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Perfect Strangers [VHS] [2001]
 
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Perfect Strangers [VHS] [2001]

VHS ~ Michael Gambon
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan, Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Skinner, Toby Stephens
  • Directors: Stephen Poliakoff
  • Writers: Stephen Poliakoff
  • Producers: David M. Thompson, Helen Flint, John Chapman, Peter Fincham
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • VHS Release Date: 14 May 2001
  • Run Time: 237 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000057PKJ
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,726 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Perfect Strangers, Stephen Poliakoff's TV drama, depicts an upper-class English family where distrust, dysfunction and despair are guests at the party. "As you know, in all families, things happen", says the cool Lindsay Duncan. That's the premise: things happen, some of them nasty. The family, once "mini-Rothchilds" and still "drowning in money", are gathered together in an opulent hotel for a grand reunion; the only thing wrong with the idea is that many of them are perfect strangers and the event begins to look more like a conference than an event with heart. Into the blend of well-heeled guests comes the Hillingdon contingent led by Raymond (Michael Gambon), the black ram of the family. His son, Daniel, is a surveyor and true to his profession sets about assessing the fault lines running through the family. Underlying it all is a sense of unease so that even pleasantries come across as deeply unpleasant. Raymond warns us that: "Everybody always lies".

Drama arises from the emergence of truth and buried bits of the past, as old photographs are screened to family members provoking curiosity about what lies behind the images. Scratch a surface and everywhere there's pain and mystery. Filmed in lavish London settings where everything is clean and sleek, Perfect Strangers makes for slick visual entertainment. Although the dialogue is stilted and at times surreal, the music by Adrian Johnston cannot be faulted. --Joan Byrne

Synopsis
A young man comes face to face with his large family - and they all have secrets from the past...

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Picturing the past, 13 Feb 2004
By EMMA YOUNG (ENGLAND) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Perfect Strangers [2001] [DVD] (DVD)
This is one of the most interesting and emotionally charged dramas I've ever seen. Stephen Poliakoff proves to be an extremely talented writer and director.
"Perfect Strangers" focuses around a family reunion where the protagonist, Daniel, meets relations he never knew existed. During this event he becomes infatuated with one of his cousins, Rebecca, and uncovers an intriguing family history.
The tales which are revealed to Daniel are what makes this piece so memorable. This story deals with loss, discovery and understanding. The piece also has the interesting concept of using pictures to reveal the past. Questions are raised about photos the characters see, such as when, where and why they were taken. More importantly, can you look deeper into a photo to discover it's true meaning and the tale behind it? "Perfect Strangers" makes you want to learn more about your own family and analyse your photo collection!
"Perfect Strangers" successfully conveys the mixture of personalities that you can find within one family. The cast are outstanding. Matthew Macfadyen is captivating as the gentle Daniel and Michael Gambon's performance as his father is wonderful. The pair work well together and you really get a sense of the father/son relationship. Michael Gambon's dinner speech scene is particularly effective, as it emphasises how you can feel love and embarassment towards a relation simultaneously.
This story has a satisfying conclusion too. You don't feel that there is anything unresolved at the end and all the characters appear stronger by the experiences they have had.
"Perfect Strangers" is a truly amazing piece which shouldn't be missed. Perhaps what makes it so powerful is the idea that so many emotions and tales can be captured with the click of a camera. Have you captured yours yet?
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45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A moving but never sentimental story, 5 Mar 2004
This review is from: Perfect Strangers [2001] [DVD] (DVD)
If we ever had any doubts, Perfect Strangers confirms that Poliakoff is the best writer for TV in the UK (and the world?). Also worthy of special praise is the score composer, Adrian Johnston. The music is such an integral aspect, forming a thread which runs through the whole story. His haunting themes offer a real insight into the feelings of the characters and highlight echoes of the past.

For me, the greatest achievement of the piece is that it is deeply moving without ever becoming sentimental. This is primarily because of the performances. I have never seen such a large and talented group of actors in one program. The central performances of Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Gambon, Lindsay Duncan and Claire Skinner are rich with emotion and conviction. But it is the fact that all the actors surrounding them are so universally excellent which truly marks Perfect Strangers out.

