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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Biographies, Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Celebrated writers, actors and directors bring six Thomas Hardy tales to exceptional life in this stunning collection from 1973. In 1973, the BBC commissioned six writers, six directors and an exceptional cast of actors to undertake the Wessex Tales of Dorset author Thomas Hardy. These included writers such as Dennis Potter and William Trevor; directors like Mike Newell and actors like Billie Whitelaw, John Hurt, Claire Bloom and Ben Kingsley. These tales - of witchery, revenge, thwarted passion, costly ambition, buried desire, madness and betrayal - find their participants entrapped repeatedly by fate - always at liberty to make choices, but inevitably confronted by their destiny. Features six dramatisations of Thomas Hardy's short stories: The Withered Arm, Fellow Townsmen, A Tragedy Of Two Ambitions, An Imaginative Woman, The Melancholy Hussar and Barbara Of The House Of Glebe. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Wessex Tales - Complete Series - 2-DVD Set
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The six Thomas Hardy stories are superbly rendered for television. The location shooting is sensitive and often exquisitely beautiful. Having been shot on film, the scenes live again on DVD. The dramatisations are all by different hands but each attains a very high standard in all respects. The casts also include many fine actors, some in the first blush of their careers. My personal favourites are "The Imaginative Woman", featuring a wonderful performance by Claire Bloom, and "The Melancholy Hussar", in which Mary Larkin is astonishingly good. Hardy deals in life's mischances a great deal, and anyone coming to these stories will need to have some sympathy for his style, but there is a sufficiently rich pattern of life evoked in each of these stories to withstand even Hardy's ironic temper. Highly recommended.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Anyone else that is sick of classic literature being rewritten to fit some clown's modern agenda and made into film - the most recent Jane Austen films being perfect examples - will enjoy this collection of pieces that faithfully transported Hardy's prose into film.
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
As a typically devoted Thomas Hardy fan I couldn't resist buying this out of curiosity. These tales are actually a curio collection turned into film. The Melancholy Hussar and Barbara of the House of Grebe are particularly enjoyable as is The Withered Arm.
The quality of the cast are faultless. Billie Whitelaw is incredibly compellling - and Nick Brimble is, well, possibly the most handsome actor ever. Far more raw sex appeal than any Colin Firth!
A must have, in short, for any Hardy devotee.
(Other Hardy DVDs that I've enjoyed have been the recent BBC 'Tess' and the 70's 'Mayor of Casterbridge' (starring Alan Bates).
The quality of the cast are faultless. Billie Whitelaw is incredibly compellling - and Nick Brimble is, well, possibly the most handsome actor ever. Far more raw sex appeal than any Colin Firth!
A must have, in short, for any Hardy devotee.
(Other Hardy DVDs that I've enjoyed have been the recent BBC 'Tess' and the 70's 'Mayor of Casterbridge' (starring Alan Bates).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wessex Tales
I was very excited to see this for sale, as I remembered it from years ago.
I wasn't disappointed, and, in fact, the tales made more sense this time around, because I... Read more
I wasn't disappointed, and, in fact, the tales made more sense this time around, because I... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Millie
A let down,I did try to enjoy them, but no success.
I love the Thomas Hardy stories, so was looking forward to this DVD.There were six seperate stories on this DVD, but I found them not up to the expected Thomas Hardy standard. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kathleen Keys
How gloomy
Interesting to see these vintage TV productions of some of Hardy's stories, however typically downbeat (if not to say depressing). Read more
Published 17 months ago by D. Harrison
Let Down
I found the dvd rather boring. Not enough in the script to keep me entertained.
The actors were good it's such a shame the script was rather poor.
The actors were good it's such a shame the script was rather poor.
Published 20 months ago by Elaine
Quite a surprise!
Packaged just arrived, so I sat back to take in a collection of Thomas Hardy short stories put on film. I was pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Helen Kelley
Wessex Tales
I am a fan of all things Thomas Hardy and watched this series in the 70s so it is great seeing it again. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Heather Hall
Classic Costume Drama
Featuring a multitude of actors (NB Ben Kinglsey and John Hurt!), writers and directors, they sure don't make them like this anymore! Read more
Published on 16 April 2010 by J. D. White
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