Product description

Edward And Mrs Simpson

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Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5027626228446
Label : Network
Manufacturer : Network
Publisher : Network
Release date : 2005-07-04
Title : Edward And Mrs Simpson
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Universal, suitable for all
Format : PAL
Languages : Array
Number of items : 2
Region code : 2
Running time : 350
Studio : Network
Theatrical releaseDate : 1980

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-10-11 rating:

Excellent, sympathetic tragedy
Edward and Mrs Simpson was first shown on ITV decades ago. The DVD version could have been more seamlessly edited, instead of separating the parts divided on TV by advertisements, but that is a minor criticism of a very well-made and most enjoyable series that earned Edward Fox (who plays Edward VIII) a BAFTA award. The story is a tragedy, treating its characters sympathetically. The emotion and tension builds up to a moving climax just before the very end, and then falls away in a way that confirms the tragic nature of the story. Highly recommended.

review by: e j powell date: 2007-10-09 rating:

Vintage early TV drama
I have owned the VHS tapes of this series for years. For me, they captured a golden era in British TV drama, when character, mood, and dramtic values were high, even if - by todays's standards - the technical standards were a little "studio bound."

The list of actors in this made-for-tv series was top rate, as was the research on the historical background. Of course, there are shortcomings. In particular, the American accents by British accents have come in for criticism. However, in the 40s and 50s, I think Americans may well have had more "English" accents than we are used to hearing today - at least, if American movies of 40s and 40s are anything to go by. But for all the minor criticisms that can be made of this series, it is still a wonderful achievement should not be missed by any fan of good acting.

Because the quality of my VHS tapes was 'washed out' I wanted to update with a dvd, but was put off from doing so by the negative comments on the amazon web site. But when the price dropped to around £7 or so, I took the plunge, and I have to say I was pleasntly surprised - certainly the quality is a vast improvement on the old VHS.

It really is a pity that the originals have not been digitalised, or cleaned up - the series would justify it. But for anyone out there considering a purchase, I would not hesitate to recommend the series for some really wonderful acting, and some pretty sound background research. Some reviewers were disappointed that we did not get a "love story." Personally, I was more grateful NOT to have a romance, but a more considered story about Edward's background, the constitutional crisis, and the upheavals to british society.

Recommended.

review by: date: 2007-07-06 rating:

Engrossing Story, Excellent Production, Fine Acting
This production, in my view, is one of the glories of British television acting and and story telling, even if the DVD transfer is not as pristine as we'd like. The acting is excellent, from the leads to the extras. The story is fascinating, especially if you like peeking at the lives of royalty and the upper crust. Every pound Thames Television put into the show is visible; the settings are authentic or look it; the costumes appear bespoke, as they say; and everyone's manners are immaculate, even if what they do isn't.

It's the story of the affair between Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, and Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American twice-married divorcee. It starts just before he meets her and ends shortly after he abdicates the British throne to marry "the woman I love." He became the Duke of Windsor and she his Duchess. It was probably the biggest story of its time. The program runs for six 60 minute installments. Because of the style, the acting and the story of these two people, who are so self-indulgent and so obtuse (on his part) and so calculating and brittle (on her part), it never seems boring.

Edward, played by Edward Fox, is a man of great charm and handsome appearance, a man girls swoon over and men wish to be like. He's also privileged, unselfconsciously selfish and not really too bright. He's a man who seems most comfortable with older women, women who can cosset and coo over him. His mistresses have all been older and married. Edward Fox, a fine actor, is wonderful in the part. (For those who might not recognize his name, he was the Jackal in The Day of the Jackal). Wallis, played by Cynthia Harris, is a woman who can seem hard and even scheming, but who also has some vulnerability about her that makes her at least somewhat sympathetic.

