Product Description

Includes: 1) Platonov ('71) Play adapted from fragments of Chekhov's first full-length play, sometimes known as the "Play without a Name" or Fatherlessness." Platonov is a village schoolteacher whose high ideals and unflagging criticism of provincial life render him irresistable to the women he meets. With Rex Harrison, Sian Phillips and Clive Revill. 2) The Wood Demon Play adapted for TV with Ian Holm and Francesca Annis. It is Leo ZHELTUKHIN's birthday, and friends and neighbors are joining him for lunch. 3) The Proposal ('59) One-act play about the tendency of wealthy families to seek other wealthy families to increase their estates by encouraging marriages that made good economic sense. 4) The Wedding (61) Story adapted for TV. A bridegroom's plans to have a general attend his wedding ceremony backfire when the general turns out to be a "lowly" naval captain. 5) The Seagull ('78) Play adapted for TV in which a struggling writer Konstantin becomes enamored by a visiting young actress Nina. With Anthony Bate, Stephen Rea and Michael Gambon. 6) An Artist's Story ('74) A film adaptation of the Chekhov short story in which an artist bored with country life challenges a charity worker's ideals. With Patrick STEWART. 7) Uncle Vanya ('70) Play adapted for TV with Anthony Hopkins, Freddie Jones and Ann Bell. When your life has been spent supporting a distinguished relative, what do you do when he turns out to be not so distinguished after all? 8) Uncle Vanya ('91) Studio production of Chekov's wistful masterpiece with David WARNER as the retired prof whose return sets in motion a typically Chekovian comic tragedy of lost hopes, stifled passion and belighted ideas. With Ian Bannen, Ian Holm, Rachel Kempson and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. 9) The Three Sisters ('70) Play adapted for TV with Janet Suzman, Eileen Atkins and Michele Dotrice as the Prozorov sisters who dream of returning to Moscow after eleven years of living in a provinvcial Russian town. 10) The Cherry Orchard ('62) Madame Ranyevskaya returns to Russia after some years in Paris & finds that the family estate has gone to seed.Can the precious cherry orchard be saved from the axe? With John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft and Judi Dench. 11) The Cherry Orchard ('81) Sensing that revolution was about to put an end to privileged and protected ways of life, Chekhov wrote with sympathy for the complacent gentry, but also with excitement for the future. With Judi Dench, Bill Paterson and Timothy Spall.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8848 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-08-02
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .81 pounds
• Running time: 1095 minutes

Features

• Includes: 1) Platonov ('71) Play adapted from fragments of Chekhov's first full-length play, sometimes known as the "Play without a Name" or Fatherlessness." Platonov is a village schoolteacher whose high ideals and unflagging criticism of provincial life render him irresistable to the women he meets. With Rex Harrison, Sian Phillips and Clive Revill. 2) The Wood Demon Play adapted for TV with Ian

Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits by a Master
I went through a period when I was studying Russian language in which I was tired of reading Chekhov. I regard this as a period of temperary madness which I am thankfully past. If asked, I would say that I am an unconditional fan.

One need not be familiar with Chekhov's work to appreciate this colleciton of plays staged by the BBC. It really does contain some gems. The most outstanding work on this collection, and it would be worth it if it had this play alone on it, is The Cherry Orchard with Judi Dench. All I can say is WOW! What a marvelous cast, this is the ideal version of this, the most Russian of all plays. Anyone who wishes to understand Russian society should first see this play and this version of the play. I am hoping that someday someone might do this play and set it in the "new Russia." It would require only a slight degree of updating. Rather than reflect on the end of serfdom, one can meditate on the end of the Soviet Union (it amounts to the same thing, really).

There are other plays in the collection. There is an excellent staging of Three Sisters (Janet Suzman is wonderful here), Uncle Vanya and the Seagull. All are very well done. There are few better ways to discover all the plays of Chekhov in such an easy and accessable manner. One can only look forward to further collections of classic dramatists from the BBC.

One of the best Vanyas ever in English
I have not had time to go through this entire set, but have watched the included version of Uncle Vanya with Ken Jones as Vanya and a young Anthony Hopkins as the doctor. Jones is one of the best Vanyas I have seen; his histrionics are presented in a sustained crescendo that ends in a state of absolute meltdown. Vanya is a very difficult role since the actor must constantly ride this wave of emotion without blowing it. Jones is remarkable, so is Anthony Hopkins as Astrov and Jennifer Armitage as Sonja. There seem to be some minor liberties with the text but it all works well.

MARVELLOUS!
THIS IS A MARVELLOUS COLLECTION OF GREAT THEATRE. I WISH I HAD THE CHANCE TO STIMULATE THE BBC TO PRODUCE MORE OF THESE COLLECTIONS. I AM SURE THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXCELLENT STRAIGHT PLAYS TO BE OFFERED, SO I HOPE ....AND LET ME KEEP MY FINGERS CROSSED.
ERNESTO OPPICELLI - VIA CERTOSA 1A 3 - 16159 GENOVA CERTOSA/ITALY
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