British Cinema Collection: 8 Acclaimed Films

What a great price for over 12 hours of really good cinema. The 8 features are all films that first showed from 1994 to 1999. Each is 90 to 118 minutes and all are in widescreen and color. They are loaded with star performers in stellar accomplishments. It is a satisfying mix of comedy, historical drama, romance, and biography. What more can you say except the price is less than renting. And you will want to watch some of the offerings more than once. They are as good as any of the new cinema creations put out today. Restoration: Robert Downey Jr, Meg Ryan, Ian MacKellan, Hugh Grant, and more. London 1663 drama of one mans journey through the light and dark of the period times. R rating for sexuality, nudity. One of the best. An Ideal Husband: A delightful period drama/romance with stellar performances by Minnie Driver & Cate Blanchett. Another of my favorite from this lot. A Month by the Lake: An older (Vanessa Redgrave) lady finds romance in a wonderful adaptation of a story by HE Bates. My Life So Far: Scot lad Fraser lives a somewhat wild childhood and viewers get a very funny accounting of his coming to terms with puberty. Colin Firth is the dad. I'll watch this film again and again. The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain. What will Welsh townsfolk do to retaliate against surveyors (Ian McNeice, Hugh Grant) claiming their prized local mountain is less than 1000 feet--thus a mere `hill'? Another top winner. Sweet Revenge: 2 souls fail to complete suicides off London's Tower Bridge. They form a pact to play a deadly game of revenge against those that drove them to the brink. Lots of UK stars. Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown: Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) gets close and personal during her grief from losing the King with Mr. Brown, a man who cares for her horses and the emotional state of his queen. True love? Tom & Viv: A very accurate & well done fictional/biographic look a the life of T.S. Eliot (Willem Dafoe), poet with an insane wife. NO SUBTITLES OR Closed Caption--shame on ECHO BRIDGE. No bonus stuff. Yet highly recommended.

Restoration is a movie of hope although I was surprised to see Hugh Grant as a villain. Robert Downey evolved his character into a mature, compassionate person to the amazement of the King. The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain was so funny and Hugh Grant as usual. It is amazing no matter how science can prove hill is not a mountain those who believe in the mountain tried to make it so. My fav - An Ideal Husband. Although I love Jeremy Northam you have to admit the interaction between Minnie Drive and Rupert Everett was fun to watch. In the middle of all the misunderstandings and intrigue, these two find a way to co-exist. Sweet Revenge was way too out there but it was a little humorous while being dastardly. I enjoy watching Helena Bonham Carter but it took some time to get into the movie because of her outlandishness. Dame Judi Dench is a marvelous actress and this movie, "Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown", was so spectacular. There are times in our life when we need a friend, not just tea, sympathy and a pat on the head. No matter if you are a queen or horseman, there are times that try your very reason for living. Judi Dench was absolutely real and marvelous in her role of Queen Victoria. T.S Eliot is a favorite poet. Tom & Viv was masterfully portrayed and so realistic that I felt that I really had a peek at what they must have been going through. I have a renewed interest in re-reading works of T.S. Eliot because of his love and the dedication of his life to her. I am sure you will have an interest in his works as well. I have mentioned my favorites on the DVD, but they were all well worth watching over and over again.

Bottom Line First: Shop around. DVDs come in and out of print and even out of print there has to be some good prices somewhere. 8 Acclaimed (British) Films is clearly for fans of modern British movies, esp then up and commers like Collin Firth and Hugh grant as well as grand dames like Judy Dench and Vanessa Redgrave. No Jane Austin here but much in the way of literary refinances and history costume dramas. These are not something for everybody movies. You much like intelligent dialoged and subtlety and slower pacing. Evan the lessor of the movies here have fine performances and superior costuming and some amazing beautiful settings. Where they fail it is directing. <D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D<D I'll not review all 8 movies in this set but I will comment as to what struck me about most of them To start with the low moment. Tom and Viv is a film biopic of TS Elliot and his failed first marriage with the well-connected Vivian. William Defoe gives us a highly intense TS Elliot, by mostly never saying , doing or emoting. This is one seriously DULL poet. There are huge gaps in the narrative and we never know how much the marriage failed for lack of hormone treatments of because well the British Aristocracy had no ability to cope with metal derangement among their own. Restoration has its moments, and both Meg Ryan and Robert Downy Jr perform ably enough. After one or two surprises early in the movie the rest is too nearly predictable. Not a bad movie, just not as interesting as the costumes and scenery. THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL BUT CAME DOWN A MOUNTAIN is a fun enough movie mostly a true story and Hugh Grant being Hugh Grant except before we knew his bumbling charm is his acting trademark. A MONTH BY THE LAKE is the almost mandatory almost chick flick about older people falling in love. Charming and Redgrave is marvelous. I almost came to hate My Life So Far, but the last ten seconds of the movie are save it. It is also a biopic, but these people are more likable. Sweet Revenge is the English version of Throw Momma Off the Train, less brash and just as pleasingly silly Helena Bonham Carter is as crazy as she usually is only funnier. Still I missed Ann Ramsey. There is no reason for you to be reading any of this if these topics and this generation of British film making is not your cuppa tea. 8 Acclaimed Films has enough quality movie time here for most of the people who have chosen to read this far. Find a copy at a cost you can accept and plan on at least 650 of 800 minutes to be good movie watching, all with fine acting and beautiful things to look at.

