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Reviews (2)

A real treat!
Another brilliant and entertaining British mystery.There is something here for everyone. Helen Mirren is, as always, superb. There is a wonderful attention to detail,and delightful character development.As the storyunfolds, there are enough twists and turns to intrigue the mostsophisticated of mystery fans. Tired as I was when I saw this, I could nottear myself away, and finally and wisely bought my own copy so that I couldwatch again without missing a moment. Treat yourself to a great evening ofentertainment. You'll find yourself watching this one more than once.

Helen Mirren shines again
The Painted Lady is a marvelous movie in which Helen Mirren delivers a ferocious performance as a former blues singer in search of the killers of her landlord. Her portrayal alone, which spans the spectrum of humanemotion from roaring rage to wounded pain deserves an Emmy. The plot attimes get a little murky, but stick with Mirren everytime and she'll showyou what is still good about television. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

In 1915, during World War I, a doomed campaign was fought by the Allies against German-affiliated Turkish forces in the Dardanelles. (This devastating conflict was also the inspiration for the 1981 Australian film Read more

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• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (8)

semi factual film
I must say a lot of this film is pure fiction and is definitely sensationalised such as the young bride who has to have sex with the nearest man!
All the King's Men
Slightly stuffy and fractured, but that really doesn't change this PBS miniseries' special qualities at all. Maggie Smith is quite good in her role, and adds humour to it as well. The other cast members are excellent, with direction and writing at tops. Moving Drama
A very well made, moving drama about the Estate workers at Sandringham who volunteer during The First World war to fight the Turkish in Gallipoli. Unlike the Mel Gibson Film, this focuses purely on the British contingent at the Dardanelles and the suffering and losses involved.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

This capable and intelligent adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel is one in a long line of Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Original recording reissued
• NTSC

Reviews (31)

Well rendered adaptaion
This is a well done version and follows the book with just a few minor changes.Ioan Gruffudd and Justine Waddell certainly make an attractive Pip and Estella.Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham is younger, more beautiful and a bit more sane than she is usually portrayed but the part is well acted.The actors playing Joe Gargory, Magwich, Remmick, Orlick and Jaggers are all well suited to their parts and do admirable jobs.The movie has quite a dark and sinister mood and a lot of the characters that provide comic relief in the book including Pumblechook, Wopsle, the Pocket family, and Clara's father are eliminated or have the humorous aspect's of their characters trimmed leaving us nothing to laugh at.A brooding musical score and lots of scenes of the desolate marshlands, dirty London and the decay of Miss Havisham's house also contribute to the somber mood.

Modern, but very true to the story
There is a definitive modern flavor to this classic by Dickens, yet the handling of the story is very dignified and seems to translate to film almost perfect. Mobile Masterpiece Theatre's telling of Great Expectations accounts for many of the most important parts of the story, and those who have never read the book (or, those who chose not to read it in high school), will have an easy time understanding the story of Pip's rise and fall in both love and status. Certainly this is not some cheesy modern remake that tries to be hip and cool; instead it modernizes the tale in a way that is very "Dickenseque."
A Great Performance (pardon the pun PBS fans)
First off, our friend below from Aussieland, is not correct.This IS the performance that aired here on Masterpiece Theatre in 1999 (it like other stuff on the WGBH label includes Russell Baker's openings and closing (singular as he did not do a closing for part 1).There is another BBC release from 1981 also on DVD which I do not know anything about.This version came out around the time the "modern version" shown on the big screen with Gwyneth Paltrow came out which takes place in modern Miami.Suffice it to say, this is the second time Masterpiece Theatre aired a true representation of this classic while the big screen put out a flop (the first time was Moll Flanders in 1996 which sad to say the single disc copy I bought here at Amazon is no longer in print and who knows how the double disc rerelease is doing).Ioan Gruffudd as Pip is as great as his performance in Hornblower.It also tells most of the story which several of the big screen versions leave out.If you are building a library of "Masterpiece Theatre" classics, then (even though it only aired in 99) this belongs in that library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

This episode of the acclaimed Granada TV/A&E series finds our hero, the hard-drinking, compulsive-gambling, arrogant yet brilliant Dr. Eddie Fitzgerald, forensic psychologist affiliated with the Manchester, England, police department, assailed from all sides. His long-suffering wife, Judith, is at the end of her rope with Fitz's destructive habits, and his law-enforcement colleagues have no patience with his reluctance to unilaterally decree that a prime suspect in their most recent sensational case is guilty. A man is found bloodied and dazed near a railroad track in northern England, suffering from that hoariest of TV conventions, amnesia.It turns out he jumped (or was he thrown?) from a train upon which a young woman--the third in a series--was brutally slashed to death. Fitz must determine whether the soft-spoken, clearly well educated fellow is in fact innocent--or whether he is playing a deadly mind game. The title refers to a typical Fitz remark--that lost memory is like the madwoman locked away in the attic: occasionally you hear a scream but you don't dare go near the door. Sometimes it's hard to like the pigheaded Fitz, but the direction of Michael Winterbottom (who also directed the acclaimed feature Read more

