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Dangerous Liaisons
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Starring: Close, Glenn Malkovich, John Pfeiffer, Michelle Reeves, Keanu Thurman, Uma Natwick, Mildred Thurman, Uma Capaldi, Peter Capaldi, Peter Gogan, Valerie
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Director: Frears, Stephen	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours
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Category: Period	User Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video A sumptuously mounted and photographed celebration of artful wickedness, betrayal, and sexual intrigue among depraved 18th-century French aristocrats, Dangerous Liaisons (based on Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses) is seductively decadent fun. The villainous heroes are the Marquise De Merteuil (Glenn Close) and the Vicomte De Valmont (John Malkovich), who have cultivated their mutual cynicism into a highly developed and exquisitely mannered form of (in-)human expression. Former lovers, they now fancy themselves rather like demigods whose mutual desires have evolved beyond the crudeness of sex or emotion. They ritualistically act out their twisted affections by engaging in elaborate conspiracies to destroy the lives of their less calculating acquaintances, daring each other to ever-more-dastardly acts of manipulation and betrayal. Why? Just because they can; it's their perverted way of getting get their kicks in a dead-end, pre-Revolutionary culture. Among their voluptuous and virtuous prey are fair-haired angels played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman, who have never looked more ripe for ravishing. When the Vicomte finds himself beset by bewilderingly genuine emotions for one of his victims, the Marquise considers it the ultimate betrayal and plots her heartless revenge. Dangerous Liaisons is a high-mannered revel for the actors, who also include Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick, and Keanu Reeves. --Jim Emerson

Elizabeth
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Starring: Blanchett, Cate Rush, Geoffrey Dench, Judi Deayton, Angus O'Hea, Brendan Eccleston, Christopher Craig, Daniel Hardwicke, Edward Hardwicke, Edward Cantona, Eric
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Director: Kapur, Shekhar	Rating: R	Running Time: 124 minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video One of the big Elizabethan-era films of 1998, Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth serves up a brimming goblet of religious tension, political conspiracy, sex, violence, and war. England in 1554 is in financial and religious turmoil as the ailing Queen "Bloody" Mary attempts to restore Catholicism as the national faith. She has no heir, and her greatest fear--that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth will assume the throne after her death--is realized. Still, the late Queen Mary has her loyalists. The newly crowned Elizabeth finds herself knee-deep in dethroning schemes while also dodging assassination attempts. Her advisers (including Sir William Cecil, superbly played by Richard Attenborough) beg her to marry any one of her would-be suitors to stabilize England's empire. No matter that she already has a lover. The passionate Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes) is married, however, and shows he cannot stand up to the growing strength of the Queen. With the help of her aide Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), Elizabeth strikes against her enemies before they get to her first. But her rise ultimately entails rejecting love and marriage to redefine herself as the indisputable Virgin Queen. Cate Blanchett's Oscar-nominated performance as the naive and vibrant princess who becomes the stubborn and knowing queen is both severe and sympathetic. Her ethereal, pale beauty is equal parts fire and ice, her delivery of such lines as "There will be only one mistress here and no master!" expressed with command rather than hysterics. As striking as Blanchett's performance is the film's lavish and dramatic production design. The cold, dark sets paired with the lush costuming show the golden age of England's monarchy emerging from the Middle Ages. Rich velvet brushes over the dank stones while power is achieved at any price, and with such attention to physical detail, Elizabeth fully immerses you into its compelling chronicle of pioneering feminism and revisionist history. --Shannon Gee

Jane Eyre
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Starring: Morton, Samantha Hinds, Ciaran Jones, Gemma Hawley, Richard Cruttenden, Abigail Berthome, Timia Mitchell, Ruth Keogh, Barbara Keogh, Barbara Scanlan, Joanna
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Director: (III), Robert Young	Rating: NR	Running Time: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 7.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com The fascinating British actress Samantha Morton stars as the titular heroine in this provocative version of Jane Eyre, based on Charlotte Bronte's oft-filmed, 1847 novel. The familiar contours of Bronte's story are all here: Jane, the unhappy orphan, grows up to become governess at Thornfield, a gloomy estate owned by the imperious and worldly, but curiously desperate, Mr. Rochester (Ciar�n Hinds). While the latter's grasping attentions stir the inexperienced young woman, the gothic goings-on at Thornfield suggest layers of unwholesome secrecy in Rochester's life. Most productions of Jane Eyre carefully reflect Bronte's absorbing balance between romance, horror, and Jane's psychological passage to adulthood. But this 1997 television movie is interesting for its near-reckless emphasis on Jane and Rochester's mutual obsession and galloping jealousies. The dramatic strategy throws off the story's overall tone, but such problems are worth it to see Morton and Hinds explore Jane Eyre's darkest possibilities. --Tom Keogh

