Product Description

FREE MUSIC CD: Absolute Romance
At the lush Evenswood estate in Concord, Massachusetts, Edith Adelon (Cari Shayne), a beautiful orphan, lives as the paid companion to the daughter of the wealthy Hamilton family, although they regard her as one of their own. Years ago, Henry Hamilton (Tom Conti) saved Edith from an Italian orphanage at the request of his long-deceased brother. Now, Edith is his daughter Amy's (Brigitta Dau) prized friend and confidante. As the Hamiltons await a trio of visitors for the annual Greens Cup horse race, Beatrice Hamilton (Meredith Baxter) asks for Edith's help in finding a suitable husband for a cousin, Ida Glenshaw (Brigid Walsh Brannagh), with one of two visiting eligible bachelors. But when it becomes clear that both the young men have affection for Edith and not Ida, jealousy soon develops, leading to malicious conniving and brutal backstabbing. Despite the growing love between Edith and one of the young suitors, because of their conflicting social classes, the couple is reminded time and again that their love can never be.

The Inheritance is a story that centers on an innocent young woman's struggle to make sense of her position within the Hamilton household and in society, and the love she feels for her patrons, as well as for a young man she can never marry.
Includes FREE Music CD!
ABSOLUTE ROMANCE Volume 2
1. Emperor Waltz-J. Strauss II
2. Piano Concerto in A Minor, 1st Mvt. -Grieg
3. Violin Concerto in E Minor, 3rd Mvt.-Mendelssohn
4. Symphony No. 5, 2nd Mvt.- Beethoven
5. Carmen (exc.)-Bizet
6. Polonaise in A-Flat, Op. 53- Chopin
7. Blue Danube Waltz- J. Strauss II

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7042 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-02
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 93 minutes

Customer Reviews

Worth inheriting
If "Little Women" is the novel wrapped around Jo March, then "The Inheritance" is her sister Beth -- small and unnoticed, but sweet and beautiful all the same. This lovely period TV movie is (very loosely) based on the mediocre novel of the same name, by the classic author Louisa May Alcott, and this is one of the few instances where the movie is vastly better than the book.

Edith Adelon (Cari Shayne) has lived with the wealthy Hamilton family ever since she was a baby, and is now the companion of bookish Amy (Brigitta Dau), and a good horsewoman to boot. But her life changes with the arrival of two guests at the Hamiltons' home: the beautiful, calculating Ida (Brigid Conley Walsh) and handsome James Percy (Thomas Gibson).

James and Edith are drawn together first as friends, and then by something deeper. But Ida, who wants him for herself, manipulates Edith into rejecting James when he proposes to her. Then after Edith takes place in a famed horse race, mysterious thefts and a family tragedy threaten to derail her entire life with the Hamiltons.

Louisa May Alcott wrote "The Inheritance" when she was only seventeen, and the book is syrupy, over-romancitized and cliched. But the movie "The Inheritance" is what Alcott probably would have turned the book into, had she rewritten it instead of burying it in a trunk. The wilting lily Edith is replaced with a strong, friendly young woman, and the plot is spiced up with some social commentary.

To some degree, it's a typical love-conquers-all romance, and the dialogue borders on cheesy at times, although overall the scripting pretty good. It's the execution that is likeable. The characters ramble around lush manorhouses full of light and beauty, or idyllic forests. And the gooey romance is glossed over with some sharp commentary on stuffy traditions and hypocrisies, such as why women were not allowed to ride astride. Also a touch of tragedy, when one of the characters dies.

Cari Shayne is quite good as Edith, especially since she has to be so NICE all the time. Such a character could have been nauseating instead of nice, and she has some nice chemistry with Gibson. Walsh is not so good, but the rest of the supporting cast are excellent as the loving, quirky Hamiltons.

"The Inheritance" takes the same-named novel and rips it apart, turns it inside out, reembroiders it and sticks it back together -- and the result is remarkably polished and strong. Louisa May Alcott would have been proud.

Not the Music CD of the soundtrack
I only bought this for the additional music CD, as my mum loved the music from the movie, and it was a Mother's Day gift to her. Unfortunately the CD is of some romantic classical music and not of the soundtrack.

The Inheritancd
I absolutely recommend this movie. It is a beautiful romance that has survived the centuries and I know I will watch it again and again.