Search - Wallis & Edward on DVD

A simply brilliant, informed, and entertaining production

Midwest Book Review | Oregon, WI USA | 05/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Edward, Prince of Wales was first in line for the British throne when he first met Wallis Simpson and her husband Ernest. They were Americans visiting in England on business when Edward and Wallis began what seemed to be just another affair in Edward's long string of mistresses. When Edward became King of England after his father's death, his affair with Wallis escalated with her divorcee from her husband. Edward was adamant that he would married Wallis and make her his Queen, despite her status as a twice divorced American woman of common background. The scandal rocked all of England and resulted in the only time a British monarch would renounce his throne in order to marry the woman he loved. "Wallis & Edward" is a brilliant BBC production of a royal love that would change history on the eve of the second world war. Truly tour-de-force performances are provided by every member of the multiple cast. The costumes and sets are picture perfect. This 94-minute film is now available in a DVD format allowing for the addition of an interview with writer Sarah Williams, production notes, a production photo gallery, an historical photo galley, and cast filmographies. A simply brilliant, informed, and entertaining production, "Wallis & Edward" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, family, and community library DVD collections."

A Totally New Point of View

B. Eversberg | Houston, Texas | 07/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This "Wallis and Edward" story is totally unlike any I have seen. I'm fascinated by the story, or I wouldn't be buying all the versions. I would have liked it to be longer, of course, with more detail, but the length (less than 2 hours) could be considered an advantage.

This version presents things the way Wallis may have viewed them. Very unusual is the idea that she didn't want to divorce Ernest Simpson at all, she considered they had a good "partnership," she was sure the future king (Edward)would eventually tire of her and move on to a new fling. This is in contrast with the 7 CD set by the BBC, which gives all the details of the parliamentary involvement and the legal issues, and which presented Wallis as thinking she could become Queen of England and setting out with a definite plan to totally captivate Crown Prince Edward and remove him from the influence of his other married paramours.

It's also totally different from the portrayal of Wallis and Edward in "Bertie and Elizabeth," which paints both Wallis and Edward in a very negative light, especially in comparison to Bertie and Elizabeth, well respected for their exemplary lifestyle and sacrifice and courage during WWII.

Since obviously there are details of the Wallis/Edward relationship and history that no one, perhaps not even the persons involved, can ever really know, the film would have to be labeled "based on history." But Joely is fabulous and the actor who portrays Edward is also quite good, although other performances have captured better the physical appearance, voice, and mannerisms of the famous lovers.

Summary: I highly recommend this film for aficionados of the British Royal Family."

One side of the story

Jay Dickson | Portland, OR | 07/14/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Even today the British seem to have trouble figuring out how to present a balanced portrait of the 1936 abdication crisis. The best and most even-handed version by far remains the witty 1978 miniseries EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON, which is sympathetic to most of the parties involved and their torments over the split between the uncrowned Edward VIII's heart and his duties. More often than not, however, the future Duke and Duchess of Windsor are viewed as selfish monsters. The 2005 TV movie BERTIE AND ELIZABETH, for example, presented things from the point of view of his brother and successor George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth, depicting Edward as a spoiled and callow child and his future wife Wallis Simpson as a brittle society harpy.

This lavishly produced two-hour television film takes the exactly opposite view. Edward here (as depicted by Stephen Moore Campbell, a dead ringer for the King) is an articulate defender of his inalienable human right to love freely, and Wallis (Joely Richardson, with a bizarrely harsh and unconvincing American accent that sounds nothing like the real woman from her appearances on television) wants nothing more than what's best for the British people and for her dear, dear second husband Ernest. In this account, she just can't seem to get Edward to leave her alone with his passionate intensity for her: he seems to be some sort of curse visited upon her. Meanwhile, Queen Mary (Margaret Tyzack, great as always at playing society gargoyles) and King George V (Clifford Rose) gnash their teeth at what they mistake to be Mrs. Simpson's incredible presumption, and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (Richard Johnson) and other Establishment monsters plot her annihilation. There's no talk of Wallis's scheming against Edward's other mistresses, and hardly any mention of her incessant social climbing; she just seems somehow to have blundered into the whole affair without a plan in the world. Still, it's nice for once to get things from the Windsors' point of view, even if it does almost as if they paid (from beyond the grave) to have this produced as propaganda. If anything this film is worth seeing just for the clothes: since both Wallis and Edward were famous clotheshorses, the costumes for this film are absolutely spectacular."

Sympathetic portrayal of one of the 20th century's great rom

z hayes | TX | 03/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I grew up hearing stories of British royalty and their scandals as my mother is an avid fan of all things royalty and the epic romance of Edward, Prince of Wales and later King Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson was one which always fascinated me. Though I'm not a fan of the couple [because they were known Nazi sympathizers], I do find their romance fascinating, and used to wonder as to what kind of woman would so intoxicate a king as to persuade him to give up his throne.

This screen adaptation of their love story is told from Wallis' point of view and is quite a sympathetic portrayal of Wallis. Though I'm no expert on the history of this romance, I did wonder as to how much of this version was fact because the traditional versions seem to point a very accusatory finger at Wallis' role behind Edward's decision to abdicate his throne to be with the woman he loves.

What comes across clearly is Edward's [played magnificently by Stephen Campbell Moore] infatuation and obsession with Wallis [Joely Richardson, more recently seen in the tv series Nip and Tuck], an American woman who had been divorced and was married to American businessman Ernest Simpson [David Westhead]when the pair meet. Very soon, Edward, Prince of Wales who was famous for being a playboy [much to the detriment of his royal parents, King George and Queen Mary] takes Wallis as his lover, but their affair doesn't draw too much attention until he openly displays Wallis at official functions and shows his partiality towards her. When Ernest asks Wallis for a divorce [supposedly embroiled in an affair himself] after a civil meeting with Edward, all hell breaks loose as the British PM, Stanley Baldwin [Richard Johnson] and other influential people begin to realize the very real threat that Wallis poses to the monarchy should Edward decide to legalize their union by marriage once Wallis' second divorce comes through.

The specter of a marriage between Edward and Wallis at the time was deemed a catastrophe as Edward, who became King Edward VIII upon the death of his father, was the head of the Church of England, and which forbade remarriage for anyone whose divorced spouse was still living [and in this case, both of Wallis' ex' were still living].

The rest of the story tells of Edward's futile attempts at convincing the British government to grant a morganatic marriage. This version portrays Wallis as a woman prepared to sacrifice Edward for the sake of his throne, telling him NOT to abdicate, but has us believe that Edward was acting of his own volition in abdicating.

I found Edward's portrayal by Stephen Campbell Moore to be very credibly done and one of the most poignant scenes in the movie is when he is talking to his younger brother Bertie, who went on to become King George VI after Edward's abdication. Joely Richardson also does an admirable job as the much vilified Wallis, and this particular screen version of the romance portrays a very sexual side of the relationship between Edward and Wallis, which is made all the more believable by the authentic chemistry shared between the two leads. The sexual aspect of the pair's relationship is often ignored in other versions, but not here. One gathers that though Wallis was not endowed with great beauty in the traditional sense, often seeming almost manly, she nevertheless exuded a very potent sexual charisma that undoubtedly attracted Edward to her, among many other things.

All in all, "Wallis and Edward" may veer away from the traditional version of events but it nevertheless makes for riveting viewing.

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