Product Description

Includes: 1) The Merchant of Venice ('72, Play of the Month) The Venice of Titian and the Belmont of Botticelli are the visual inspiration behind this lavish production of the Shakespeare play. Maggie Smith as Portia. Also Frank Finlay as Shylock, Charles Gray, Christopher Gable, Nerys Hughes and Edward Petherbridge. 2) The Millionairess ('72, Play of the Month) Bernard Shaw's glittering farce The Millionairess reveals the true relations between class, capital, power and labor. Starring Maggie Smith as Epifania, Tom Baker and Charles Gray, this original BBC production brings the hilarity and searing commentary of Shaws work to vivid life. 3) A Bed Among the Lentils ('88, Talking Heads) Maggie SMITH stars in Alan Bennett's monologue about a vicar's wife who finds a vision of God at the local off-licence. 4) Suddenly Last Summer ('93, Performance) Tennessee Williams's play stars Maggie Smith as Mrs Veneble, whose grief at the loss of her beloved poet son turns to rage against her niece Catharine (Natasha Richardson), his last companion and witness to his gruesome death. Determined to erase the memory of Sebastian's loss, she tries to persuade her pet doctor (Rob Lowe) to perform a lobotomy on Catharine.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24193 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-05-20
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 362 minutes

Features

• Includes: 1) The Merchant of Venice ('72, Play of the Month) The Venice of Titian and the Belmont of Botticelli are the visual inspiration behind this lavish production of the Shakespeare play. Maggie Smith as Portia. Also Frank Finlay as Shylock, Charles Gray, Christopher Gable, Nerys Hughes and Edward Petherbridge. 2) The Millionairess ('72, Play of the Month) Bernard Shaw's glittering farce The

Amazon.com
This three-disc set celebrates four of Dame Maggie Smith's leading roles for the BBC. The collection begins with two 1972 Plays of the Month, The Merchant of Venice and The Millionairess. In Shakespeare's morality tale, Smith's sharp-tongued socialite Portia disguises herself as a doctor to negotiate with money lender Shylock (Frank Finlay), in the process uttering the immortal line, "The quality of mercy is not strained." In the Bernard Shaw comedy, she plays self-centered heiress Epifania who tries to live like a pauper to please a selfless Egyptian physician (Dr. Who's Tom Baker). The latter production, presented in a more cinematic style, offers a fine showcase for Smith's flavorful line readings. In Alan Bennett's quietly devastating Bed Among the Lentils, one of his Talking Heads monologues, Smith portrays Susan, a deeply disillusioned vicar's wife, and in Sir Richard Eyre's intimate 1993 adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Suddenly, Last Summer, she takes on Mrs. Venable, a grief-stricken mother (a role assumed by Katharine Hepburn in the 1959 film). Rob Lowe, Richard E. Grant, and especially Natasha Richardson, as Venable's niece Catherine, contribute strong work to this Great Performances production.

For some fans, the supplements may surpass the features. They include a breezy 1973 chat with Norman Parkinson and Acting in the '60s, a candid 1967 conversation with Richard Goodwin and narration by Kenneth Tynan, who refers to the actress as "the most versatile girl on the English stage." Actor Kenneth Williams participates in both. Smith also appears in a radio version of The Country Wife, while A Portrait: Maggie Smith, an exclusive profile, offers commentary from Bennett, Eyre, and A Room with a View co-star Simon Callow. The viewing notes include an essay on her career and details about each production. This BBC set presents a worthy tribute to a tremendous talent. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Maggie Smith - Do I need to Say More!
Maggie Smith is one of Britan's national treasures. Every time I am in London, the first thing I do is see if she is performing. I have seen some very incredible performances by this brilliant actress.

This DVD sets contains four of her television performances from 1972 to 1993. I have only seen two of the specials but am anxious to see the other two.

Merchant of Venice (1972) is a Shakespeare comedy. (I never understand this because it has some of the most intense moments of a Shakespeare play.) This is about love and devotion. Maggie Smith plays Portia, whose suitors must get by three boxes to find love and must save her true love's mentor from certain death. (I have not seen this production.)

The Millionairess (1972) is from the social commentarian George Bernard Shaw and this is also available in the George Bernard on BBC box set. (This also

Bed Among the Lentils (1988) was shown in America on Masterpiece Theatre and the first of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads. Each of these specials is a one person monologue. In Bed Among the Lentils, Maggie plays Susan, a pastor's wife whose life is unfullfilling. This is about an hour long and Maggie just mesmerizes you from the get go. And this is very hard as the character is very bored with her life and Maggie makes you feel for her. She won Royal Television Society Best Actress Award and was nominate for a BAFTA (the Emmy nominating commitee was again fast asleep.)

Suddenly Last Summer is a direct filming of the Tennessee Williams play. It was shown at in America on PBS's Great Performances. This is quite different from the movie as it has only one set and no flashbacks and therefore Sebestian Venerable is only referred to in this. Maggie plays Mrs. Venerable who wants her niece institutionalize to hide her family secret. Natasha Richardson, in an early role, plays Catherine Holly. Catherine witnessed the gory death of her cousin Sebastian and has not recovered from this and the events leading up to this. Rob Lowe, yes Rob Lowe plays the psychiatrist,Dr. Cukrowicz, who is here to evaluate in institutionalize Catherine. But what happens is a volatile exploration of the events and the truth behind them. This is an amazing production and is comperable to the Katherine Hepburn movie. Maggie recieved her first Emmy Award for this production. This show runs about 90 minutes - without intermission.

This should be an incredible set showcasing one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century - and still at it! And at this price it is very reasonable for once!

Finally- a BBC collection of rare Smith performances
I have seen all of these performances except for The Merchant of Venice. The Talking Heads (Bed Among the Lentils) monologues performance is both subtle and illuminating- a real landmark performance. The Millionairess is a thrilling bit of acting. And the remake of Suddenly Last Summer is quite an interesting counterpart to the famous Hepburn/Taylor film of the late 1950s. What I'd love to see is another set including TV films "Memento Mori" and others from her work on UK television. But this is a good start. Thank you BCC for releasing this in the USA! More please!

Smith is Smith - a legend.
To many people, Maggie Smith is a legend as a consummate actress. I am one of these people. Accordingly, I admit to possible bias. Nevertheless.....
Her work in these separate stories, is first rate. Importantly, it shows her at her best in many disparate roles. Because of this, it is possible that one - or other - of the roles might be found less to the viewer's taste than another. In my opinion, this doesn't make Smith's acting any the less brilliant and convincing.
A very good buy for, both, acting aficionados and Maggie Smith devotees.