Customer Reviews

Downton Abbey - Series 3 - Limited Edition with 2013 Diary (Exclusive to Amazon.co.uk) [DVD]

5 star:		(538)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

The much anticipated Downton Abbey Series 3 starts in Spring 1920, carrying on from the superb Christmas Special which was set over the 1919/20 holiday period. The first episode picks up with Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley at last about to get hitched, but as usual there is quite a lot going on at Downton both above and below stairs and you just know that nothing is going to go smoothly.

Shirley Maclaine soon makes her appearance as Martha Levinson, Lady Grantham's American mother. As usual, Violet, played with style by Maggie Smith manages to set the scene with some rather pithy comments. Martha has no time for the stuffy English and their traditions and is not slow to voice her opinion. Clearly she was introduced as a foil to Maggie Smith and the interplay between the two does work very well as one suspected it would. Violet seems to manage to continue to dominate any scene she is in with or without Martha in attendance!

There are plenty of dramatic and unexpected moments in the new series, as life on the Downton estate returns to more as it was shown in the first series, before the First World War when it served as a convalescent home for injured servicemen. However, in common with other large estates, there are new challenges for Downton in the post war period and it is necessary for there to be changes for Downton to survive. The interaction between the family and those that serve them 'below stairs' continues to be a rich source of story lines for the script writers and is a major contribution to the success of the show.

Downton Abbey is the most successful costume drama from British TV since Brideshead Revisited some thirty years ago which is quite an accolade. Regular viewers of Downton will have been holding their breath wondering whether Series 3 could possibly keep up the very high standards of the previous episodes. However, we need not have worried and few will be disappointed with the latest series. You really wonder how far Downton can go - personally I would not be surprised if it runs up to the 1930s in due course so hopefully plenty to look forward to! The really good news is that we know there will be a two hour Christmas Special in 2012 and although a fourth series has not yet been announced it will be very surprising if it does not follow.

For those of you interested in the extra features, this DVD includes Downton Abbey in 1920, The Men of Downton Abbey, The Wedding of Lady Edith, The Wedding of Lady Mary, an Interview with Shirley Maclaine and Behind the Scenes - The Cricket Match. This is a total of 68 minutes of additional material.

For any reader of this review living outside of Europe, I understand that this DVD is a Region 2 DVD, which means that it will only play on a Region 2 player or a multi region player. Another poster has stated that the blu ray is also region coded this time, whereas Series 1 and 2 were not. The Region 1 (North America) DVD is expected to be released in January and will likely include the 2012 Christmas Special which this DVD does not - The Region 1 Series 2 DVD certainly included the 2011 Christmas Special so this seems very probable.

No listing of what is on any of the discs, so here I am to help you all. Remember both Blue ray and standard copy are only in stereo, no 5.1 recording has been released.
DOWNTON ABBEY
SERIES 3 DVD
Disc 1
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding : Film trailer : 2 minutes
Episode 1 - 1 hour 6 minutes
Episode 2 - 47 minutes
Episode 3 - 48 minutes
Extras : Downton Abbey in 1920 : 16 minutes 40 seconds
Disc 2
Episode 4 - 47 minutes
Episode 5 - 47 minutes
Episode 6 - 47 minutes
Extras : The Men of Downton : 8 Minutes 40 seconds
Disc 3
Episode 7 - 47 minutes
Episode 8 - 1 hour 7 minutes
Extras : The wedding of Lady Mary : 12 minutes 30 seconds
The Wedding of Lady Edith : 15 minutes 20 seconds
Shirley Mclaine at Downton Abby, Interview : 8 minutes 45"
Behind The Scenes-The Cricket Match : 6 minutes 30 seconds
Les Miserables Feature : 2 Tailers - 1` 30`` and 2` 30``
Singing Live Featurette : 4 minutes 30 seconds

Series 3 introduces Cora's mother Martha,in 1920, superbly played by Shirley MacLaine. A challenge for the Dowager Violet (Maggie Smith) who can speak volumes with an aside frown or one-liner? Full of thrills, emotion, sharp-tongued wit, it sets the episodes to follow. Matthew and Mary return from their honeymoon, all lovey-dovey, with Martha doing things in the American style, not to everyones taste.

Violet sets to work with attacking charm. Of course, this revolves around the rest of the cast, magnificently written by Julian Fellowes. Matthew (Dan Stevens) has the money to bail the financial Downton disaster but is not forthcoming. Anna Bates (Jeanne Froggatt) never says die and gets her reward with Bates. Matthew and Robert (Hugh Bonneville) have short shrift on the estate. Thomas (Rob James-Collier) and O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran) seem to be in cahoots but the situation takes a change.

