A passionate love story charting the young John Ridd's search for revenge in seventeenth ... more
century rural England. John's father is killed by the feared Doones who weave an evil spell of murder and theft over the Devon countryside and he determines to a...
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Witness to his father's murder by the Doones when he was just a child, John Ridd is ... more
hell-bent on revenge.But a chance meeting with a beautiful girl changes the course of his life. She is none other than Lorna Doone, heiress to the family of outlaws. Wh...
Carver Doone is one of a cruel renegade family who mercilessly terrorise Somerset. Even ... more
though these outlaws have murdered John Ridd's father, this cannot stop him falling in love with the beautiful Lorna Doone. His struggle for her life and birthright against the Doone family, and their place in the uprisings against the crown and the laws of the land, make for a powerful and gripping story. Lorna Doone embraces the history of a time and place, which makes for compelling viewing right up to its passionate and perilous finish.
Presents the story of John Ridd, a farmer who finds love amid the religious and social ... more
turmoil of 17th century England. Seized by curiosity, he makes his way to the valley of the Doones, where he is discovered by Lorna. Their childish fantasies blossom into love, a bond that inspires John to rescue his beloved from the ravages of a stormy winter.
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Pat O'Connor - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over, 15 years and over - Starring: Geraldine O'Rawe, Colin Firth, Saffron Burrows, Minnie Driver, Chris O'Donnell
Advantages: Learn a bit more about a period in history; glorious scenery; get caught up in a classic story for two and a half hours. Disadvantages: Originally made as a TV Series in two episodes, and it shows; Some of the casting not the best; synchronisation.
...A&E Network, of the novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore. The original novel was based on local legends and historical traditions, incorporating the "gentleman" highwayman Thomas Faggus (played by Anthony Calf), and the Lord Chief Justice of the time, Judge Jeffreys (played by Michael Kitchen), who was known for his sadistic enjoyment of capital punishment and sense of humour.
Each episode consists of 12 scenes, of which ... ...John Ridd, and the noble-born Lorna Doone. A love which defied both the traditions of the time and the hatred felt by John (and his family) for the Doones for the murder of his father.
There is also swashbuckling daring-do and enough fighting to please the male watchers ~ the realities of war and death ~ treason and punishment ~ and the changing of the seasons in the farming community carrying on despite what the "noblefolk" ... more
A drum roll sounds as the scene opens: Dark hills, fields enshrouded in mist, hedgerows. Line by line, the following words appear across the screen:
. . . It is 1675, the reign of Charles II
. . . Many days' journey from London, . . . the West Country is still a primitive & lawless . . . place, where the government struggles to . . . impose its authority.
. . . To all intents and purposes it is another country.
Then the opening credits roll, over a background of the fields, a rushing stream, fields, then the village marketplace ~ switching back and forth from the mist-enshrouded valley with dark riders coming over the hill to the village scene until the two scenes collide violently with the Doones riding through the marketplace, driving the villagers' cattle and fighting ~ culminating with the shooting of Jack Ridd by Carver Doone as the young John Ridd watches helplessly.
This is a sumptuous production, in two episodes, made for television by the BBC in conjunction with A&E Network, of the novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore. The original novel was based on local legends and historical traditions, incorporating the "gentleman" highwayman Thomas Faggus (played by Anthony Calf), and the Lord Chief Justice of the time, Judge Jeffreys (played by Michael Kitchen), who was known for his sadistic enjoyment of capital punishment and sense of humour.
Each episode consists of 12 scenes, of which the first is the title sequence and the last is the credits. The only "DVD Extras" are the choice of subtitles (English for hearing-impaired) on/off; choosing to play the episodes one at a time or play the entire movie of 2½ hours at one time; or scene selection from the 24 scenes available. I must admit that I prefer to watch with subtitles where available, and I have indeed done so, and appreciated them.
