Country Matters
by Barry Davis, John Mackenzie, Richard Martin
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ian McKellan, Joss Ackland, Pauline Collins, Peter Firth, Trevor BannisterDirector: Barry Davis, John Mackenzie, Richard Martin
Brand: Koch International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 411 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Koch Vision
Movie Reviews of Country Matters
Movie Review: Painful!!!!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I almost never stop watching something I have started no matter how much I dislike it. I abandoned this steaming pile after 90 of the most painful minutes of my life. My partner was lucky: He lost consciousness halfway through the first story.
The first story features Ian McKellen as an art teacher who is courting three young women all at the same time. Each of the woman is more vapid and uninteresting than the next. The plot was that the art teacher was the most interested in the woman who was the least interested in him. This was one of the most tedious hours I have ever spent watching anything.
I decided to watch the second story hoping things would get beter. Foolish, foolish, foolish. The second story was about an ignorant dolt of a girl whose doltish parents seemed to have little interest in her. She was sent to work for a man and a woman. The woman was an invalid. The man took sexual advantage of the girl. The girl didn't seem to care. At this point I didn't care either so I gave up.
The characters in both episodes were of no interest at all, and the pacing of the stories was deadly. I can't imagine any one deriving any kind of enjoyment from watching these.
Frank Caesar Branchini
Edgewater, MD
Summary of Country Matters
One of the most widely acclaimed drama series ever produced these adaptations of short stories by A.E. Coppard and H.E. Bates present provocative and heartwarming tales set against the vast English countryside during the post-World War I period. Filled with acute and realistic observations of nature and character Country Matters reveals the timeless and constant qualities of the British landscape and its inhabitants. Includes eight lavish dramas: Craven Arms The Mill The Sullen Sisters The Watercress Girl The Little Farm The Black Dog The Higgler and The Ring of Truth. Starring: Ian McKellan Peter Firth Pauline Collins Prunella Scales.System Requirements:Running Time: 411 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/BBC UPC: 741952648598 Manufacturer No: KOC-DV6485Based on short stories by A.E. Coppard and H.E. Bates, this Country Matters collection includes eight of the 50-minute episodes that helped form Masterpiece Theater's hybrid theater/television identity as go-to programming for understanding Great Britain. Country Matters portrays mostly tragic romance, set in rural England just after the first World War. Each episode provides accurate and fascinating costume and set design to illustrate the class differences, living habits, and manners of Brits in various regions, giving viewers a deeper knowledge of the culture clash that has occurred within this tradition-bound society. "Craven Arms" stars Ian McKellen as David, a figure-drawing teacher in love with three of his beauteous students, Kate, Nancy, and Julia. Suffering from what he calls his lack of "constancy," David's inability to commit takes him nowhere except on a lonely journey. Alice in "The Mill," a 17-year-old ditched by her parents to earn her keep on a nearby farm, also suffers through lonely sexual exploration. The first disc, also including "The Sullen Sisters" about two sisters, Lindy and Rachel, feuding over Tommy, an extremely young boy, offers little in the way of cheerful love.
"The Little Farm" on disc two provides the first glimpse of short-term romantic success, as Edna Johnson (Barbara Ewing) moves onto Tom Richards' (Brian Marshall) farm, transforming his veritable pigsty with her woman's touch. "The Higgler" also hints at fleeting emotional uplift as higgler, Harvey (Keith Krinkel) is invited to befriend an educated lady, Mary (Sheila Rusgrove). Each story unravels slowly, quietly, and in dark rooms oft lit by lantern to show what life's pace used to be. While some episodes are more riveting than others, slight action is well compensated for by meticulous script and acting. Like the best in British drama, these short story adaptations rely on dialogue to enliven characters rather than showy special effects or bawdy sex. Country Matters certainly opens a window into the past, which feels like respite from today's cinematic overload. --Trinie Dalton
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