PBS Masterpiece - Cranford

MOVIE REVIEW

Cranford

Network: PBS

Original Air Date: May, 2008

CAST:

Judi Dench ... Miss Matty Jenkyns
Julia McKenzie ... Mrs. Forrester
Imelda Staunton ... Miss Octavia Pole
Lisa Dillon ... Mary Smith
Deborah Findlay ... Miss Tomkinson
Barbara Flynn ... Mrs. Jamieson
Alex Etel ... Harry Gregson
Alex Jennings ... Reverend Hutton
Jim Carter ... Captain Brown
Emma Fielding ... Miss Galindo
Adrian Scarborough ... Mr. Johnson
Andrew Buchan ... Jem Hearne
Claudie Blakley ... Martha
Debra Gillett ... Mrs. Johnson
Francesca Annis ... Lady Ludlow
Emma Lowndes ... Bella Gregson
Simon Woods ... Dr. Harrison
Rosy Byrne ... Lizzie Hutton
Kimberley Nixon ... Sophy Hutton
John Bowe ... Dr. Morgan
Selina Griffiths ... Caroline Tomkinson
Philip Glenister ... Mr. Carter
Lesley Manville ... Mrs. Rose
Hester Odgers ... Helen Hutton
Julia Sawalha ... Jessie Brown
Greg Wise ... Sir Charles Maulver
Hannah Hobley ... Bertha
Hannah Stokely ... Bessie
Bessie Carter ... Margaret Gidman
Dean Lennox Kelly ... Job Gregson
Andrew Byrne ... Malachi Gregson
Joe McFadden ... Jack Marshland / ...
Finty Williams ... Clara Smith / ...
Tom Hiddleston ... William Buxton
Eileen Atkins ... Miss Deborah Jenkyns
Lesley Sharp ... Mrs. Bell
Jodie Whittaker ... Peggy Bell
Matthew McNulty ... Edward Bell
Jonathan Pryce ... Mr. Buxton
Michelle Dockery ... Erminia Whyte
Haydon Downing ... Walter Hutton
Nicholas Le Prevost ... Mr. Peter Jenkyns
Alistair Petrie ... Major Gordon
Michael Gambon ... Mr. Holbrook
Adam Henderson Scott ... Assistant Auctioneer
Roger Ennals ... Mulliner
Patricia Leach ... Gypsy Woman
Andrew Westfield ... Farmer Graves
Imogen Byron ... Kate
Philippa Burt ... Villager

PLOT:

Cranford has an all-star cast including Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, Eileen Atkins, Imelda Staunton and more come together in this BBC/Masterpiece Classic drama adapted from the works of Elizabeth Gaskell.

1842. Cranford, a market town in the North West of England, is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns (Atkins), the arbiter of correctness in Cranford, and her demurring sister Matty (Dench), the town is a hub of intrigue where little goes unnoticed. Everyone - from charming rogue Dr. Marshland to Mrs. Jamieson and her lap dog - talks, and is talked about.

However, the town still has its secrets, despite the most vigilant eyes and ears. While it seems that life has always been conducted according to social rules, Cranford is on the cusp of change...


DVD Description-
The BBC drama series adapted from Elizabeth Gaskell's classic novels of small town gossip, secrets and romance. 1842. Cranford, a market town in the North West of England, is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate network of ladies. It seems that life has always been conducted according to their social rules, but Cranford is on the cusp of change… For spinsters Deborah Jenkyns, the arbiter of correctness in Cranford, and Matty, her demurring sister, the town is a hub of intrigue - a handsome new doctor Frank Harrison from London has arrived; a retired Captain and his daughters have moved in to a house opposite and the preparations for Lady Ludlows garden party are underway. Everyone - from charming rogue Dr Marshland to mean Mrs Jamieson and her lap dog talks, and is talked about, behind closed doors. The town also has its secrets which it slowly reveals: Mattys encounter with an old flame at the garden party; Lady Ludlows gardener, Mr Carter, teaching a gypsy lad to read and write; the wild expectations of the May Day celebrations and - news that shakes the town when it is revealed - a railway line from Manchester is coming to Cranford.

Movie Review:

If you love Period Movies like Anne of Green Gables, Pride & Prejudice, and Little Women, etc... then you should also enjoy Cranford and Return to Cranford.

Both, a part of PBS's Masterpiece Series. They take you to a different class of time when Men were Gentlemen and Women were Ladies... and if they were not, they were looked down upon by all proper society. I watched these shows with my family on PBS in May of 2008 and this December/January 2010... and was delighted to learn my dear Aunt had been watching and enjoying them, as well. It is a series, that people of all ages can enjoy (exception for very small children who would most likely would not understand or be completely entertained).


In many ways it is deeply moving and tells not only a story, but is very detailed in telling of the lives of this inhabitance titled Cranford, where life is not always perfect, there is happiness and sadness, death and life, tragedy, romance, and great happiness! Very Entertaining!


See or Skip:

See, there are many Beautiful and Touching Stories throughout.

Click Here for my Return to Cranford Review.