Among the fine cast is Nigel Hawthorne as Walter Monckton, one of Edward's loyal but realistic counsellors; Cherie Lunghi as Lady Thelma Furness, a mistress Edward casts off by simply telling his switchboard not to accept anymore of her calls; David Waller as Stanley Baldwin, the shrewd prime minister; and Jessie Mathews as Wallis' Aunt Bessie Merryman, all pink and plump and powdered...and keen-eyed. (Mathews in the Thirties was the toast of the London stage, singing and dancing in a number of musicals. She introduced Rodgers and Hart's "Dancing on the Ceiling.")

review by: date: 2007-01-19 rating:

Not the best DVD - but a good series
Having watched "Edward & Mrs Simpson" on DVD, it looks initially like it was a straight copy off the ITV tapes. Notwithstanding, it was a very well acted series which showed just how much power the government really had behind the throne in the 1920s and 30s.

Cynthia Harris made a good Wallis but there was no real "chemistry" between her and Edward Fox; no sign of just why she was his great passion. Ending the series when they did, just after the marriage made things feel a bit flat. It would have been good to see how they lived out the rest of their lives as a jet setting dilettante and his wife. Perhaps it was the fact that the 1970s was more restrictive with what could be done in playing out Royal dramas.

Edward Fox made Edward VIII a very believable, sometimes likeable fellow who was quite evidently spoiled. Where he gets told it's either Wallis or the throne, you can imagine him throwing a right royal tantrum behind the scenes.

The DVD quality is alright but showing where the ad breaks were makes for poor quality and in Disc 2 there is a definite break where you see the countdown.

A special feature of the Windsors post wedding would have been interesting for viewers who were not alive around the time the Duke died or when Wallis herself died. A feature on the fantastic jewels she was given would also have been good as this is alluded to in the series when "Chips" Channon and Wallis are discussing a new man at Cartier's.

The sets are so true to the era and the costumes hark back to a very glamorous time prior to World War II. The actress playing the future Queen Mum is very convincing especially with her biting comments about "that woman".

The quality of DVD lets down an intriguing series that is somewhat hard to understand today in our more progressive era - particularly when we know that Camilla Parker-Bowles was allowed in the end to nab her prince. But if it hadn't happened, perhaps the Royal Family as we know it today, would not exist in the format that it does.

review by: michael jacobs date: 2006-09-03 rating:

A technical disaster of a DVD - what happened to quality control?
This was an epic drama in its day - I didn't see it then, but having just sat through I Claudius and Edward VII, my wife and I were in the mood for more classic royal drama. We chose Edward & Mrs. Simpson.

I have to say that we found the casting very weak - I couldn't buy into Simpson's (presumably fake) accent, or any aspect of Winston Churchill. As other reviewers have said, we really don't get to understand why Edward threw away one of the best jobs in the world - we never get to see what's so special about her.

We were especially disappointed that the story ended in mid-air without any hint of "what happened next" in narration or scrolling text. We learnt more from websites than we did from the TV programme.

It was good to see Patrick Troughton in what must have been one of his last major TV roles, and Nigel Hawthorne as a smooth lawyer-incarnation of Sir Humphrey Appleby. Queen Mary was better (more convincing) towards the end of the series, and George V never seemed to look like the man in the photos. I would have liked to have seen more on his relationship with Edward, and Edward's relationship with Bertie. But I suppose for that, you'll have to look out for the BBC's "The Lost Prince", which had much better performances and characterisations all round.

My biggest gripe was that the technical quality of the disc was poor beyond belief. It refused to play in 2 different players some of the time, and when we came back from the ad break (they left the "end of part one, part two" titles in for some reason), one episode featured a long gap with a blank screen and then you could see the clapper-board with the clock counting down to the start of part two! I have never seen such bad editing on any DVD I've ever watched. And we saw it again at the start of the penultimate episode when we used reverse play to wind back to a bit we'd missed because the sound didn't start the first time we played the episode. This is almost inexcuseable. The entire disc was ultimately playable with sound, but the problems distracted us from the drama.

In any case, after watching I Claudius and Edward VII, it seemed that Edward & Mrs. Simpson just lacked the production values, the distinguished cast (despite some very notable names), and the sheer narrative flair. It also looked like it needed a good dose of digital restoration, regardless of how much it had already had. Now we are looking for something a lot better to raise our confidence in ITV drama of that period. I know that Network DVD have done a lot better on the quality of other titles.

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