The First Episode covers the longest period, from the murder of John Ridd's father in a Doone raid on a local farming village marketplace to the death of the eldest Doone chieftain, Sir Ensor Doone (played by Peter Vaughn), and the succession to the chieftainship by his grandson, Carver Doone (played by Aiden Gillen), the murderer of John Ridd's father. At the end of the first episode, there is a suitable cliff-hanger to make you want to tune in to the second half, before the credits roll (with the cast listed in order of appearance). This was one of the areas which reminded you that this film was initially "made for television" and came so abruptly it was a shock.
The Second Episode covers the death of King Charles II, the succession of his brother James II, the Monmouth rebellion and the eventual fate of the Doones of Doone Valley.
Intermixed with both of these parts is the love story of the yeoman farmer John Ridd, and the noble-born Lorna Doone. A love which defied both the traditions of the time and the hatred felt by John (and his family) for the Doones for the murder of his father.
There is also swashbuckling daring-do and enough fighting to please the male watchers ~ the realities of war and death ~ treason and punishment ~ and the changing of the seasons in the farming community carrying on despite what the "noblefolk" are doing.
This was always one of my favourite books as a child (rating high on the list of read and re-read books along with "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandré Dumas). In the book, the narrator is John Ridd, so everything is shown from his perspective. There is thus a curious slant to everything you are perceiving.
I found the film as a whole magnificent ~ the filming on locations in England and Wales (including Craig-Carrig-Gleisiad A Fan Frynych National Nature Reserve, The Countryside Council for Wales; and Hampton Court Palace by kind permission of Historic Royal Palaces) was extraordinarily well done, and really set the scenes in their historic and landscaping contexts. Well done to the director of Photography, Chris Seager.
The story was well adapted by the screenwriter Adrian Hodges, also ~ the changes made to the story were not too drastic ~ the elimination of events which are referred to "in passing" later ~ the transformation of the descriptions to watching the actions ~ and the overall feel of the book are well visualized. The inclusion of scenes in chronological order (where in the book John has only realized them later) helps give the other viewpoints their rightful place. From the "lawless" West Country (be it Somerset or Devon ~ neither claimed it when it came to raising a militia to rid it of the Doones!) to the more "civilized" London (I loved the lady pouring slops out of the window!) the authenticity was amazing.
The young John Ridd (Jack Bavenstock) was well played. He appeared quite intelligent and very composed; the transition from the young John working in the field to the older John, still working in the field was very cleverly done with a close-up of the leather jerkin. However, I found the initial scenes of the grown-up John Ridd when he is falling in love with Lorna were slightly annoying. Surely no one could smile that cheesy smile so continuously? He looked for all the world like a country bumpkin! Fortunately, he started to show a bit more sense as the film progressed.
I felt that the most outstanding performance in the first episode was that by Barbara Flynn as the widowed mother of John Ridd, Sarah Ridd. She showed courage and determination and you could see her integrity shining out of her face and demeanour. She was the keystone holding her family together and providing guidance to her daughters and son.
Perhaps the most annoying of the casting of a character, to someone who, like myself, is very familiar with the original book, was that of Aiden Gillen as Carver Doone. He is hardly "A giant of a man" ~ although his petulance and obsession with "owning Lorna" and of making the most of what he HAD in the Doone Valley (rather than possess his grandfather's obsession with the claims of estates back in Scotland) is well played. I do not know who could have carried the part off better, and had I not known the original, I would not have found it so annoying, I am sure.
He also was the character who "aged" the least in the film. I would liked to have seen him thicken out slightly and become coarser with more lines on his face over the time, instead of appearing almost like a "Peter Pan" in his youthfulness. Like the main character in Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" it appears incongruous that this "young-looking" man at the climax of the second episode could have been the slayer in cold blood of Jack Ridd more than sixteen years before at the beginning of the first.
