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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: BBC Warner
Salesrank: 10830
Released: August 19, 2008 |
| Our Price: $7.89 |
| Used Price: $7.88 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
D. H. Lawrence explores women in youth and middle age in two classic BBC adaptations. The Rainbow - An adaptation of D.H Lawrence's novel - a story that tells of the coming of age of Ursula Brangwen from Spring 1899 thru Autumn of 1904.The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd - Zoe Wannamaker and Colin Firth star in this early play by D.H Lawrence. When Lizzie Holroyd falls in love with another man she wishes her boorish husband dead a wish that comes horribly true.Episodes:Disc 1 Side A: The Rainvbow Parts 1-3 Disc 1: Side B: The Widowing of Mrs. HolroydSystem Requirements:Running Time: 266 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/BBC UPC: 883929019663 Manufacturer No: 1000038716
The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd Reviews:
She Wanted Him Dead 
2009-10-13 - Have you ever been so angry with someone that you wished them dead? Well, Mrs. Holroyd did. She was furious with her husband for many things: his unceasing womanizing (even bringing prostitutes to their home); his abusive and foul treatment of her and the children; his selfishness and coarseness. She thought she could no longer face a bleak future of more of the same.
Now Mrs. Holroyd had an admirer, a young electrician who appeared to be besotted with her and willing to do almost anything to woo her. He offered her an alternative: take the children and flee with him to Europe by boat and start a new and happier life.
In the wake of her husband's drunken behavior and passing out, the offer became more and more appealing. With the electrician whispering in her ear while she tried to tend to her unconscious husband, she finds herself wondering about how much better her life would be without him and the idea of plotting his murder with the electrician becomes more and more plausible and the answer to her prayers.
And then her husband is found dead. Mrs. Holroyd is plagued with guilt and has a sort of nervous breakdown while preparing his body for the funeral. She believes her wishing him dead led to his death.
This is a BBC production, and though the acting is good, this is not up to the usual BBC standards. The action never leaves the main room of Mrs. Holroyd's seedy house. You have to imagine the scenes at the pub or mine. Zoe Wanamaker and the others are good actors, but this movie moves so slowly you could fall asleep from boredom. It is a very unimaginative production. There was a reason that this D.H. Lawrence play was not received well: it did not deserve critical acclaim. Neither does this production. Not recommended.
More like a "Boring" play
2009-09-07 - It was a good story but the way it was filmed didn't do it justice. I found it very slow and there was hardly any scereny. Everything was filmed mostly in the house (which was very small and dark). If you like plays then you might like this movie. But I was very disapointed with it. I didn't feel any romance in this film. But like I said before it had a very good story to it. But it just seemed to drag on.
SHOCKED!
2009-02-06 - This review is about "The Rainbow" which is on the flip side of "The Widowing Of Mrs. Holroyd". I couldn't believe my eyes. Nowhere was there any warning that this movie would have nude scenes.
Imogen Stubbs, Ursula the main character, goes skinny dipping with her teacher Miss Ingert. They disrobe together in the house, run down the path to the lake and start making out. Then Miss Ingert carries Ursula into the water where they embrace again. It was gross and totally unexpected. Hardly anything is left to the imagination. No wonder the British magistrates ordered all the unsold copies of the book to be burned.
Apparently Ursula, a real whacko, enjoys undressing because she also had some wild love scenes with her boyfriend, who only shows us his chest and backside. (Miss Ingert got married to a man, even though she still loved Ursula.)
I really think the BBC could've put some sort of warning on the dvd. They rate all their other stuff like "Doctor Finlay", so why didn't they rate this? Most period dramas don't have these types of scenes. They're usually quite tame, but this one was a real shocker. It went straight into the garbage, what the British call the "bin", which is where it belongs, especially if you don't want your kids to get hold of it.
The Widowing and The Rainbow... 
2009-01-12 - D.H. Lawrence's play by the same name was not widely received nor did he even see it when it was first dramatised, and this is unfortunate because he seems to have understood the suffering of women in the confines of marriage-a theme in much of his work. Set in a mining town, Zoe Wanamaker plays the lonely and miserable wife of a violent, alcoholic brute played by Colin Firth. Unfortunately, this films' title is absolute poison--it basically ends the story before it begins. The audience has to at least believe that this unhappy woman might have a chance to begin life with a man who will love and respect her-a man, played by Stephen Dillane, who gives her this opportunity. This drama, though well-acted, did not transfer well to this production and needed a lot more character intimacy to keep it from playing all one note. On the other hand, another D.H. Lawrence story "The Rainbow," is an incredible, three-part "bonus feature" included on side two of this disc. Why "The Rainbow" is not sold on it's own is unusual because this is the more developed production. It was initially banned by the government because of it's sexual themes, but is more about the spiritual frustration of Ursula, played by Imogen Stubbs. She's a very brave actress considering some of the content in this film but she captures the characters' eccentricity who feels imprisoned by an unemotional and heartless society. She wants complete freedom but also to be loved-two ideals that cannot exist together. All things considered I was disapppointed with "The Widowing" but "The Rainbow" was an unexpected pleasure.
Good feature but CHECK OUT THE EXTRAS
2008-12-18 - The 87 minute feature of "The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd" is a heavy drama, well acted, strong in character use, and what the BBC has become masterful at making. Lizzie Holroyd is played by Zoe Wanamaker who hates her lot in life, mainly putting up with her drinking, pit working, womanizing, husband Charles. Colin Firth is Charles, and today a very well-known actor. Firth usually now plays the nice guy rather than this character type. Not may laughs, but a good indication of life around the pits of industrial England long ago. The story reminds me of the 15 outstanding (5-star) Catherine Cookson books put into film.
Now for the even better part: (4 1/2 stars) for the Bonus Program. It is a full length, three hour, 3-part story of Ursula Brangwen. The title is "The Rainbow" and is all about Ursula, born to be loved, and her strong desire to possess love. As Ursula states, she "must be swept off her feet" and will let anyone have her for that. Imogene Stubbs plays Ursula looking for love in all places. She seeks it from memories of a drown Grandfather, her father (since mother's love is nothing), a gardener, a military man, a woman, & students in her classroom. You will spend the entire 3 hours hoping Ursula will find that true love. And you will enjoy her journey.
This period movie, early 20th century industrial England again, is unrated but expect ample nudity with Ursula's frolics with the soldier on the beach and bed scenes with her female lover. There is much more beautiful story than naked sex, and this movie makes this DVD a bargain price. The characters of both stories have some heavy dialect so the SUBTITLES ON BOTH FILMS HELP THE FOLLOWING OF THE DIALOGUE.
In 1915 when D. H. Lawrence wrote "The Rainbow" it was tried and found obscene, banned and burned, but if released today would probably become a top-ten bestseller.
