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The Lady's Not For Burning (1974) DVD

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Price:
$9.99
SKU:
W06152016329
Rating:
5 Stars ( 12 product reviews )
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Product Description

The Lady's Not For Burning (1974)

Director:

Joseph Hardy

Writer:

Christopher Fry (play)

Stars:

Richard Chamberlain, Eileen Atkins, Jacques Aubuchon
 
"The Lady's Not for Burning" is a world-weary play about the darkness of the human soul, and about the grace that sometimes shines through that darkness and blesses the ones it shines upon. The setting is a generic town in the generic middle ages. Jennet, a lovely woman of some property, is identified and hounded as a witch, the excuse being that the old rag-and-bones man has been found dead. The mayor of the town promises to hang her tomorrow, but just that night, he's busy with an important party. A mercenary, Thomas Mendip, who has seen too much of the world, demands to be hanged because it was he who killed the rag-and-bones man. The mayor refuses Thomas's request, and insists that Jennet must be hung on the following day. The discussion of who is to be hanged, and why, is so funny you can hurt your sides laughing, and so grim that you want to cry. The play is, throughout, a darkly humorous portrait of the human condition. The priest who coddles his violin as if it were his only child, is utterly adrift from the world. He is unable to perform any of his proper functions as a priest, or even, really, as a human. He provides an odd counterpoint to the life and death issues that Thomas and Jennet face. This may be Richard Chamberlain's best performance. It is intense and understated. His Thomas is grim in exactly the right ways, with his generosity and sweetness expressed in his despair, a neat trick, even for a good actor. I've seen Chamberlain in other productions, but none of those performances seem as nuanced and sharply defined as this one.
 

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Product Reviews

Previous | Showing reviews 11-12 of 12

  1. Great version of a wonderful play 5 Star Review

    Posted by on Sep 24th 2015

    I saw this production when it was first broadcast in 1974 on PBS. Over the years I have searched for it on video, but without success. Now Zeus has a copy that was made from a broadcast on Bravo. The quality of the DVD is fine. As for the performances, they are all top-quality, but it is Richard Chamberlain's acting that is the main attraction. He is an outstanding classical actor.

  2. 1974 Richard Chamberlain's "The Lady's Not For Burning" 3 Star Review

    Posted by on Apr 28th 2015

    Have been looking for this for years, since I saw it on TV. Bought the 1987 version with Kenneth Branagh, but I consider the Richard Chamberlain version to be superior. Not only is Chamberlain's acting much better, but there is a lot more dialogue: much of it seems to have been cut from the 1987 production. Fry's words are magic, and none should be lost. Chamberlain's and Eileen Atkinson's interaction is superb, and the whole play has a sparkle and energy that the later one lacks, although it is very good in its way.

Previous | Showing reviews 11-12 of 12

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