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Amazon.co.uk Review
Love in a Cold Climate, Deborah Moggach's efficient adaptation of Nancy Mitford's two best-known novels, hits an entirely appropriate balance between the comic and the sentimenally tragic. Viewpoint figure Fanny observes from her happy marriage the complicatedly messy lives of her two closest friends, Polly and Linda. Polly escapes from a mother jealous of her beauty into a marriage that gets her disinherited and leaves her ultimately alone when her husband falls for the pretty male cousin who has supplanted her; Linda falls in turn for an Anglo-German banker, a posh young Communist who ships her off to the Spanish Civil War and a brilliant doomed French aristocrat. Mingled with this sweet-sour material is the memorable comic relief: Linda's monstrous father and world-weary mother, the eccentric and affectionate Lord Merlin and Fanny's long-absent mother, the Bolter. This has everything we expect from a BBC serial--excellent casting, a strong sense of period and pacey direction. --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The first British TV version of Nancy Mitford's autobiographical novel Love in a Cold Climate was telecast in seven hour-long installments in 1980. This 2001 version attempted to crystallize Mitford's long and labyrinthine narrative into a mere 150 minutes, and for the most part it succeeded. Set during the period from 1929 to 1940, the story (which also incorporates elements of another Mitford novel, The Pursuit of Love) largely takes place in an English country estate presided over by Matthew Radlett (Alan Bates), for whom the word "eccentric" must have been coined. When she isn't being "hunted" by her zany uncle for sport, Matthew's niece Fanny (Rosamund Pike), who serves as narrator, looks on compassionately while her cousin Linda (Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh) and her friend Polly (Megan Dodds) desperately seek out worthwhile and decent husbands, only to be thwarted at every turn by deceitful, duplicitous, dissolute, disagreeable, and otherwise unsuitable young swains. First telecast by the BBC on February 4, 2001, Love in a Cold Climate was shown in America as a two-part installment of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre on February 11 and 18, 2002. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Love in a Cold Climate
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
Well, this dramatisation does at least inspire you to return to the Mitford novels. And it will be worth acquiring, once it is issued on DVD. However, it still pales compared to the wondrous earlier British television adaptation of maybe 15 years ago, featuring a perfectly chosen cast including Judy Dench and her real-life husband Michael as Uncle Davy. The new dramatisation is far too abridged -- Uncle Davy has been virtually obliterated! -- the only blessing it has is the luminous Fanny, who was just too plain for credibility in the earlier adaptation. The earlier adaptation was, I think, a Granada production. It was a long and loving series which did full justice to Nancy's two novels, 'Love in a Cold Climate' and 'The Pursuit of Love'. It deserves release on DVD so that its wonderful ensemble acting can be preserved, alongside this modern short-hand version. ANTHONY CLARKE
44 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Why this wasn't popular on telly at the time, I'll never know. Immaculate acting by everyone - including Rosamund Pike before she was Jane Bennett, or a Bond girl, for that matter.
The story is of three friends - three girls - in 1930s England before the second world war. It is a tale of how they came out (in to Society, as it was then), married and settled down. Yet it is so much more. It portrays the eccentricities of the British upper classes, with their whims and `individual' moral standards. After all, the author, Nancy Mitford, was in a good place to see all this first hand with one sister, Deborah, marrying the Duke of Devonshire and another marrying Oswald Mosley. So there are doves that are "dyed pink and dried in the airing cupboard" and a baby that "looks like a howling orange in a black wig - really, it is kinder not to look!" The wit is razor sharp, cutting deepest at the those who deserve it most, such as the indomitable Lady Montdor.
Overall, if you enjoy people watching, you'll love this DVD.
The story is of three friends - three girls - in 1930s England before the second world war. It is a tale of how they came out (in to Society, as it was then), married and settled down. Yet it is so much more. It portrays the eccentricities of the British upper classes, with their whims and `individual' moral standards. After all, the author, Nancy Mitford, was in a good place to see all this first hand with one sister, Deborah, marrying the Duke of Devonshire and another marrying Oswald Mosley. So there are doves that are "dyed pink and dried in the airing cupboard" and a baby that "looks like a howling orange in a black wig - really, it is kinder not to look!" The wit is razor sharp, cutting deepest at the those who deserve it most, such as the indomitable Lady Montdor.
Overall, if you enjoy people watching, you'll love this DVD.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I absolutely loved this series. It captures the spirit of the book really well (although does not always follow the plot). Alan Bates as Farve had me crying with laughter and the main actresses very touching and credible. You will want to watch it again and again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Love in a cold climate
I really enjoyed this version with Rosamund Pyke. NB the earlier ITV series starring Judi Dench is also now available on DVD.
Published 7 months ago by DaveT
Wait until Sept 2011 for the REAL version!
In 1980 Judi Dench starred in the only REAL version of the Mitford novel.
This version will(at long last) be available in Sept 2011. Read more
This version will(at long last) be available in Sept 2011. Read more
Published 11 months ago by SeaSideSam
definitely worth it
I bought this DVD because I was intrigued by the mixture of 5-star and 1-star reviews. It is always difficult for someone to come to a film from a much-loved book, and evidently... Read more
Published 11 months ago by John Davison
Very funny
This film is a hilarious view of the eccentric aristocracy. It is loosely based on the Mitford family, a wonderful mix of people whose lives were astonishing.
Published 15 months ago by P. J. Davies
An old friend.
I bought this for myself although I had already seen it several times on TV. Like the books it derives from, Love in A Cold Climate is there to enjoy when nothing else appeals and... Read more
Published 16 months ago by s.m.sutcliffe
Rubbish
If these goods had been received I would have been happy to review them. Lack of contact information to enquire when they were sent - again no information forwarded to say they... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Angela I
Great book and series
Fantastically wordy telling of the book of the same name and beautifully acted and set.
Published 21 months ago by Kevin Bransbury-jones
silly and boring
the title of the review says it all. Silly and boring, waste of money, couldnt wait for it to finish...or perhaps I didnt wait for it to finish, it was hard to tell.
Published 22 months ago by mollymoo
much to enjoy from this tale of privilege and passion...............
As much as I enjoyed this reworking of 'Love in a Cold Climate'
I couldn't get the version with Dame Judi out of my mind. Read more
I couldn't get the version with Dame Judi out of my mind. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Derrick Leslie Davidoff
Love in a cold climate
Very much enjoyed this funny and moving story of the lives of three girls. good for a night by the fire when the wind is roaring outside.
Published on 1 April 2010 by Paddy Henry
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