Product Description

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 03/27/2001 Run time: 750 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48391 in DVD
• Brand: A&E HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2001-03-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 750 minutes

Amazon.com
The Jewel in the Crown, adapted from Paul Scott's Raj Quartet novels, tells the story of the final years before India gained independence in 1947. It is rare for a filmed adaptation to successfully preserve the richness and complexity of a great novel, but this epic miniseries succeeds both as personal drama and historical panorama.

In 1942 Daphne Manners, a naive young woman newly arrived in the town of Mayapore, befriends Hari Kumar, an Indian-born journalist who has spent most of his life in England. With his dark skin and educated English accent, Hari feels like an outsider wherever he goes, but Daphne understands his plight and they become romantically involved. Their developing relationship is jealously observed by local police chief Ronald Merrick, a man haunted by his own demons. When the lovers are attacked in the gardens of the ruined Bibighar palace and Daphne is raped, Merrick seizes his opportunity, pins the crime on Hari, and has the young man jailed. Distraught, Daphne flees to her aunt's home in Kashmir, where she dies giving birth to a half-caste child. The focus then shifts to Sarah Layton, a young Englishwoman who becomes fascinated by the story of Daphne and Hari, and who will have her own encounter with Ronald Merrick.

The events in the Bibighar gardens become a symbol of the violent struggle for Indian independence, and other symbols--Daphne's bicycle, a length of butterfly lace, a picture of Queen Victoria on an Indian throne--appear and reappear, linking people and events. This helps to give coherence to the plot even as it spans five years and expands to include many characters whose lives intersect in complex and unexpected ways.

With a huge cast and breathtaking location photography, The Jewel in the Crown was an enormous undertaking when it was made in the early 1980s. Twenty years later it has lost none of its power, and it remains one of the best films ever made for television. --Simon Leake

Customer Reviews

Great Story, terrible transfer
This DVD set is a real heartbreaker!

The Jewel in the Crown is absolutely one of historic the highlights of "quality" television. An absolutely arresting story. Wonderful script, wonderful acting, etc. I can't add anything on that count to the reviews already here.

That makes the TERRIBLE quality of the DVD transfer all the more disappointing. This set has literally the WORST video quality I have ever seen on a DVD! Murky, muddy picture with visible scratches and dirt on the film. The soundtrack is a little better. On my home theater setup it sounds like its coming over a half-decent clock radio. Seriously, the picture looks like they took an old VHS tape of the show and just ran it through a disc burner.

No, I don't expect blockbuster quality from an 30-year old BBC film, but I would have expected something more like the recent DVD set of Elizabeth R, which is quite watchable.

Sadly, this is almost surely the only DVD we'll ever see of this marvelous series. I'm going to rent the old tapes of this. They might easily be better. If not, I guess this is what we're all stuck with.

A MUST SEE CINEMATIC GEM...
This powerful and moving eight part miniseries has lost none of its impact since it was first aired nearly twenty years ago. Highly acclaimed, it won numerous awards. Beautifully filmed on location in India, England, and Wales, it is a highly atmospheric and complex drama, redolent of the flavor of the turbulent years just before India gained its independence from British rule.

The story begins in 1942, and through its memorable characters, both British and Indian, it masterfully weaves a tapestry of events that explains the state of flux that India was in at the time and the collision between East and West that often occurred, as the old guard made way for the new. Pivotal events become symbolic of India's struggle for independence, and it is those events that impact on those living in India and struggling to survive through those turbulent years. This tumultuous and sumptuous saga ends with India's independence in 1947.

Masterfully acted, lushly filmed, and awash with period detail, it is so atmospheric as to make its viewers feel that they themselves are there during the decline and fall of the British Raj. It captures the essence of India and its ramparts of colonialism. Interspersed throughout the episodes are snippets of old newsreels that recount India's involvement in World War II and the threat of Japanese invasion through adjacent Burma. These serve to further move the story along and imbue it with an air of authenticity that stays with the viewer.

This multi-faceted series, based upon Paul Scott's literary gem, "The Raj Quartet", is a fine adaptation that should not be missed. The award calibre performances by the entire cast are stellar and will keep the viewer riveted to the screen. Those interested in period pieces, historical dramas, and epics on Indian colonialism will love this series, as will anyone interested in a superlative drama. Bravo!

The quality of this four disc DVD box set is pretty good. The visuals are better than expected for what appears to be a direct transfer from the original print. The colors for the most part are still vivid and the audio is crystal clear. All in all, this transfer to DVD has fared pretty well. It is a DVD set well worth having in one's collection. As it runs about twelve and a half hours in length, it will provide the viewer with many hours of enjoyment.

Do NOT buy this version!
I have just finished reading the four novels that comprise Paul Scott's unforgettable epic 'The Raj Quartet'. It really is one of the most spellbinding, memorable and moving books I have ever read - on a par in its scope with Tolstoy's 'War and Peace', which I have also read.