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• NTSC

Reviews (1)

Mad Woman in the Attic
In this Cracker mystery, Robbie Coltrane appears as Fitz, a pychologist and the lead character. It appears to be the first of the series and is one of the best.All of the actors were well cast in their roles.This series is full of depth and can easily withstand repeated viewing.This particular episode presents the viewer with all the admirable and other facets of the main characters.A British series, Cracker didn't make the transition to the USA as another actor played the role of Fitz. This was intricately plotted and well acted - a pleasure to view. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Mystery / Suspense   

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Reviews (1)

Brillant, One of the best
I first came across Cracker on British tv a long time ago and i,ve been gripped from the start. Along with the equally brilliant Prime Suspect, Cracker is one of the best Television programmes on British Television. Theacting is superb and the story lines grip from the start. ... Read more

Editorial Review

In 1915, during World War I, a doomed campaign was fought by the Allies against German-affiliated Turkish forces in the Dardanelles. (This devastating conflict was also the inspiration for the 1981 Australian film Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Original recording reissued
• NTSC

Reviews (8)

semi factual film
I must say a lot of this film is pure fiction and is definitely sensationalised such as the young bride who has to have sex with the nearest man!
All the King's Men
Slightly stuffy and fractured, but that really doesn't change this PBS miniseries' special qualities at all. Maggie Smith is quite good in her role, and adds humour to it as well. The other cast members are excellent, with direction and writing at tops. Moving Drama
A very well made, moving drama about the Estate workers at Sandringham who volunteer during The First World war to fight the Turkish in Gallipoli. Unlike the Mel Gibson Film, this focuses purely on the British contingent at the Dardanelles and the suffering and losses involved.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (4)

WHY is this series not on DVD?
I want to echo other reviewers and say that "Cracker" is arguably the best mystery series ever produced.It is a crime that the entire series is not available on DVD (and yet "Father Ted" is?The mind BOGGLES!!).

The second greatest TV series ever
If there ever was a show that combined drama, wit, off-color humor, and powerful performances, "Cracker" would have to be it.This is (after "Blackadder II") easily my second favorite television program, and "To Be A Somebody" is without question the best episode of it. Screenwriting at its best
Although produced for the English television studio Granada, Cracker features the talents of some of the best Celtic talent currently gracing the screen. Much of the success of the Cracker series is squarelyattributable to the screen presence of the extraordinary Robbie Coltrane.Since his debut to international audiences in the Bob Hoskins vehicle MONALISA, Coltrane has evolved from a serio-comic actor to one of Britain'smost charismatic leading men. In general the success of the series is dueto his consummate abilities as an actor. In TO BE A SOMEBODY he ispartnered with a fellow Scottish compatriot, Robert Carlyle who is mostfamiliar to audiences as the demented BEGSBY in the smash hitTRAINSPOTTING. For once Coltrane has to take a back seat. This is without adoubt Robert Carlyle's show. There are few better examples of the craft ofacting as Mr. Carlyle exhibits here, a veritable clinic. ChristopherEccleston who made his feature screen debut in LET HIM HAVE IT is also astand out. But the real unsung star is the screenwriter Jimmy McGovernwhose capacity for wit is amazing. In the short span of this series hemanages to create scenarios and diologue which are intelligent, thoughtprovoking and more than just a little amusing. Even characters who aremerely bit players are fleshed out and instilled with real character. Onenever gets the impression that a character is merely a walk on and that isthe true sign of a great craftsman. It must be said that I have always beenbothered by one scene in this film. It is the murder of the Asianshopkeeper. Having seen the American film FALLING DOWN (about a whitecollar worker who goes on a killing spree) I noticed a very greatsimilarity between the two. Each character begins his murderous rampage bygetting into an altercation with an asian shopkeeper over the exorbitantprices charged in his shop. Both sceens play the same and curiously bothfilms were released in the same year. Check it out for yourself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Mystery / Suspense    3. Mystery / Suspense / Thriller    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

The hero of the acclaimed Granada TV/A&E series, the hard-drinking and -gambling Dr. Eddie Fitzgerald, forensic psychologist for the Manchester, England, police department, is a hard guy to like, but a hard guy not to be utterly fascinated by. In this Cable Ace Award-winning episode (for best show, best director, and a much-deserved best actor), Fitz, played with immense assurance by Robbie Coltrane, is sucked into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial-killing young couple who proudly pattern themselves on Bonnie and Clyde and envision dying in the same glorious hail of bullets. Fitz's only hope is to separate them to try to diffuse the hold they have on one another--before more innocent people are slain. Time (and Fitz's own destructive personality) are not on his side, sending the stakes ever higher. Read more

Features

• Color
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Reviews (2)

Distubingly good
Enjoyed the film immensely.Robbie Coltrane, Christopher Eccleston are at their best.The character of Sean was almost unwatchable in his craziness.Especially liked the interrogation scenes with Fitz and Tina.

