The Complete Forsyte Saga [DVD]

Product Details

• Format: PAL
• Language English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 4
• Classification: 12
• Studio: ITV DVD
• DVD Release Date: 13 July 2009
• Run Time: 699 minutes
  

By : Rated:Suitable for 12 years and over|Format: DVD
Price : £9.99

Customer Reviews

For those of you who are very fond of the original black/white series, do not fear. This new adaptation takes nothing away from the beloved earlier version, but rather takes a fresh and modern look at the novel.
We begin in the late Victorian period with the Forsytes, a very rich and powerful family who appear to have it all on the outside, but underneath lies deceit, betrayal, unhappiness and affairs.
Young Jolyon Foryste (Rupert Graves) is stuck in a loveless marriage with only his young daughter, June, as his happiness. When Jolyon falls in love with his daughter's nanny and leaves his wife, he is cast out by his father, Jolyon Forsyte Sr (Corin Redgrave brilliantly cast) and left to live in poverty.
Years later, Jolyon Sr is now looking after his beloved granddaughter, June (Gillian Kearney) and has come to deeply regret his estrangement with his son.
As he tries to rebuild a relationship lost, meanwhile the story now has shifted focus to the other side of the family - to Jolyon Sr's brother, James Forsyte, and his son Soames and daughter Winifred.
Young Soames (Damian Lewis), a solicitor attached to his father's business, has been brought up to think that men have higher rights over women and that people should follow codes of honor and duty.
When he meets pretty Irene (Gina McKee) he instantly becomes infatuated by her. Despite her reservations and concerns, Irene is pushed into marrying Soames for security. However she soon finds herself suffocated by a lonely marriage, after Soames becomes possesive and overbearing.
As her hatred towards her husband grows, tensions arise within the Forsytes, and tragedy ensues when Irene embarkes on a passionate affair with June's fiancee, the handsome Phillip Bosinney (Ioan Gruffudd).
The second series continues to be as addictive and enthrawling as the first, with a new generation of Forsyte's taking centre stage just as the 19th century unfolds - bringing with it new fashions, art, music and technology.
As the years roll by, cracks appear across the whole family when Forsytes fall in love with other Forsytes, money is gambled away, affairs ruin friendships, and a whole generation of old and new come and go.
The Forsyte Saga is an exciting and addictive drama that you never want to end. The acting and casting is superb. Rupert Graves and Damian Lewis in particular shine in their roles, the supporting cast (including Gillian Kearney, Amanda Root and Ben Miles) and later in the second series the two young leads (Emma Griffiths Malin and Lee Williams) are brilliant and the bright costumes and locations just adds to the perfection.
The only thing I would say I didnt like was the casting of Irene (Gina McKee). McKee is without a doubt a brilliant actress, and here she does well, but she doesn't look the part. I don't see why Soames and her future lovers, including Phillip Bosinney, would be so infatuated by her. She is not especially 'attractive and beautiful', as she is constantly described and her portrayal is also very under stated.
However If you love period romances and dramas, then this modern Forsyte Saga complete series is for you!

A major disappointment, compared with the full length B/W BBC series. By the time I got to the end of this one, I wondered why anyone had bothered. There was also some very strange, and to my mind inappropriate, casting, and I found myself unable to identify with any of the characters in this version. Also, a matter of personal taste, I found the costumes and décors very unattractive. I have to quarrel with the title of this version too - FAR from complete, and much left unexplained to anyone who has not read the books or seen the original BBC recordings. An emphatic thumbs-down.

 

The Complete Forsyte Saga [DVD]