Search - The Return of the Native on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Movie Release: 1994 DVD Release: 05/21/2002 Format: DVD Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 44 mins Studio: Hallmark Members Wishing: 21 Genres: Drama, Period Film

Unlike the barren and forbidding moors elsewhere in England, Return of the Native's Egdon Heath attires itself in vibrant wildflowers, mossy hillsides, winding streams, arching footbridges, and undulant meadows. An enchantress would be at home in this place, but not Eustacia Vye, portrayed by Zeta-Jones. Though coveted by every man in Egdon Heath -- and every boy old enough to stare -- the beautiful Eustacia longs for the smoking chimneys and broad stone buildings of Paris. When a native of Egdon Heath, Clym Yeobright Ray Stevenson, returns from his job in Paris as a jeweler, Vye stuns him with her beauty and marries him in hopes of persuading him to take her to Paris. But, alas, Clym is a clod at heart. He vows to remain in Egdon Heath to teach and edify. After his eyesight deteriorates, Eustacia turns her attentions to rakish Damon Wildeve Clive Owen, and the plot begins to churn and curdle. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Catherine Zeta-Jones - Eustacia Vye
Clive Owen - Damon Wildeve

Jack Gold's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. There are no subtitles, but the soundtrack is closed-captioned. Supplemental materials include production notes and biographies of the cast (which includes Joan Plowright and Catherine Zeta-Jones). This is a fine release from Artisan that will please fans of period romances. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide