The Greatest British Classic Stories - 8-DVD Box Set ( North & South / Jane Eyre / The Mayor of Casterbridge / The Shadow in the North / The Ruby in the Smoke / Jessica )

The Greatest British Classic Stories - 8-DVD Box Set (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: North & South / Jane Eyre / The Mayor of Casterbridge / The Shadow in the North / The Ruby in the Smoke / Jessica
Language Selections:
Danish ( Subtitles )
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Norwegian ( Subtitles )
Swedish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Sweden ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
1106 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Box Set
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1983 - 2007 and produced in:
Australia ( Australia, New Zealand )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Brian Percival
Julian Amyes
David Thacker
John Alexander
Peter Andrikidis

Written By:
Elizabeth Gaskell
Sandy Welch
Charlotte Brontë
Alexander Baron
Thomas Hardy
Ted Whitehead
Adrian Hodges
Philip Pullman
Bryce Courtenay
Peter Yeldham

Actors:
Daniela Denby-Ashe ..... Margaret Hale (4 episodes, 2004)
Richard Armitage ..... John Thornton (4 episodes, 2004)
Tim Pigott-Smith ..... Richard Hale (4 episodes, 2004)
Sinéad Cusack ..... Hannah Thornton (4 episodes, 2004)
Brendan Coyle ..... Nicholas Higgins (4 episodes, 2004)
Anna Maxwell Martin ..... Bessy Higgins (4 episodes, 2004)
Jo Joyner ..... Fanny Thornton (4 episodes, 2004)
Pauline Quirke ..... Dixon (4 episodes, 2004)
Kay Lyon ..... Mary Higgins (4 episodes, 2004)
Lesley Manville ..... Maria Hale (4 episodes, 2004)
Brian Protheroe ..... Mr. Bell (3 episodes, 2004)
Rupert Evans ..... Frederick Hale (3 episodes, 2004)
John Light ..... Henry Lennox (3 episodes, 2004)
Emma Ferguson ..... Edith Shaw Lennox (3 episodes, 2004)
William Houston ..... John Boucher (3 episodes, 2004)
Jane Booker ..... Mrs. Shaw (3 episodes, 2004)
Lucy Brown ..... Ann Latimer (3 episodes, 2004)
Tom Charnock ..... Williams (3 episodes, 2004)
Tim Faraday ..... Mr. Watson (3 episodes, 2004)
Travis Oliver ..... Capt. Maxwell Lennox (3 episodes, 2004)
Caroline Pegg ..... Mrs. Boucher (3 episodes, 2004)
Will Tacey ..... Mr. Latimer (3 episodes, 2004)
David Crellin ..... Mr. Slickson (2 episodes, 2004)
Shaun Hennessey ..... Mr. Henderson (2 episodes, 2004)
Frank Lauder ..... Stephens (2 episodes, 2004)
Alan Marsh ..... Walk on (2 episodes, 2004)
Carl McCrystal ..... Henderson Worker (2 episodes, 2004)
Ian McHale ..... Stone (2 episodes, 2004)
Martin Walsh ..... Mr. Hamper (2 episodes, 2004)
Spencer Wild ..... Tom Boucher (2 episodes, 2004)
Zelah Clarke ..... Jane Eyre
Timothy Dalton ..... Edward Fairfax Rochester
Carol Gillies ..... Grace Poole
James Marcus ..... John
Ciarán Hinds ..... Michael Henchard
Juliet Aubrey ..... Susan Henchard
Jodhi May ..... Elizabeth Jane
James Purefoy ..... Donald Farfrae
Polly Walker ..... Lucetta Templeman
Darren Hawkes ..... Auctioneer
Jean Marsh ..... Furmity Woman
Michael Beint ..... Coachman
Clive Russell ..... Newson
John Surman ..... Tent Auctioneer
Susan Jane Tanner ..... Staylaces Dealer
Tony Haygarth ..... Solomon Longways
David Bradley ..... Councillor Vatt
Richard Moore ..... Councillor Chalkfield
Elliot Head ..... Waiter
Billie Piper ..... Sally Lockhart
JJ Feild ..... Fred Garland
Julian Rhind-Tutt ..... Alistair MacKinnon
John Standing ..... Webster Garland
Lyndsey Marshal ..... Isabel Meredith
Doña Croll ..... Nellie Budd
Matt Smith ..... Jim Taylor
Jared Harris ..... Axel Bellmann
David Harewood ..... Nicholas Bedwell
Hayley Atwell ..... Rosa Garland
Antonia Pemberton ..... Miss Walsh
Owen Roe ..... Bram Stoker
Richard Clews ..... Mr. Windlesham
Phil Cornwell ..... Harris
Peter Whittington ..... Society Gentleman
Sian Thomas ..... Mrs. Rees
Kay Lyon ..... Ellen
Robert Putt ..... Porter
Trevor Cooper ..... Mr. Higgs
Robert Glenister ..... Samuel Selby
Dominic Coleman ..... Jeremiah Blyth
Miles Anderson ..... Major Marchbanks
Tilly Vosburgh ..... Mrs. Thorpe
Chloe Walker ..... Adelaide
Julie Walters ..... Mrs. Holland
JJ Feild ..... Frederick Garland
Ramon Tikaram ..... Maharajah
Matthew Cureton ..... Young Marchbanks
Leeanna Walsman ..... Jessica Bergman
Lisa Harrow ..... Hester Bergman
Sam Neill ..... Richard Runche
Tony Martin ..... Joe Bergman
Megan Cooper ..... Meg Bergman
John Howard ..... George Thomas
Oliver Ackland ..... Jack Thomas
Wil Traval ..... Billy Simple
Natasha Wanganeen ..... Mary Simpson
Kerry Walker ..... Mrs. Baker
Heather Mitchell ..... Ada Thomas
Huw Higginson ..... Prosecuter
George Andrikidis ..... Blacksmith
David Baldwin ..... Magistrate
Simon Chilvers ..... Judge
Ivan Clarke ..... Banjo
Richard Connell ..... Lad
Felix Dean ..... Joey Thomas (Aged 6)
Raphael Dickson ..... Dave
Mim Dinsmore ..... Ma Shannon
Jack Finsterer ..... Micheal Malloy
Jess Flanagan ..... Luke
Mark Furze ..... Joey (Aged 16)
John Gregg ..... Justice Wall
Darren K. Hawkins ..... Male nurse
Richard Healy ..... Colonel
Scott Johnson ..... Phillips
David Kerslake ..... Merrick
John Lennon ..... Foreman of the Jury
Eliza Logan ..... Matron
Julie Lowe ..... Cook
Lee Martin ..... Yanco Cop
Vince Melton ..... Man in Court
John Merkel ..... Clerk of the Court
Antony Milne ..... Codlington
Edward Mitchell ..... Cook's Nephew
Nikki Osborne ..... Gwen Thomas
Robert Owens ..... Soldier
Nicholas Papademetriou ..... Coffin Nail
Cecileigh Patten ..... Polly Simpson (Aged 5)
Kyah Patten ..... Sarah Simpson (Aged 7)
Barry Pearce ..... Priest
Edmund Pegge ..... Sneddon
Deborah Piper ..... Churchgoer
Barry Quin ..... McDonald
Grant Richardson ..... Recruiting Officer
David Ritchie ..... Dr. Warwick
Carrie Schroeder ..... Winifred Thomas
Mark Sippel ..... Cop
Peter Sommerfield ..... Reverend Mathews
Peter Sumner ..... Rennie
Oliver Torr ..... Tom
Harrison Turke ..... Baby Joey
Andrew Vallentine ..... Hotel Clerk
Sarah White ..... Matron
Kerry Wildermoth ..... Shop Owner
Brent Williams ..... Male Nurse
Cassandra Williams ..... Mental Patient
Ross Wilson ..... Guard

Synopsis:

North & South (2004)
North and South is a four part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.

Jane Eyre (1983)
The story of Jane Eyre, the plain quakerish governess is told from her childhood until she arrives at Thornfield Hall to tutor the young Adele.

The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003)
At a country fair, young hay-trusser Michael Henchard quarrels with his wife Susan, and in a drunken fit decides to auction off his wife and baby to a sailor for five guineas. The next day, realizing his loss, he swears not to touch liquor again for as many years as he has lived so far.

The Shadow in the North (2007)
Sally Lockhart and friends investigate the disappearance of a steamship, a magician who is threatened by thugs, a psychic with dark visions, and heartless industrialist.

The Ruby in the Smoke (2006)
In Victorian England, Sally Lockhart receives an anonymous note sending her on a mysterious quest. Her father has recently died and feeling suffocated living with her elderly aunt moves in with newfound friends, a photographer and his sister. She is soon made aware that the mysterious Mrs. Holland is out to kill her.

Jessica (2004)
Young Jessica is sent to a mental asylum by her rotten family on a false pretense. Her only chance is a down-on-his-luck boozing lawyer.

North & South (2004)
This series operates on many levels. At the heart of the series is the tempestuous relationship between Margaret Hale, a young woman from a southern middle class family who finds herself uprooted to the north, and John Thornton, a formerly poverty-stricken cotton mill owner terrified of losing the viability of his business. Around them are class struggles between the workers and mill owners and ideological struggles between the industrial North and the agrarian South. After moving North, Margaret's father befriends his student Mr. Thornton. Margaret has already formed her opinion of Mr. Thornton independently after seeing him treat his workers harshly. As the series progresses, she and we the audience begin to learn that his strict treatment is due to an overarching concern for his mill and by extension, his employees. John Thornton, on the other hand, is attracted to Margaret's independence and position in society as a well-educated Southerner. As in ""Pride and Prejudice"" the marriage proposal comes in the middle of the series and is rejected by Margaret. Contrary to ""Pride and Prejudice"" it is mirrored in social upheaval as the entire town is brought to its knees by a strike. The latter half of the series is an unraveling of the former misunderstandings ending in a romantic reconciliation which is again mirrored by reconciliation between workers and mill owners.

Jane Eyre (1983)
Jane Eyre is yet another cinematic dramatization of Charlotte Bronte's classic 19th century romantic novel - and at 239 minutes, the longest and most thorough. The familiar storyline traces the life of Jane Eyre from her miserable childhood in a bleak orphan's home to her assumption of a governess' post at the home of the mysterious Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester fall in love, but their plans for marriage are blighted by the Terrible Secret hidden away in his attic. Only when total, devastating disaster befalls Rochester does he consider himself worthy of Jane's love. This 1983 multipart BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre stars Zelah Clarke in the title role and future James Bond Timothy Dalton as Rochester.

The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003)
After mishandling the story's set-up, director David Thacker steers Ted Whitehead's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel to a satisfyingly cathartic end. Abusive and alcoholic, unemployed farmhand Michael Henchard (Ciaran Hinds) mistreats his devoted wife, Susan (Juliet Aubrey), and then drunkenly auctions her off, with their infant daughter, to the highest bidder at a county fair. The next morning, a hung-over Henchard regrets his folly and vows to God to avoid liquor. The buyer, seafarer Richard Newson (Clive Russell), turns out to be a fine man, but after 19 years of marital bliss he disappears at sea. Hoping to improve the future prospects of her daughter...

The Shadow in the North (2007)
Sally Lockheart now runs her own financial consulting business, while her friends Fred and Jim have opened a detective agency. But when one of her clients looses money over a vanishing steamship, Sally and the young detectives join forces again. The mystery leads them to threatened stage magician and a medium with a dark vision. Sally must also face an old enemy.
The Ruby in the Smoke (2006)
As directed by Brian Percival and adapted by scenarist Adrian Hodges from the bestselling period novel by Philip Pullman, the BBC production The Ruby in the Smoke recounts the 19th Century adventures of Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper), an aggressive and determined young Brit. Wielding a loaded pistol, fluency in Hindustani, and a fundamental knowledge of military maneuvers, Sally is anything but a typically submissive, Victorian Era girl. The tale finds her embarking on a quest to uncover the reasons for her father's premature death, and the reason why three seemingly harmless words from her mouth - ""The Seven Blessings"" - lead to the sudden demise of her father's associate. The film co-stars Robert Glenister, David Harewood and screen veteran Julie Walters as the vile Mrs. Holland. The film marks the first installment in a planned series of BBC productions based on Pullman's series of novels about Sally Lockhart.

Jessica (2004)
The Bergman sisters could not be more different. Jessica (Leeanna Walsman) is a feisty tomboy who loves to help her father work their farmland. Her beautiful sister Meg (Megan Dorman) is eagerly being groomed by her mother Hester (Lisa Harrow) to be the perfect wife, so that she can marry her way out of poverty. However, when the man, Jack Thomas (Oliver Ackland), who Meg has set her sights on falls in love with Jessica and gets her pregnant, Hester schemes to wrench the couple apart to claim Jessica's son, Joey for Meg. Later she commits Jessica to a mental asylum. It is here that Jessica receives news of her lover's death and almost loses hope, but after enlisting the help of Mr. Runche (Sam Neill), a down and out lawyer battling alcoholism, she is eventually released. Years later, it is the reformed Runche who gives Jessica the courage to fight for the return of her child. Eventually Meg and Hester call an uneasy truce with Jessica, and allow her to play a role in Joey's life as his aunt.

North & South (2004)
North and South is a four part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's love story of Margaret Hale, a middle class southerner who is forced to move to the northern town of Milton.

Jane Eyre (1983)
The story of Jane Eyre, the plain quakerish governess is told from her childhood until she arrives at Thornfield Hall to tutor the young Adele. She finds herself intrigued by and attracted to Thornfield's owner, the dark, sardonic (natch) Mr. Rochester. But a dread secret resides in Thornfield Hall.

The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003)
At a country fair, young hay-trusser Michael Henchard quarrels with his wife Susan, and in a drunken fit decides to auction off his wife and baby to a sailor for five guineas. The next day, realizing his loss, he swears not to touch liquor again for as many years as he has lived so far. Eighteen years later, Henchard has become Mayor of Casterbridge, a man well respected but not well liked. The unexpected return of his wife and daughter Elizabeth Jane sets off a turn of events that force him to face the consequences of his selfish impulses and violent temper.

The Shadow in the North (2007)
Sally Lockhart and friends investigate the disappearance of a steamship, a magician who is threatened by thugs, a psychic with dark visions, and heartless industrialist.

The Ruby in the Smoke (2006)
In Victorian England, Sally Lockhart receives an anonymous note sending her on a mysterious quest. Her father has recently died and feeling suffocated living with her elderly aunt moves in with newfound friends, a photographer and his sister. She is soon made aware that the mysterious Mrs. Holland is out to kill her. In the end, she realizes the solution to the mystery is rooted in events that occurred long ago when she lived with her father in India and a recurring dream she has had ever since.

Jessica (2004)
Young Jessica is sent to a mental asylum by her rotten family on a false pretense. Her only chance is a down-on-his-luck boozing lawyer.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 11 November, 2014.

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