Drama > G Drama > 5 GBP to 10 GBP

Advantages: Beautiful scenery, casting and costume
Disadvantages: None that I can see

Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, 'Wives and Daughters', is a powerful story of love, friendship and family, in which the heroine, Molly Gibson, has to cope with the remarriage of her beloved father to a woman who cares for more status than anything else, and the introduction of her new beautiful stepsister Cynthia. Against all odds, including Cynthia's instant overshadowing of the gentle Molly, Molly and Cynthia form a bond. However, their relationship ...
...Roger Hamley, the local squire's son. Just as Cynthia seems to be winning, it is revealed that she is not all that she seems... The BBC dramatisation of the novel is beautiful; from hair and make up to scenery and direction. It boasts fine performances from the likes of Francesca Annis as Mrs Gibson, Michael Gambon as Squire Hamley, Bill Paterson as Mr Gibson, Keeley Hawes as the beautiful but flighty Cynthia - and, of course, Justine Waddell as ... Read review

Advantages: Great Story
Disadvantages: Bit hardto work out. Had to watch it twice

This is a must watch for all Guy Ritchie fans it was directed by the guy who produced all guys films and has a very similar sort of essence. It's all about a drug dealer who is only looking to make enough money so he can get out early and retire but he is drawn into a horrible deal with some angry serbs. There's alot of action, a great story and an Ocean's Eleven knd of ending. It also has a real twist that's actually quite hard to work out, I'm ... Read review

Advantages: A great cast.
Disadvantages: Poorly written, subject to heavy handed metaphors and an overpowering score

...one for trying my patience. All the elements are here; a heavyweight cast, a universal story with contemporary parallels, an ominous score… But Zaillian goes completely over-the-top, smothering the film in clumsy visual metaphors (you know three people are going to die because he zooms in on three crosses at the side of the road). He signposts everything – characters play constantly with guns or gaze at each other in a meaningful way. He’s too fond ...
...air conditioning and it becomes all about damage control. You never see how the honest politician becomes slippery snake-oil salesman. It damages the dramatic impetus of the film, making the otherwise reasonable two-hour running time drag interminably, so every revelation and twist feels like hard work. Zaillian’s screenplay makes the fatal error of focussing on Jack Burden rather than Willie Stark’s fall from grace. Sadly this makes for a far less ... Read review

Advantages: Great film
Disadvantages: Slim on DVD extras

...Canterbury, not far from where Becket was murdered/martyred. Becket became a folk hero, a canonised saint, and the stuff of myth and legend, as useful in politics as in literature – Chaucer’s famous pilgrims telling their Canterbury tales were on their way to the same location as Henry II paid his penance for the death of Becket. The idea of the separation of church and state is an admittedly modern invention, but even in Becket’s time, the intertwining ...
...up a background rivalry for Becket and Henry II while they are both on the same side (Henry II appointed Thomas Becket as his chancellor, a position not dis-similar to being his first, or prime, minister). When Henry decided to take control of the church by appointing his own man as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket then has what some have described as a road-to-Damascus conversion experience – the film follows this interpretation. ‘Honour is ... Read review

Advantages: read opp
Disadvantages: read opp

...the fight, dedication and determination Gandhi had to secure the countries independence. The film is both moving and very informative, its slow paced but that's the purpose of the film, its both dramatic and so powerfully moving. The film was a true appraisal of the life and legacy of Mahatma, it showed his beliefs, his coriage, power and determination to fight for a just cause. The film was brilliantly directed by Attenborugh, and is lead by a very ...
...known figure. We see how Gandhi gets assisnated during an evening walk in the garden, being shot by a young man and then shouting out "Oh God" before he dies. The film then rewinds back to the early moments of Gandhi's movement for freedom. We don't get to see his childhood or any aspect of his parental life etc, it moves straight into the pivotal moment were Gandhi is thrown off a train in South Africa, because he was travelling in first class. ... Read review