Product Description

In a small village in the south of England, Dick Dewy, a handsome working man, falls in love with Fancy Day, a newly arrived schoolteacher from a wealthy family who happens to be the village beauty. But other, richer men also want to win the hand of Fancy. There's Farmer Shiner, a wealthy landowner, and Reverend Maybold, the decent young vicar. Who will win Fancy's hand? And even if she agrees to marry Dick, will her father consent to the marriage? This charming, timeless story of rural life gave Thomas Hardy his first real taste of success, and with its rustic setting and moving tale of young love, it weaves a spell that still entrances today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10273 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2006-04-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 93 minutes

Features

• In a small village in the south of England, Dick Dewy, a handsome working man, falls in love with Fancy Day, a newly arrived schoolteacher from a wealthy family who happens to be the village beauty. But other, richer men also want to win the hand of Fancy. There's Farmer Shiner, a wealthy landowner, and Reverend Maybold, the decent young vicar. Who will win Fancy's hand? And even if she agrees to

Amazon.com
The radiant glow of Keeley Hawes--an English rose if ever there was one--anchors Under the Greenwood Tree, a light romance from the normally gloomy pen of Thomas Hardy (The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the d'Urbervilles). When a young educated woman with the preposterous name of Fancy Day (Hawes, Tipping the Velvet) returns to a small village to care for her father, she finds herself pursued by three very different men: The poor but handsome Dick Dewy (James Murray, Sons and Lovers), the crude but wealthy Mr. Shiner (Steve Pemberton, The League of Gentlemen), and the erudite but pompous Parson Maybold (Ben Miles, Coupling). The story is slender but enjoyable, with hints of class conflict and the changes due to come from the impending Industrial Revolution. Hawes lends her considerable intelligence and charm to the put-upon Miss Day; she makes you feel the eroticism of washing your hands in the same basin with an attractive man. The accompanying "making of" documentary is also pleasant, though it goes on a bit too long about artificial snow. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Delightful gem of a film: a lighthearted Hardy romance!
I stumbled across this delightful gem of a film recently: as everything I've ever read & seen of Hardy is quite tragic, I was expecting quite the same from this...boy, was I in for a surprise! This light-hearted romance comes from the usually gloom & doom Thomas Hardy pen: well-acted & filmed, this movie is a nice treat...

When Fancy Day returns to Mellstock to care for her father & teach the local schoolchildren, she creates quite a stir: the townspeople don't quite know what to make of this educated girl & the parson's plans to replace their beloved choir with her playing of the "harmonia" (organ). Pretty soon the sweet & beautiful Fancy has attracted the eye of three men: a poor but handsome carrier, a rich but crass farmer and a gentlemanly but superior parson. Her father urges her to marry well, but Fancy wants to follow her heart: will true love win out in the end?!

For those of you worried about content, it is kept to a few stolen kisses between an unmarried couple; there is also some time when a young man is in the river with his shirt off & he & a young lady steal a kiss. There is some mild carousing, as a few of the townsfolk show up to the church a bit tipsy on cider.

I was quite impressed by this film: I kept waiting for the dark, depressing side of Hardy to come out & almost couldn't believe that the tone of the film seemed to be upbeat most of the time. Surprisingly, the film stayed on the happier side & ended quite nicely: I love Hardy's other stories, but it is quite refreshing to see that he was not always doom & gloom, and could pen such a sweet & spirited tale as this!! Highly recommended!

As for me, I'm......I'm a woman of Mellstock
UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE, published way back in 1872, is Thomas Hardy's first popular novel. So many of Hardy's beloved novels have the underlying theme of forbidden love. Someone is always in love with a person from the wrong social class. Who could forget the bewitching Bathsheba Everdene in FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD and the spell she casts on three defenseless men (well 2 of them, anyway)? UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE is the charming and adorable story of Miss Fancy Day, the lovely and spirited schoolteacher who is hired by the town parson to teach the children of Mellstock. And here again, a spell is quickly cast on three men.

First, we have Dick Dewy, the shy and handsome carrier (predecessor to moving van company) who is quite poor. Then there is Frederic (Farmer) Shiner the wealthiest man in Mellstock (and Fancy's father's choice). Last, we have Mr. Maybold, the arrogant town parson who feels very superior to his parishioners.

Music also 'plays' an important part in this lighthearted little story. The church choir is constantly playing their instruments or singing. They welcome Miss Day to the community by serenading her under her window. They are also replaced--much to everyone's consternation, by Pastor Maybold's new harmonium (at the Church). There are many parties and dances that utilize this little orchestra. Even at the end of the film, these musicians again serenade Fanny in an act of contrition. She has become very despondent about her future in this little village and when the band plays, she realizes that she truly loves where she lives. In fact, upon being proposed to by Mr. Maybold, she retorts, (when told how superior she is to the villagers) "As for me, I'm......I'm a woman of Mellstock."

We can tell what season it is by looking at the leaves on the Greenwood Tree in the little village. It takes a year for the leading characters in this story to make major transformations in their thoughts and actions: Dick Dewy becomes ambitious to win the affections of Fancy. Fancy and her father also change...............farmer Shiner will be glad to change in order to acquire Fancy's affections!

I absolutely adored this little film (as I do Thomas Hardy). Compared to Hardy's other works, this is a much lighter fare. It still has the lively heroine and the great romance but we don't have to go through any of the great sadness and torment that we find in his deeper novels. Hardy, who grew up in a town like Mellstock, took the title from a poem by Shakespeare's, AS YOU LIKE IT:

Under the greenwood tree,
Who loves to lie with me,
And turn his merry note
Unto the sweet bird's throat,
Come hither, come hither, come hither;
Here shall he see
No enemy
But winter and rough weather.

So sweet! I can't believe this is Thomas Hardy!
The course of true love never did run smooth, and Dick and Fancy certainly have their share of thorns in love's path. The eligible bachelors of a small country village pine for Fancy Day. Fancy reminds me of a 19th-century Lorelei Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) who is lucky enough to have all of the hot men interested in her. Dick is immediately drawn to Fancy and is not discouraged by the class difference. Fancy's father was the gamekeeper for the estate of his wife's family; his wife was spurned by her family when she eloped with Mr. Day. Fancy is well educated and takes a position as the local schoolteacher. Mr. Day encourages his daughter to accept the hand of a wealthy farmer, Mr. Shiner. Mr. Shiner is sweet and well-intentioned, but Fancy feels no love or attraction for him. I thought it admirable of Mr. Shiner to admonish Reverend Maybold to treat Fancy well or the parson will have him to answer to. Mr. Shiner wrongly assumes that Fancy is in love with Rev. Maybold when she refuses his hand. Fancy loves Dick who is loved in turn by a young woman of Dick's class. Thomas Hardy critiques class boundaries and reveals them as problematic in a far lighter manner than he does in his other novels. I never read this novel; in fact, I had never even heard of it. I'm used to downward spirals, thwarted love, and hanged heroines when I think of Thomas Hardy. This novel is a refreshing break from the darker pen of the great writer.

Dick is so handsome and passionate (the casting is perfect in "Under the Greenwood Tree") that I can't imagine refusing him! The scenes between Dick and Fancy are filled with electricity and are even erotic in an understated way. I love when Dick chides Fancy for lacking the courage to follow her heart and states that he would marry the lowliest milkmaid from the direst of circumstances if he loved her. Nothing would matter except Dick's love for the woman, even if he was a high-born, landed gentleman.

This short film is romanticism at its best. As I said in my title for the review: it's so sweet that I can't believe it's Thomas Hardy! Not to disparage his bleaker novels, but I really like this softer side of Thomas Hardy.