Having never had more than a passing interest in my genealogy, this story has really tempted me to delve deeper into my family. Themes of connection to relatives both living and dead, permeate the piece. The feelings of being on the outside of a group and of inclusion and exclusion are ones we can all empathise with.

What transforms Perfect Strangers from a good drama to a brilliant one, are the stories. Structured around the amazing photographs and delivered beautifully, the tales of Michael, the sisters and Richard are thoroughly compelling. And the photos of Raymond’s father and of Daniel as a boy are spellbinding.

What I have heard of the commentary so far isn’t fantastically illuminating, but fairly interesting for a dedicated fan. Altogether, a tender, moving and beautiful piece of television.

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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A spellbinding achievement, 27 Oct 2006
By c westwood (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Perfect Strangers [2001] [DVD] (DVD)
A gentle, yet powerful and moving tale of family history, secrets and relationships, set over the weekend of a family reunion event, and then a later weekend at a family wedding.

As with all Poliakoff dramas, the pace of the story-telling, the length of scene, the camera work, are all designed to slow the tale down, to make the viewer ease into the story and the characters, to extend and challenge their 21st century attention span.

The casting is superlative, and every actor turns in flawless performance: Matthew MacFadyen's combination of youthful arrogance with a pervasive uncertainty and inferiority around his family; Lindsay Duncan's graceful noblesse which hides a painful story; Michael Gambon's irritable yet troubled father. Each character is a finely worked, intricate creation.

Another Poliakoff trait used here (and seen even more strongly in Shooting the Past) is the use of historical documents, particularly photographs, to flesh out characters' stories. He uses the images, breathing life into them through flashbacks, to draw meaning from the past, lighting on modernist "moments of being" to create empathy and understanding for his characters.

I could go on with the purple prose as this really is one of the finest examples of TV drama I have ever seen. In short, I couldn't recomend it enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories highly recommended
I loved this. All the characters wonderfully played by all the actors with a special mention for Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Gambon and Lyndsay Duncan. Read more
Published 23 days ago by C. Dew

5.0 out of 5 stars Poliakoff's Peak
We don't get much in the way of serious television drama these days. Don't get me wrong - I don't mean po-faced, politically correct preachy stuff. Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. JONES

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect strangers perfect film
Perfect Strangers is an excellent film by Stephen Poliakoff ,very unusual storyline. A family invited to a Family Tree week-end in London to meet up with long lost relatives... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. Valerie M. King

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving reconstruction of family history
How do we remember the earliest years of our lives? Do we recall only scattered fragments, preserved out of context and therefore oddly disjointed and somehow incomprehensible? Read more
Published 4 months ago by Triestino

3.0 out of 5 stars All fine
I started to watch this quite late thinking I'd watch it over two nights.

In the end I was up unto 2am on a school night because it had me pinned to the sofa... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sal

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent!
In "Almost Strangers," Stephen Poliakoff weaves a subtle spell. I recall thoroughly enjoying the engaging story and the superb acting--after all, one cannot miss with Michael... Read more
Published on 24 April 2007 by F. S. L'hoir

3.0 out of 5 stars No real story
There did not seem to be a real story to this production although the acting was very good.
Published on 8 Dec 2005 by B. G. Pardy

5.0 out of 5 stars The best video I've seen in months!
The casting in this beautiful drama is perfect. Matthew MacFadyen shines as Daniel, once again showing his talent as a gifted classical actor. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2003 by vickyoga

5.0 out of 5 stars A hauntingly magical television Drama
from the very begining when we aree introduced to daniel's excentric relations we are taken on a roller coaster ride of emotion sympatiesing with nearly all concerned a s well as... Read more
Published on 5 April 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it. For the love of God, buy it now.
This is an astonishingly good video. Everything about it - from the music and direction to the cast (which reads like Judi Dench's adress book) - is perfect. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2001

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