Persuasion
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Starring: Root, Amanda Hinds, Ciar�n Fleetwood, Susan George, Sally Acton, David Cornwell, Judy Collings, David Hamilton, Victoria Hamilton, Victoria Roberts, Emma
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Director: Michell, Roger	Rating: PG	Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 7.3/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Movie adaptations of Jane Austen's classic novels were all the rage (relatively speaking) in the mid-1990s. Clueless updated Austen's Emma, which was more conventionally adapted in another version (Emma) starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Emma was produced yet again, this time for British television, as were a celebrated miniseries of Pride and Prejudice and this splendid film of Austen's Persuasion. Persuasion is the story of a love that survives eight years of dormancy and the frustrating obstacles of class prejudice in 19th century England. Anne (Amanda Root) is captivated when she meets the dignified naval officer Capt. Wentworth (Ciar�n Hinds), but she is advised to discourage his romantic overtures because he has no fortune. They meet again eight years later, but now Capt. Wentworth has become wealthy while Anne's father is in reduced circumstances in the wake of reckless extravagance. A series of circumstances ensue which prevent Anne and Wentworth from expressing their mutual and inevitable love. The film's success depends entirely on the subtle, superb performances of Root and Hinds. The film builds slowly, occasionally leaving you wondering if anything at all is going to happen. When it does, you realize how carefully crafted a film this is, and the final result is grandly rewarding. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition
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Starring: Firth, Colin Ehle, Jennifer Ehle, Jennifer Whitrow, Benjamin Harker, Susannah Bonham-Carter, Crispin Bamber, David Sawalha, Julia Sawalha, Julia Lukis, Adrian
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Director: Langton, Simon	Rating: NR	Running Time: 5 Hours
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Category: Period	User Rating: 9.2/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com essential video Jane Austen's classic novel of 1813, Pride and Prejudice, still wins the hearts of countless schoolgirls with its romantic story of Elizabeth Bennet and her Mr. Darcy. Now, the 1996 BBC miniseries is winning over adults, with its faithful adaptation, gorgeous scenery, and superb acting. The essence of the story is the antagonism between Mr. Darcy, a wealthy single man who believes Elizabeth to be beneath him, and Elizabeth, who upon being insulted at a dance by the aloof Darcy refuses to associate with him in any manner. Austen evokes incredible tension with the wit and flirtation of the two characters, and director Simon Langton (who also directed Upstairs Downstairs) successfully translates the repartee and conflict in this six-hour miniseries. Dialogue, for the most part, is painstakingly replicated, except when fleshing out and smoothing for modern sensibilities was necessary. Darcy, for instance, is drawn out, giving his personality significantly more depth. The acting sweeps you away to Regency England: Jennifer Ehle (of Wilde) is convincing as the obstinate Elizabeth, who, despite her mother's attempts to marry her off, spurs the attentions of Darcy. And Colin Firth (of The English Patient) will have women everywhere longing for a Mr. Darcy of their own. For those who have been on an Austen binge--enjoying such excellent adaptations as Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion--this miniseries will round out the ultimate Austen video library. For those new to these romantic period pieces, this version of Pride and Prejudice will have you hooked and longing for more. One caveat, however: plan to watch it in an entire day, because very few have the self-control to not watch all six hours in a single sitting. --Jenny Brown --This text refers to the DVD edition.

Sense and Sensibility
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Starring: Winslet, Kate Thompson, Emma Winslet, Kate Grant, Hugh Jones, Gemma Walter, Harriet Wise, Greg Stubbs, Imogen Stubbs, Imogen Hardy, Robert
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Director: Lee, Ang	Rating: PG	Running Time: 2 Hours 16 Minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 7.7/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com essential video Emma Thompson scores a double bull's-eye with this marvelous adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as one of the Dashwood sisters--the one with "sense"--she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay. Austen's tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson's deeply romantic sister. Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, who brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson's script won an Oscar, and 1995 was a fine year for Jane Austen all around: Persuasion was made into an excellent picture, and Emma became the spritzy high school comedy Clueless. --Robert Horton --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.

Shakespeare in Love
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Starring: Rush, Geoffrey Fiennes, Joseph Rush, Geoffrey Affleck, Ben Dench, Judi Dench, Dame Judi Firth, Colin Callow, Simon Callow, Simon Clunes, Martin
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Director: Madden, John	Rating: R	Running Time: 123 minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 7.5/10 (IMDB)	Color Dolby