There was a small problem with syncronisation as the speech did not always quite fit the lips ~ which I noticed as I have worked with the deaf, and can lip-read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lorna Doone released in 2000 by: 2 | Entertain ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Produced by the BBC in conjunction with A&E Network as a Period Drama ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes
Certification: Parental Guidance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Directed by Mike Barker Screenwriter: Adrian Hodges Music composed by John Lunn Titles design by Christine Büttner Director of Photography: Chris Seager BSC Executive Producer for A&E Network: Delia Fine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Ridd: Jack Bavenstock (young) and Richard Coyle (adult) Lorna Doone: Katie Pitts Drake (young) and Amelia Warner (adult) Jeremy Stickles: Martin Clunes Carver Doone: Aiden Gillen Tom Faggus: Anthony Calf Sarah Ridd: Barbara Flynn
for further DVD details see information link above under the product picture
Advantages: Costumes and scenery. Disadvantages: No character development.
Rating: PG
Run Time: 87 minutes
A young west country yeoman called John Ridd falls in love with a woman by the name of LornaDoone, you'd think it was simple wouldn't you? He loves her so he should marry her right? Problem is she is part of the Doone's, a clan of aristocratic murderous outlaws who murdered John's father.
Cast:
Carver Doone - Sean Bean
LornaDoone - Polly Walker
John Ridd - Clive Owen
Sarah Ridd - Billie Whitelaw
I was hugely disapointed in this movie, although the scenery and costumes were beautiful, I felt that they had miscast the characters, since Lorna looks like she is in her early thirties when she should be around seventeen years old.
The characterisation was badly done as well, the film failed to delve further into the characters and Sean Bean's character, Carver Doone appeared to be a two ...
In yet another film adaptation of R.D. Blackmore's swashbuckling romance, this excellent and lavish BBC production of 'Lorna Doone' brings the classic tale of revenge and family warfare to life with a sterling cast. Filmed in Wales, the epic family saga begins in 1675, during a turbulent time in history when insurgence against the Catholic King James II, of England and Scotland, runs rampant. The fierce Doone clan has galloped into a farming village, murdering the village's protector, the father of young John Ridd. Determined to avenge his father's death, the teenager goes into the Doone Valley where he meets the independent but vulnerable Lorna Doone - ward of the clan leader, Ensor Doone - who was kidnapped as a child. Meeting again years later, the two fall in love. Ridd is steadfast in nobility of spirit, but Lorna has been unwillingly engaged to her cousin, Ensor's evil, and sadistic heir, Carver. Carver displays a kind of sad obsession for Lorna, but at the end of the day he is as murderous as they come. As their love grows, Ridd finds a new reason to pursue his campaign against the villains that have long dominated his world, and protecting Lorna becomes equal to revenge. Lorna, however, may not be quite what she seems.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
2 ENTERTAIN VIDEO; SONY DADC
Release date
13/03/2006
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
BBCDVD 2153
Barcode
5014503215323
Screenwriter
Adrian Hodges
Composer
John Lunn
Author
Adrian Hodges
Languages
Main Language
English
DVD Description
In yet another film adaptation of R.D. Blackmore's swashbuckling romance, this excellent and lavish BBC production of 'Lorna Doone' brings the classic tale of revenge and family warfare to life with a sterling cast. Filmed in Wales, the epic family saga begins in 1675, during a turbulent time in history when insurgence against the Catholic King James II, of England and Scotland, runs rampant. The fierce Doone clan has galloped into a farming village, murdering the village's protector, the father of young John Ridd. Determined to avenge his father's death, the teenager goes into the Doone Valley where he meets the independent but vulnerable Lorna Doone - ward of the clan leader, Ensor Doone - who was kidnapped as a child. Meeting again years later, the two fall in love. Ridd is steadfast in nobility of spirit, but Lorna has been unwillingly engaged to her cousin, Ensor's evil, and sadistic heir, Carver. Carver displays a kind of sad obsession for Lorna, but at the end of the day he is as murderous as they come. As their love grows, Ridd finds a new reason to pursue his campaign against the villains that have long dominated his world, and protecting Lorna becomes equal to revenge. Lorna, however, may not be quite what she seems.
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