Lady Chatterley
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brian Blessed, Gary Crosby, Hetty Baynes, Sean Bean, Simon ChamberlainDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 205 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Lady Chatterley
Movie Review: Interesting character study
Summary: 5 Stars
Just after WWI, Sir Clifford Chatterley has inherited a large country estate and a title. He is happily married to the beautiful Connie. All would be wonderful, except Clifford is in a wheelchair due to injuries suffered in the war. At first the Chatterley's try valiantly to keep that famous British stiff upper lip, but the devastating injury means life can never be the same for them. Their marriage is now sexless, and there will be no children to inherit the title. This takes a toll on their marriage, and Connie finds fulfillment in the arms of the gamekeeper. But wait, it is completely unacceptable for a titled lady to become involved with a working class servant. Had Connie chosen a lover of her own class, society would have turned a blind eye to it. In fact, Sir Clifford had even suggested she should have an affair and have a child that they could raise as their own. Even Connie's bohemian sister is shocked and disapproving of the affair with a rough laborer.
Now, I did read the book, but that was so long ago that I don't honestly remember enough to know if this production is true to the book or not. It seems to be, to the best of my recollection.
This production is lavishly done. The house and the scenery are beautiful. I think at least some of the interior scenes were shot in the same house that was used in Gosford Park. At least, that staircase seems to be the same one. Some reviewers have mentioned the terrible music. I found out the rights for the music used when this program was broadcast were not available when the DVD was released, so other music was substituted. It is repeated frequently, but it didn't bother me.
All the actors do a terrific job, and I felt they were all well cast. I suppose that one could argue that Sean Bean as Mellors is more attractive than he is described in the novel, but he still fits the role. Joely Richardson is good as Lady Chatterley, but the two characters I found most fascinating were Sir Clifford and his nurse Mrs. Bolten. We see Clifford trying to remain cheerful, trying to have a good attitude, but he slowly sinks into bitterness. He becomes spoiled, short tempered, and self centered. This down turn in personality is oddly encouraged by Mrs. Bolten. Yet, she also befriends Lady Chatterley, while on the other hand, she appears to deliberately drive a wedge between the couple. The role of Sir Clifford is played by James Wilby, who just seems to have a blast with the role, especially in parts three and four, when Clifford has gone over the edge.
No review for this film would be complete without mention of the famous sex scenes. Yes, there is a fair amount of nudity. We even see Sir Clifford nude, including close-ups of bed sores on his buttocks. (Imagine being the makeup artist with the task of creating fake bruising on an actor's behind. Imagine being the actor. LOL) Also, there are quite a few sex scenes. Here director Ken Russell does a good job of creating illusions that make you feel the sex scenes are more explicit than they really are. The project comes across as quite sexy, but if you really stop to think about the sex scenes they aren't showing so much. This is definitely a main stream movie, not softcore porn.
I think this DVD will appeal to the sort of people who like Masterpiece Theater, Merchant Ivory films, and British costume dramas. This was a good purchase for me.
Summary of Lady Chatterley
From the director of Women in Love and Altered States comes a retelling of the literary classic that launched the most celebrated obscenity trial of the 20th century. In adapting the famous tale of unbridled passion, Ken Russell has made a moving love story and some of the most talked about television of the 1990s. Joely Richardson (Return to Me, The Affair of the Necklace) stars as the young, sexually repressed Lady Chatterley, whose paralyzed husband (James Wilby, Gosford Park) urges her to find fulfillment and an heir for his fortune in the arms of another man. Sean Bean (Patriot Games, The Lord of the Rings) is the lowly gamekeeper whose scandalous attentions awaken her senses. DVD special features include an exclusive interview with writer/director Ken Russell, behind-the-scenes photo gallery, broadcast trailer, cast and crew filmographies and DH Lawrence biography.Those who believe British miniseries to be too proper and corseted may want to make an exception for Ken Russell's 1992, four-hour BBC adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's scandalous novel. Between the full frontal female nudity and empowering shed-rocking sex scenes, this is something for everyone to have a randy good time. To save you the bother of fast-forwarding, episodes two and three contain the very naughtiest bits involving the illicit affair between "loyal wife, good companion" Constance Chatterly (Joely Richardson) and Oliver Mellors (Sean Bean), gamekeeper to Constance's embittered, paralyzed husband (James Wilby). When he insists his wife take a lover and produce an heir to his fortune, he didn't have the lowly "wild man of the woods" in mind. Neither did Constance, but soon enough the woods are alive with the sound of heavy panting and frantic gropings up against trees. The production is impeccably mounted--no pun intended--and the performances (particularly by the daring Ms. Richardson) impassioned. Save for one dream sequence involving a black horse (a symbol of passion, one character helpfully explains), and the, at times, overheated musical score that threatens to overwhelm the lovers, Russell (Tommy, Altered States) holds his tendencies toward excess in check. --Donald Liebenson
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