Amazon.com One of the most winning and intelligent romantic comedies of the '90s, Shakespeare in Love is filled with such good will, sunny romance, snappy one-liners, and devilish cleverness that it's absolutely irresistible. At the 1999 Academy Awards, this dark-horse costume comedy sneaked off with seven Oscars, besting the highly favored Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, at its outset the film tracks young Will Shakespeare's overwrought battle with writer's block and the efforts of theater owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, in rare form) to stage Will's latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Most of the jokes in the first one-third of the film are along these lines: Will's anachronistic therapist session, a mug inscribed "A Souvenir from Stratford-Upon-Avon," Henslowe's battles to pay off his debts, and the backstage high jinks of pre-production. However, once Will sets his eyes on the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), joking takes a backseat to ravishing romance. Well, almost--turns out Viola wants to break into the world of male-only theater, and disguises herself as a young man to wangle herself an audition. She wins the part of Romeo and, after much misunderstanding, the playwright's heart. Soon enough, Will's pirate comedy becomes a beautiful, tragic romance, and Ethel is shoved aside for a woman named Juliet. Will and Viola's romance, however, is equal parts comedy and tragedy--he's married, and she's betrothed to the slimy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), and it doesn't take an English major to figure out that it's not all's well that ends well. Like Shakespeare's work itself, the film is instantly accessible to everyone, from the raucous groundlings looking for low comedy to the aesthetes hankering for some intellectual bite behind their entertainment. The way that Oscar-winning screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard enfold their story within the parameters of Romeo and Juliet (and even Twelfth Night) is nothing short of brilliant--it would take a Shakespearean scholar to dissect the innumerable parallels, oft-quoted lines, plot developments, and thematic borrowings. And most amazingly, Norman and Stoppard haven't forgotten to entertain their audience in addition to riding a Shakespearean roller coaster. Director John Madden (Mrs. Brown) reigns in his huge ensemble with a rollicking energy that keeps the film's momentum going at top speed for its entire two hours. Along the way there are small gems to be found: Ben Affleck's riotous egotistical actor, Imelda Staunton's nimble nurse, and of course Judi Dench's eight-minute, Oscar-winning turn as a truly regal Queen Elizabeth. However, the key element of Shakespeare in Love's success rests on the milky-white shoulders of its two stars. Fiennes, inexplicably overlooked at Oscar time, is a dashing Will as we might expect him at the early stage of his career, bundled full of comedy and tragedy but unsure of how to harness his talent. And as for Best Actress winner Paltrow... well, nothing she'd done before could have prepared viewers for how amazing she is here. Breathtakingly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, strong-willed, and lovestruck--it's a performance worthy of Shakespeare in more ways than one. By the film's end, you'll be thoroughly won over--and brushing up your Shakespeare with newfound ardor. --Mark Englehart

Somewhere in Time - Collector's Edition
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Starring: Reeve, Christopher Seymour, Jane Plummer, Christopher Wright, Teresa Plummer, Christopher Voskovec, George French, Susan Alvin, John Alvin, John Bennett, Audrey
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Director: Szwarc, Jeannot	Rating: PG	Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 6.8/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com It's silly, it's superficial, it's so desperately earnest about its tale of time-spanning love that you almost wish for a cheap flatulence gag just to break the solemn mood. But there's something so unabashedly gushy and entertaining about Somewhere in Time that you can't begrudge its enduring popularity. The film has become a staple of romantic-movie lovers since its release in 1980, and endless showings on cable TV have turned it into a dubious classic of sorts--a three-hanky weeper that anyone can enjoy as a guilty pleasure or a beloved favorite, with no apologies necessary. In his first film after the star-making success of Superman, Christopher Reeve stars as a contemporary playwright who visits a posh hotel and sees the portrait of an actress (Jane Seymour) who had performed there in 1912. He becomes obsessed with this beautiful woman and learns all he can about her, and then discovers a method of hypnotically transporting himself backward in time to meet her. "Is it ... you?" she says upon seeing the lovestruck playwright, and it's clearly a mutual attraction. But even the slightest reminder of the playwright's modern time can jar him from his seemingly real existence in the past, so his wonderful love affair is constantly just a step from being stolen away. Based on Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return, this flaky film may strain one's tolerance for plot holes and corny romance, but it's hard to deny its lasting appeal--and let's face it, guys, it'll make wives and girlfriends swoon if they're in a tearjerker mood. --Jeff Shannon --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition. Additional Features For devoted fans of Somewhere in Time, the exclusive documentary on this DVD will provide welcomed insight, background history, and poignant validation. The film was virtually saved from oblivion by a combination of cable TV exposure and grassroots fandom, and this engrossing documentary benefits from the participation of the film's principal cast and crew, all of whom remain as fond of this production as its legion of fans. Taped in 2000, the interviews are highlighted by the perspective of... read more

Valmont
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Starring: Firth, Colin Bening, Annette Tilly, Meg Tilly, Meg Balk, Fairuza Bening, Annette Firth, Colin Drake, Fabia Drake, Fabia Blair, Isla
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Director: Forman, Milos	Rating: R	Running Time: 2 Hours 17 Minutes
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Category: Period	User Rating: 6.7/10 (IMDB)	Color Stereo

Amazon.com Talk about too little, too late. A year after Stephen Frears's marvelous Dangerous Liaisons, Milos Forman released this film, based on the same material: the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Shot at the same time but held so as not to compete, it suffered by comparison. The story--about a pair of aristocrats, former lovers, who wager that the man cannot seduce a particularly chaste woman--is still awash in lust and intrigue. But, while Forman's craft was exceptional, his cast couldn't match the power of its predecessor. In particular, Colin Firth, as the game-playing title character, lacked the snaky charm of John Malkovich, and Meg Tilly couldn't compare to the tragic beauty of Michelle Pfeiffer. Annette Bening, though born to play a vixen, seemed callow and insubstantial next to the sinister depths of Glenn Close. --Marshall Fine --This text refers to the VHS Tape edition.