Mrs. Brown is a cult favorite that is scarce and pricey now. Echo Bridge compilations regularly flood the market with sound inferior to vhs issues. Four titles on one disc means low picture resolution for those with large screens. Be ready for those issues. These are for casual viewers, not film buffs or people with impaired hearing. Those of us who gave up on vhs and trashed our collections have learned to curse Echo Bridge and others for not including subtitles which used to be there. Sometimes the accents and dialect are an audible challenge, even for those of us who can deal with Shakespeare. Miramax should be ashamed.

I have been watching more movies since hardly any of the programming on TV is worth watching except for a few streaming shows and old movies. Have always like the British productions because the acting, writing and filming is above average. I had already seen "A Month at the Lake" and "Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown". I really liked them so much that I already have watched them again. If you are a British movie fan, you will probably like these eight.

Great to find film collections of British cinema! This is a good one. I am super tired of the idiocy that seems to be contemporary Hollywood - at least those that make the headlines. I find pleasure in the different approach to life that seems typical of the best of British drama. And, I love having them at my fingertips of an afternoon or evening when nothing but mindless drivel is to be found on any of the myriad television channels that seem unable to do anything meaningful with any degree of consistency. Watching these films at home and in comfort at a reasonable price is, for me, a pleasant and affordable escape from the movie house crowd. (And I can make my own popcorn, too!)

The movies are wholesome and semi entertaining, however, I knew right away the movies would be blurry and low quality seeing they put 4 whole movies on one disc. So, you get 8 movies on only 2 dvds. Compressing the files will affect the quality of the movies. So, because of this, I only give this 2 stars. Not worth keeping for my movie library, after watching the movies.

The other half were just so-so. Still, 8 films for the price of one...what a deal! By the way, my favorite is "An Ideal Husband." Excellent cast, and very interesting plot. Also really like "Sweet Revenge." I think it's an odd comedy, but very funny and kind of touching. I like "A Month by the Lake," but would like it much more if the picture weren't so blurry -- the landscapes and cinematography are breathtaking...what a shame it's out of focus. Good romantic plot as well. "My Life So Far" with Colin Firth was very good...I would describe it as a bittersweet story about marriage, with a happy ending...presented through the point of view of a child who has a crush on an older woman. Couldn't get into "The Englishman Who Climbed a Mountain." Though Hugh Grant is one of my favorite actors of all time, the subject matter just seemed trivial and silly. "Restoration" was just too bawdy for me...within just the first 5 minutes of the film, you see Robert Downey Jr. getting it on most energetically with some tart and I'm just not into that kind of film. Couldn't get into Tom & Viv either for some reason. Her Majesty Mrs. Brown is a quality film, but I guess I've just become bored with films about monarchs and people who loyally served them.

What a surprise! These 8 films were all enjoyable - and I am not saying that because the DVDs were also available at a terrific price. I had only seen one of the 8 before (The Englishman Who Went ...) but that was fun to watch again. If you buy this set I can be pretty sure you will enjoy the experience.

The 8 film collection is at a great price with a great variety of different styles of films. includes many movies I had never heard of before. Loved all the films. Would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys British comedy/mysterydrama.

Worth the money. 6 out of the 8 were very good. "Restoration" was not for me (but my wife thought it OK) but "Sweet Revenge" starring Bonham-Carter was total garbage. Whatever was she doing agreeing to do this movie? Bob, Orillia, Ontario

Excellent. Everything as promised

I already own one or two of these movies - "Mrs Brown" is one and I love it! "The Ideal Husband" is the other, very good movie! I have not watch all of them yet, as I felt disappointed with the two I watched - i.e. The Englishman Who Went Up A Mountain...... only worthy of ONE star......tired of the boring actor Hugh Grant, always the same OWN self IN ALL OF HIS MOVIES, never really 'in character'..... therefore not a good actor! Too bad! Loved "Four Weddings & A Funeral" - however, Hugh just shows up in all his movies EXACTLY THE SAME! This was definitely NOT worth the price I paid for it! Will be more watchful before I buy another 8 movie 'bargain'!