Well crafted crime drama
The Cracker series and this movie in particular have what many movies today lack: excellent dialogue.This movie does not rely on big budget special effects or artful cinematography to distract the viewer fromsub-par writing.This is the second movie in the Cracker series andcontinues to develop story lines involving the personal lives of Fitz andthe police detectives he works with.Far from causing distraction from thecentral story of this episode (a pair of lovers whose alienation draw themtogether and precipitates ever escalating acts of violence) the personalstory lines of Fitz and the detectives he works with add to the human dramaand realism of the story.The best scenes in the movie involve Fitz'spsychological insight and biting sarcasm.The movie does not romanticizethe young killers or the police who are trying to catch them.Itdramatically portrays the consequences of violence in a way American filmsrarely do, while subtely mocking society's fascination and celebration ofmurderers.If you are tired of "psychological" thrillers withouta brain, this movie is the cure for what ails you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Mystery / Suspense   

Editorial Review

This capable and intelligent adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel is one in a long line of Read more

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (31)

Well rendered adaptaion
This is a well done version and follows the book with just a few minor changes.Ioan Gruffudd and Justine Waddell certainly make an attractive Pip and Estella.Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham is younger, more beautiful and a bit more sane than she is usually portrayed but the part is well acted.The actors playing Joe Gargory, Magwich, Remmick, Orlick and Jaggers are all well suited to their parts and do admirable jobs.The movie has quite a dark and sinister mood and a lot of the characters that provide comic relief in the book including Pumblechook, Wopsle, the Pocket family, and Clara's father are eliminated or have the humorous aspect's of their characters trimmed leaving us nothing to laugh at.A brooding musical score and lots of scenes of the desolate marshlands, dirty London and the decay of Miss Havisham's house also contribute to the somber mood.

Modern, but very true to the story
There is a definitive modern flavor to this classic by Dickens, yet the handling of the story is very dignified and seems to translate to film almost perfect. Mobile Masterpiece Theatre's telling of Great Expectations accounts for many of the most important parts of the story, and those who have never read the book (or, those who chose not to read it in high school), will have an easy time understanding the story of Pip's rise and fall in both love and status. Certainly this is not some cheesy modern remake that tries to be hip and cool; instead it modernizes the tale in a way that is very "Dickenseque."
A Great Performance (pardon the pun PBS fans)
First off, our friend below from Aussieland, is not correct.This IS the performance that aired here on Masterpiece Theatre in 1999 (it like other stuff on the WGBH label includes Russell Baker's openings and closing (singular as he did not do a closing for part 1).There is another BBC release from 1981 also on DVD which I do not know anything about.This version came out around the time the "modern version" shown on the big screen with Gwyneth Paltrow came out which takes place in modern Miami.Suffice it to say, this is the second time Masterpiece Theatre aired a true representation of this classic while the big screen put out a flop (the first time was Moll Flanders in 1996 which sad to say the single disc copy I bought here at Amazon is no longer in print and who knows how the double disc rerelease is doing).Ioan Gruffudd as Pip is as great as his performance in Hornblower.It also tells most of the story which several of the big screen versions leave out.If you are building a library of "Masterpiece Theatre" classics, then (even though it only aired in 99) this belongs in that library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

Features

• NTSC

Features

• NTSC

Features

• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Original recording reissued
• NTSC

Reviews (3)

Why is this linked to Lesbian Film Festivals?
[...]Viewers of Painted Lady will find no lesbian characters in this movie or any lesbian themes either.
"I can handle violent lowlifes."
I loved Helen Mirren in the "Prime Suspect" detective series, and after I watched all the episodes, I began to look for other films that cast her in the same sort of role. I came across the miniseries "The Painted Lady." I took a chance and bought a copy. Another 'MIRREN' must see!
I was riveted to the screen, from the first moment, to the last credit.Having seen most of Helen Mirren's previous works, I was again watching a masterpiece in motion.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie    4. Mystery    5. Suspense    6. TV Shows