Search - Adam Bede on DVD
Adam Bede
| Actor(s): Patsy Kensit, James Wilby, Iain Glen, Susannah Harker Director(s): Giles Foster |
Movie Details
| Movie Release: 1992 DVD Release: 04/17/2007 Format: DVD - Color Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 42 mins Studio: BBC Warner Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Drama, Romantic Drama, Period Film |
DVD Synopsis
Written by George Eliot (of -Silas Marner fame), the 1859 novel Adam Bede trenchantly addresses the issues of ingrained social prejudices. Played in this British TV adaptation by Iain Glen, the titular Adam Bede is a humble carpenter, enamored of the beautiful but shallow Hetty Sorel (Patsy Kensit). Surrendering to the "political correctness" of her times, Hetty spurns Adam in favor of a wealthy marriage to a nobleman, Lord Arthur (James Wilby). Though he is deeply hurt by this, Adam never relinquishes his love for Hetty and spends the balance of the story trying to win her back in his own single-minded, diligent fashion. Counterbalancing the romantic melodrama is the calm, good-hearted presence of Adam's erstwhile sweetheart, Dinah Morris (Susannah Harker), perhaps the only character in the novel without an agenda. Adapted for television by Maggie Wadey, Adam Bede made its BBC debut in 1991, then aired as part of the PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre on March 1, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Actors
Patsy Kensit - Hetty Sorel
James Wilby - Lord Arthur Donnithorne
Iain Glen - Adam Bede
Susannah Harker - Dinah Morris
James Wilby - Lord Arthur Donnithorne
Iain Glen - Adam Bede
Susannah Harker - Dinah Morris
Member Movie Reviews
Kendra M. (KendraM) from NASHVILLE, TN wrote on 3/6/2008...
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I thought the movie was extremely well-done and I enjoyed every bit of it.I have not read the book, so I do not have that added perspective. I do think Adam Bede, the main character, is an upstanding moral fellow. I do not think he is so black and white as the editorial review suggests, that he cannot see shades of gray. He is concerned not only for his own well-being, but is also concerned for those he loves, as well. I did not take him to be so stuck in his moral absolutes, that he judged others unfairly.
Adam loves Hetty. Hetty is beautiful and aspires for something more than working in the village. On the back of the box and maybe in the book, she comes across as selfish and vain. In this movie, she comes across as wanting more than she has, but not out of selfishness or vanity, out of mild ambition and desire-- the same way most of us would want something more if our prospects were bleak. However, this is Victorian England and the class system make this almost an absolute impossibility. Hetty foolishly ignores the probability that an affair with an aristocrat will go nowhere, and she falls in love with the kind and handsome landowner. She has an affair with him and gets pregnant, despite the fact that she's led Adam to believe she is interested in him and despite the fact that he loves her and intends to marry her.
This is a heartbreaking and suspenseful film. All the characters are likable and the "villain" isn't really one person, it's a whole culture-- the class system and the obstacles one faces if he or she doesn't have a title and money behind him or her.
Although there is no happy ending for Hetty, it's not as bad as it could have been (no spoilers here), and the end result seems fitting and bittersweet.
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