I had already seen this fourteen-part adaptation entitled 'The Jewel In The Crown' - the first novel in the series - before I read the books. I would not have thought it possible but it certainly does justice to the books, which I would definitely recommend you read if you enjoyed the serial. Inevitably there is a lot of detail lost from the books and whereas the plot is more straightforward here as events are arranged into chronological order unlike in the books, certain aspects are more complex e.g. you often wonder what is going on inside certain characters' minds as to make them act in certain ways, and this is made quite clear in the books.

Perhaps the most notable example of this is the question why is Ronald Merrick so obsessed with the relationship between Daphne Manners and Hari Kumar? In the adaptation we are led to believe that it is because he is also in love with Daphne, but in the books it is made clear that it is because he is utterly obsessed with Hari - he is one of Merrick's 'chosen victims'.

Ken Taylor's dialogue sticks closely to Scott's and thanks to some brilliant casting, the characters come alive on screen in a similar way to the books. Tim Pigott-Smith certainly has the most challenging role as his character, Merrick, is seen mainly through the eyes of other people. Pigott-Smith is to be commended therefore for the convincing and complex performance that he delivers. He is one of the few actors who was a similar age to his character and he looks right too. He deservedly won the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

Geraldine James has the second most difficult role in the form of Sarah Layton. Unlike Merrick, Sarah is fully fleshed-out and three-dimensional but extremely complex. She is one of Scott's greatest characterisations. At thirty-two James was about ten years too old to play Sarah and also rather too plump - Sarah is frequently described as 'bony'. I sometimes get the feeling that she is not developed enough here, but James gives an excellent performance. She was nominated for the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

Charles Dance is also about ten years too old to play the delightful Guy Perron, and, in my opinion, not good-looking enough. In all other respects, however, he is a perfect choice for the part and he and James have a great chemistry on screen. He was nominated for the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

Art Malik is once again about ten years too old to play Hari Kumar but he looks perfect and his performance is outstanding. He was nominated for the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He has a great chemistry with Susan Wooldridge who plays possibly my favourite character from the books, the ill-fated but courageous Daphne Manners. Wooldridge is also about ten years too old for the part and perhaps too slender to be described as 'big-boned' but she is brilliant throughout. She was nominated for the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actress. The bitter-sweet romance between the two is almost too painful to bear when one remembers its tragic end.

Judy Parfitt is superb as Sarah's alcoholic mother Mildred and she does a great job of conveying her desperation and inability to cope with all the pressure heaped upon her. She was also nominated for the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actress. Wendy Morgan is also wonderful as Sarah's beautiful, but insecure and unstable sister Susan. My only complaint is that Morgan is blonde, whilst Susan is supposed to be dark. Nicholas Farrell is a very good choice for her well-meaning but hopelessly naive husband Teddie Bingham and the same goes for Nicholas Le Prevost as the wonderfully enigmatic Nigel Rowan. Warren Clarke is perfect as the overtly homosexual 'Sophie' Dixon. Derrick Branche is mesmerising as the ill-fated Ahmed Kasim.

The incomparable Eric Porter delivers yet another stellar performance as the amusing Count Bronowsky - an inspired piece of casting. Other famous faces include Rosemary Leach as Fenny Grace, Fabia Drake as Mabel Layton, Rachel Kempson (a member of the Redgrave clan) as Lady Ethel Manners, Saeed Jaffrey as the Nawab of Mirat, Om Puri as Mr de Souza, Peter Jeffrey as Major Peabody, Stuart Wilson as Jimmy Clark, Zohra Segal as Lady Lili Charterjee, Marne Maitland as Pandit Baba, Zia Mohyeddin as MAK and even Leslie Grantham (aka 'Dirty Den' from 'Eastenders') in a cameo role. All these actors fill their roles expertly and provide highly memorable and often delightful performances.

However, out of all the above actors it is the simply magnificent Peggy Ashcroft who steals the show as Barbie Batchelor. Despite being nearly TWENTY years too old for the role, her performance is almost flawless throughout and remains to this day one of the greatest examples of acting ever seen on television. She deservedly won the 1985 BAFTA Award for Best Actress and was also nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

This DVD set is vastly inferior and should be avoided. Until recently there was no alternative, but Granada has just released a new region 2 set and I am delighted to announce that it is splendid. The production is fully remastered and consequently the picture and audio quality is absolutely first-rate. There is an audio commentary/interview with Tim Pigott-Smith and Art Malik throughout episode one 'Crossing the River'; an audio commentary by director/producer Christopher Morahan throughout episode four 'Incidents at a Wedding'; and an audio commentary/interview with Charles Dance and Geraldine James throughout episodes thirteen and fourteen 'Pandora's Box' and 'The Division of the Spoils'.

'The Jewel In The Crown' ranks alongside 'Brideshead Revisited' as one of the greatest TV drama serials ever made, adapted from a truly remarkable story. It needs to be watched several times in order to fully appreciate it and to understand the events of the story. Invest in a multi-region player if necessary and buy this appropriately lavish set.

Final verdict: 10/10