Thank goodness for the female intuition. The sparkling and tense above and below stairs works wonders. Sense has the final say. Lady Edith is almost content with new work and potential romance, Lady Mary still strong, butler Carson demonstrable and Violet's great niece Rose adds another dimension. Takes a cricket match to sort it all out. Where do we go from here? The ending leaves another series wide open. A Christmas Day Special is eagerly awaited. I'm sure Julian Fellowes has more up his sleeve. Wonderful fun and entertainment. Another hole in Sunday night programmes. Enjoy the recordings. Say no more apart from an hour plus of extras.

Alert to potential buyers in the US and other non-Region B countries: unlike Seasons 1 and 2, the Blu-Ray for Season 3 is not region-free. It is locked for Region B. Wish I had known that before making the purchase; I had assumed that Season 3 would have been handled the same way as prior seasons.

I did toy with giving series three of Downton Abbey four stars as I didn't think it was quite as good as the first two series. On reflection however, it is still a good drama and generally consistantly watchable.

There were shocks, new characters and it did keep you watching. I thought that the last episode was a bit on the weak side with the story of the annoying Rose a bit odd and the fact that Bates went so much out of his way to help Thomas a tad unrealistic. I have to say that if Cora carries on sounding too much like the chef out of the Muppets she will become a joke figure so that needs to be watched. I also felt that some of the dialogue was too corny especially between Matthew and Mary.

What was good was Maggie Smith of course who is still the best thing about the whole series and the unexpected loss of a main character that I genuinely didn't see coming. This was clever writing and showed that some stories could still shock. I would like to see Joanne Froggatt given more meat to her character of Anna as this time she was a bit too simpering and she needs a stronger role as she is a very good actress. There is still life left in Downton but it does need to be careful that it doesn't descend too much into a parody that would make it seem like a mickey take. For all that though, it is a still a treat and let's hope for a little more consistancy next time.

The 2013 diary is absolutely stunning!! High quality pictures on high quality paper. A truly beautiful product and a must have for Downton Fans like myself!! I really recommend this stunning product!! Go on treat yourself to the wonderful episodes of series 3 as well as the diary!! Go on!!!

There is a scandal occurring far worse than Mr.Pamouk being found in Lady Mary's bed and PBS and Itunes and Carnival Films are all to blame in my opinion.

With Season 1, people that watched the PBS version were shortchanged a few scenes but nothing extraordinary. There was a scene with a snuff box that helped make more sense but the editing was really quite minor. When the US DVD/Blu-Rays were released, we had an option of purchasing either the US version or the original UK version.

With Season 2, I believe both versions were identical so it wasn't an issue.

As so many other fans of this show have done, I didn't want to wait until January to view the new series so I purchased a region free (non-hacked) DVD player and purchased the DVDs directly from England. I loved this series, it was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, if you haven't finished the series you'll understand why later. Because I feel you can never get too much of a good thing, I also wanted to watch the episodes in HIgh-Def on PBS and purchase the Blu-Ray disk for my American player.

Try and imagine my shock and horror when in the 2nd US episode/3rd UK I saw a scene between Anthony & Edith that I had never seen before. I thought I must have just missed it. Then I saw a scene with Daisy going to Mr.Mason's farm and talking to him about possibly falling in love again.

I went back to check my Engish DVDs and those scenes were not there.I thought I had faulty disks so I got another set, but those scenes still were not there. I thought how strange but at least the US DVDs should show the US version so I'll have those scenes that add a lot to the storylines. I don't want to give spoilers but I'll say there are a good 3-5 scenes per episode that have been added and they're important.

Now imagine my horror when I receive my Blu-Ray disks and find they are the UK version, not the US Version. I look on Itunes and they are the UK version, not the US version. I look on Amazon Instant, and they are the UK version, not the US version. So I call PBS and ask how can i get the series as shown on PBS and I'm told it isn't being released. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? Although I am a tremendous fan of Downton Abbey, I truly hope people will stop purchasing the shortened and edited version of this season until we are provided with the complete series as shown on PBS.

Can't send back scratched disc as opened too late for 30 day return. Hopefully after feedback can get another one.

This product was delivered promptly and a present for my wife who had seen only the previous series. She thoroughly enjoyed this DVD. Highly recommended in terms of quality, entertainment value and price

Aristocracy in its purest and most realistic form. Actors are wonderful, realistic scenarios, psychological aspects of class clash unravelled. Lovely setting .