The Norman Conquests: Amazon.ca: Richard Briers, Penelope Keith, Tom Conti, David Troughton, Fiona Walker, Penelope Wilton, Mike Hobbs, Peter Coombs, Herbert Wise, David Susskind, Verity Lambert, Alan Ayckbourn: DVD

Product Details

Actors: Richard Briers, Penelope Keith, Tom Conti, David Troughton, Fiona Walker
Directors: Herbert Wise
Writers: Alan Ayckbourn
Producers: David Susskind, Verity Lambert
Format: NTSC
Language: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: eOne Films
Release Date: Mar 1 2011
Run Time: 305 minutes

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

ASIN: B004EP44B8
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #34,239 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)

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Product Description

Amazon.ca

Siblings and couples collide at a summer cottage in ITV's The Norman Conquests (which also aired on PBS). Playwright Alan Ayckbourn presents the scenario from the kitchen, garden, and family room. In Table Manners, Reg (Richard Briers, Monarch of the Glen) and his wife, Sarah (Penelope Keith, To the Manor Born), drop by to relieve his sister, Annie (Penelope Wilton, Downton Abbey), who's been looking after their mother. Sarah believes Annie carries a torch for humor-impaired vet Tom (David Troughton, New Tricks), which is true, but she's also been considering a tryst with Norman (Tom Conti, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence), who's married to her sister, Ruth (Fiona Walker, I, Claudius).

As Ayckbourn weaves from one conversation to the next--and the dandelion wine flows--it emerges that prim and proper Sarah and quick-witted Reg have seen better days. The same goes for bushy-haired Norman (a dead ringer for Serpico-era Al Pacino) and work-obsessed Ruth, which leads to a silent breakfast on Saturday, an awkward dinner on Sunday, and an ironic resolution on Monday. The other plays, Round and Round the Garden and Living Together, which also operate as independent entities, provide additional conversations, allowing for a fuller picture of the six protagonists.

Instead of opening up the set-bound sections, director Herbert Wise (I, Claudius) uses intense close-ups at key points. As with Ayckbourn's Intimate Exchanges, which became two films by Alain Resnais, the characters can be grating at first--as Norman tells Sarah, "You're like mild athlete's foot"--but start to feel like old friends once they reveal the different facets of their personalities. They may be exasperating, but they're also amusing and oddly likable, especially Norman, a master manipulator in the guise of a class clown. In 2009 Ayckbourn won a Tony Award for the Broadway revival. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

Passions flare and tempers rise when three couples cross paths at a country house one weekend. It all begins with the arrival of Reg (Richard Briers, Good Neighbors) and his wife, Sarah (Penelope Keith, To the Manor Born). They’ve come to give Reg’s younger sister, Annie (Penelope Wilton, Match Point), a few days’ break from caring for their bedridden mother. However, Annie confides that she’s seeing someone—not Tom (David Troughton, Fingersmith), the single young vet who’s pursuing her, but her brother-in-law, Norman (Tom Conti, Shirley Valentine). Appalled, Sarah informs Norman’s wife, Ruth (Fiona Walker, I, Claudius)—and all hell breaks loose.

Emmy® nominated for best writing, this trilogy is adapted from the hit plays by Alan Ayckbourn. Designed to be watched in any order, it views the same course of events from three different vantage points. From Saturday evening to Monday morning, the action unfolds around the kitchen table, outside in the garden, and in the family room—each segment a masterful performance by a marvelous ensemble cast.

Due to the age of these programs and the improved resolution that DVD provides, you may notice occasional flaws in the image and audio on this DVD presentation that were beyond our ability to correct from the original materials.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Please Please Please April 26 2004

By Writerdana

Format:VHS Tape

These three plays are among the most brilliant ever conceived by the Great Performances series on PBS. Tom Conti, Penelope Keith, Richard Briers, and the rest are amazing, as are the plays themselves. My only over-riding question is --

WHEN WILL THEY BE AVAILABLE ON DVD???

Considering all the junk that is available, it seems a shame that this extraordinary trilogy is not.

ARE YOU LISTENING??

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5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise indeed... July 22 2001

By GeoX

Format:VHS Tape

And now, to counter rumors that I may possibly be an excessively negative person, here is a review of something that I liked very much. Unlike seemingly everyone else here, I have no nostalgic attachment to these films, but I still think they're pretty great. I got the set as a gift this past xmas, and I initially greeted it with baffled incomprehension: what the hell is this, and why would I be interested? However, after my parents (god bless 'em) finally forced me to watch it earlier this Summer, all becomes clear: this is about as good as television gets.

Indeed, seeing something this good really forces you to recognize that most movies (and TV shows) are, when you come right down to it, pretty damned bad. TNC, on the other hand, is pretty damned good: the characters and their relationships are well and subtly-developed, and there are no facile, all-encompassing 'solutions' to the conflicts therein. All six characters are real, wholly believable people, with no fatuous moralizing on the part of the writer, implicit or otherwise, to be seen. They're occasionally screamingly funny, but never at the expense of character--everything flows naturally out of who they are. At the end of the third film I felt a distinct sense of melancholy that I had to leave these people--and that's about the highest praise I can give.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Finally available on VHS! Jan 1 2001

By MLPlayfair

Format:VHS Tape

In the late 1970s PBS presented a hilarious trilogy of plays called "The Norman Conquests." I've been trying ever since to find them again. And here they are! The production (the same as on PBS) stars Tom Conti as an unforgettable Norman. The premise of these three amazing plays: Norman is a real charmer who seduces (not necessarily sexually) everybody he meets. Each of the three programs takes place in a different room (in one case, the "room" is the garden). It's the same story and the same six characters (all beautifully performed), but each time seen from what happens only in each room. It's an amazing accomplishment for the writer, who explains in the introduction to the screenplays (also available on amazon.com) that the plays are meant to be seen in any order. These videotapes are presented in this order: "Table Manners" (in the dining room), "Round and Round the Garden," and "Living Together" (the sitting room). But I prefer "Table" first and "Garden" last. If you haven't experienced it, and you're a fan of British productions, you really won't want to miss it.

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