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Tony Palmer's Film About Henry Purcell - England, My England [DVD]

 Exempt   DVD
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Price: £7.61 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Tony Palmer's Film About Henry Purcell - England, My England [DVD] + Holst - In the Bleak Midwinter [DVD] [NTSC] + O Thou Transcendent - The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams [DVD]
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Product details

  • Format: Classical, Colour, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English, German, Italian, Spanish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: Exempt
  • Studio: Tony Palmer
  • DVD Release Date: 18 Jan 2010
  • Run Time: 153 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0024RA2IM
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 33,427 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

Product Description

Tony Palmer directs this prize-winning film about the great English composer Henry Purcell. Very little is known about his life, but the script - by Charles Wood and the late John Osborne - solves this problem by launching a group of actors in the 1960s on a voyage of discovery into the 1660s and late-17th century England, the extraordinary period in which Purcell lived. But it is Purcell's music which is the driving force of the drama, with a stunning soundtrack conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. Features an all-star cast with Simon Callow as Charles, Michael Ball as Henry Purcell, Letitia Dean as Barbara, Nina Young as Mrs Purcell, Corin Redgrave as William III, Lucy Speed as Nell, John Shrapnel as Pepys, Robert Stephens as Dryden, Murray Melvin as Shaftesbury, Terence Rigby as Cooke, Peter Woodthorpe as Kiffen, John Fortune as Clarendon, Edward Michie as young Harry and Bill Kenwright as Bill.


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A curate's egg 29 Oct 2010
By M. Joyce TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
I'm not sure what to make of this. I watched it on TV when it was first shown in the mid 1990s and remember enjoying it and it certainly gave me a lot of pleasure this time around, even if I did not find Tony Palmer's concept of exploring Purcell's life and times through the eyes of a group of actors in the mid 1960s (or so it says on the DVD sleeve; hairstyles and events would suggest a decade later) especially effective, however literate and amusing the script by Charles Wood and John Osborne may be. The acting is, of course, very fine; how could it be otherwise with a cast featuring Simon Callow, Corin Redgrave, Rebecca Front, John Shrapnel and the late, great Robert Stephens? Michael Ball is, moreover, a revelation as Purcell, confounding all my (unfair) expectations. The chief glory of the film is, inevitably and quite rightly, Purcell's sublime music, performed superbly by the English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner and featuring such expert soloists as Susan Graham, Lynne Dawson, Nancy Argenta and David Thomas. The musical excerpts underpin the whole film with point and wit and are in themselves ample justification for what is by any standards an intriguing DVD.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful music and authentic history. 2 Nov 2007
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Purcell, who was court composer to King Charles the Second (The Merry Monarch) and later to William III and Queen Mary II, is probably one of England's greatest composers and this wonderful production was very well received when it was on TV to mark his 300 year anniversary.

This is not just a beautifully played biography of Purcell, which Michael Ball portrays as a lovable, talented man, but also a moving and realistic depiction of the considerably harsher lives of those in London at that time.

The drama is balanced in three parts to involve the viewer in the music, the life of Purcell in the late 1600's and how to relate to him in the present day. Thus the drama of Purcell's life is done in flashback from Simon Callow (who also plays King Charles II) as an actor in 1960's London struggling to present Purcell to a twentieth century audience. This helps us to understand better what was happening to Purcell when we slipped into the flashbacks of the past. King Charles II had restored the monarchy to England after the horrors of the English Civil War and the Puritan Protectorate under Cromwell. He required a talented Court Composer and young Purcell who had spent all his life in the service of music with his father and uncle, both professionals, to train him was just the right man.

The period dramas set at the courts of King Charles and his successors are done in full lavish costume drama style. The selection of music is injected at those moments which are appropriate for the unfolding drama, both in the great events of British history and the personal triumphs and disasters of Purcell's life. The musical performances, as I remember them, were all sublime and uplifting.

The general authenticity of the production was memorable because much of it was filmed in the original places in which Purcell lived and worked. This is no fictional account of the great Restoration composer but an attempt to capture the spirit of his music through an understanding of the man. If you love classical music or good history this is a must!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars As time goes by... 7 Mar 2011
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
'England, my England' has proved itself over the decades to be an exemplary way to deal with history, art and artist. The combination of talent across the board -actors, screenwriter, director.. Etc.- shows what actual inspiration in the right combination can achieve. While many film of that period by now have been reduced to a certain retro-charm, this one feels as fresh and contemporary as can be.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Not your usual dio...
An interesting approach, mixing contemporary action with the historical action.
Its been done often in other films but this one is very different and rather strange in the... Read more
Published 3 days ago by R. G. Bevers
4.0 out of 5 stars Above all, it is English.......
It is something of a cliche to label productions 'timeless' but one of the brilliant aspects of Palmer's biopic of Henry Purcell (produced for television in 1995) is that the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Burns
5.0 out of 5 stars great unknown film
So glad to find this finally on DVD after having seen it on TV in the early 90s. The film is quite unlike any other, and has a non-linear dynamic, but this makes it more... Read more
Published 6 months ago by arc of neptune
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother
I bought this film from Amazon about a year ago. I have tried twice to watch it (the second time about 8 months after the first when I thought I was being uncharitable the first... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Hortensius
1.0 out of 5 stars Henry Prucell: England
This DVD would not play on my Panasonic player because it is "incompatible". Naturally I am hugely disappointed but as I don't know whether to blame the DVD producer or Panasonic... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Stuart
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Film....Poor CD soundtrack
I very much enjoyed this film, even if a number of scenes have been removed from the 1995 original. Read more
Published on 6 April 2011 by Joan H. Hammond
5.0 out of 5 stars Somethings wrong
Good afternoon

I think something has gone wrong with this order. You keep telling me there's a problem but I have received the item and as far as I can tell I've paid... Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2011 by old grey head
3.0 out of 5 stars different
Quite hard going as it hops back and forth from the 1960s to Purcells time. Only the music saves it. Not a good production
Published on 9 Jan 2011 by Valerie Spratt
4.0 out of 5 stars Odd but compelling
The bad news: the somewhat irritating then-and-now intertwining (I found the modern scenes largely irrelevant, to be honest); some dubious character portrayals (was William III... Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2010 by ampy1950
1.0 out of 5 stars Opera on DVD collector
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! Read more
Published on 25 May 2009 by Edita Camm
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