Manor house at Hemingford Grey. In the Children of Green Knowe series Tolly goes to live with his great grandmother in her old manor house and gradually encounters the ghosts of the three children who lived in the house many years before (Toby, Alexander and Linnet). I wonder if the confusion over the books is why one reviewer thought it such a poor adaptation? In any event, this is an excellent and moving film, one to watch again and again. Such a pity about the BBC series though as I think The Children of Green Knowe is the better story.
150 of 156 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Another stellar cast assembled to do justice to the pen of one of the best screenwriters to have emerged in this country in recent years. Although this is not an original screenplay such as Downton Abbey, Victoria or Gosford Park it is none the less a superb adaptation of an existing story by Lucy Boston. Many of the cast assembled here make their appearance again in the superb Edwardian drama, Downton Abbey. Julian Fellowes succeeds brilliantly in putting to shame the very best screen writers which Hollywood has to offer. The story here is somewhat complex one, moving as it does between two distinct periods in English history held together by the story of one house and it's occupants. One group centred in the Napoleonic wars and the other in wartime England in 1944. For me the glory of this film lies in it's superb dialogue deftly woven from the pen of the redoubtable Julian Fellowes. I thoroughly enjoyed the contrast between the 19th and 20th century social milieu expressed here. Well worth watching.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This film was superb. One of the best I have seen for a long time and on a par with The Railway children. I thought it would be mainly a children's film but it is much more than that. It has it all, hope, fear, humour and sadness all woven around a great story and portrayed brilliantly in film. A true British classic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A gem of a story.......
From Time to Time: on DVD -
This is a gem of a story - it has a wonderful cast of actors i.e. Maggie Smith playing the crusty grandmother, Hugh Bonneville and the rest. Read more
This is a gem of a story - it has a wonderful cast of actors i.e. Maggie Smith playing the crusty grandmother, Hugh Bonneville and the rest. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jock Macsporran
Very disappointed,especially knowing who wrote it!!
I looked forward to this and was very disappointed.In fact I fell asleep three quarter way through and will not be bothering to see the final quarter. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. D. Surrey
Opinion
An amusing film with very good cast and acting. A bit out of the ordinary as to the story but well presented and entertaining. Pleasant to watch and certainly not too heavy.
Published 2 months ago by Jimdel
Touching gentle film perfect for winters evening
This gentle film is not up there amongst the great films of all time but nothing that has both Maggie Smith and Timothy Spall in it will totally disappoint. Read more
Published 3 months ago by V. A. Adams
From Time to Time, DVD
A very pleasant family film, I was delighted to find it on sale via Amazon. The item was received within a reasonable time frame after first placing the order. Thank you Amazon.
Published 3 months ago by Hausfrau
Sunday Afternoon...
This film is perfect for that lazy Sunday afternoon after lunch...just lay on the sofa and get drawn into a mesmerising ghost story. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gesagen
Okay for a rainy day
Children will probably enjoy this film more than adults. Full of cliché and not enough to hold an adult's attention. Photography is very good. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Quantumchic
Good old fashion ghost story for christmas. Subtitles for hard of...
No blood, no screaming females, no demons or monsters, just ghosts!, my kind of film. It does have a little of 'for children', but still enjoyable. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lizlass
Julian Fellowes has done it again
I must admit that I am a costume drama fan, and couldnt go wrong with the wonderful Maggie Smith,and Julian Fellowes, if you like Downton Abbey it is a must , you wont be... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Barbara Caddick
Unable to watch
Unable to watch as the Zone for the DVD was not set for my DVD player in Australia. What else can I say I was really looking forward to it.!!
Published 5 months ago by hazel
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