Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
TheLittleSongbird
Nancy Mitford's 'Love in a Cold Climate' and 'Pursuit of Love' have become two of my favourite books, with their colourful characters, rich stories and perfect mix of humour and pathos.There are two TV versions (this and a later one from 2001), that adapt both stories into one, and there is no doubt in my mind which is the better of the two. The 2001 adaptation, despite top notch production values and some good performances, was too short, too rushed, tried to tell too much in a short space of time, layered characters like Cedric had very little to them as a result of the condensation and what there was of humour was not frothy or light-hearted enough and the darker parts coming across as cold emotionally.While adaptations do deserve to be judged on their own merits, as an adaptation this 'Love in a Cold Climate' scores far more highly, being not only true in detail to the books (yes even with telling two stories in one) but also capturing much more of the spirit and atmosphere of them. Telling two stories in one could easily have been a problem here, if it made the 2001 adaptation's further mistake of trying to tell both stories concurrently which caused a good deal of confusion and abrupt and jarring shifts in tone, but actually it wasn't, seeing as the storytelling took its time to develop without being too slow and it had a longer length to work from (being 7 hours in alternative to the recent version's 2 hours and a half).For all this talk about how it fares as an adaptation, the rest of the review will now talk about how this version of 'Love in a Cold Climate' succeeds as a standalone. The good news is, it succeeds brilliantly. One might argue that it has a 80s period drama look (yes it has been criticised for being "dated"), to me it was a really beautiful-looking adaptation that had some very sumptuous interiors, locations and scenery, elegant and colourful costumes and an atmosphere that was rich in detail and charmingly cosy. Music is appropriately understated, and the direction keeps the narrative moving at a smooth but steady pace.'Love in a Cold Climate' is superbly written too, both script and story. The story takes more time to tell, being longer, but never feels over-stretched and is always engrossing, the different emotions for each scene always present but never lost. This version achieves a much better balance of humour and pathos, and both dimensions are of higher quality. Unlike the 2001 adaptation, this version remembers that 'Love in a Cold Climate' gets more light-hearted and frothy and 'Pursuit of Love' takes on a darker tone as it progresses. The humour is genuinely entertaining, often hilarious, and never dealt with in a heavy manner, the frothy parts are charming but never mushy and the moments that are darker and have more pathos have a real emotional thrust.Characters are colourful and interesting in personality, layered and easy to like. Great acting helps, and you certainly get that from quite frankly wonderful performances from Judi Dench, Michael Aldridge, Michael Williams, Vivian Pickles (a is a real gorgon here), one that rank among their best, Michael Cochrane benefits from Cedric being much better written and the central trio of Fanny, Polly and Linda are more consistent (in the recent version only Rosamund Pike as Fanny worked, whereas all three did here).Overall, brilliant adaptation and mini-series. If you can find it, luckily a DVD is available, go ahead and watch it, you won't be sorry. 10/10 Bethany Cox
carolelamantia
I too have been searching for years for a video or DVD of the original 1980 Love in a Cold Climate series. It was the definitive version. The casting and performances were brilliant. Not even Alan Bates can compete with Michael Aldridge's Uncle Matthew--he was perfection! And, for heaven's sake, it also featured Judi Dench and Vivian Pickles, among other truly great performers. I was astounded that anyone would even do a remake when there was no possibility of surpassing the original 1980 version. It's difficult to understand why such a masterpiece is not available to the public. Will someone please put this on video or DVD. I promise to buy one for everyone I know!
janethomas678
This was such an excellent series, & yet it seems to have disappeared without trace Caught the book(s) so much better than the 2002 version, and was an altogether much richer and more colourful production, well cast and with superb acting.
jslund1
I've been searching for 20 years to buy this on video. Can anyone help?? I've looked in London and all over the US and all over the web. If it exists, and they sell everything else, why can't one purchase this???? And they've replayed nearly every other series but this one. I just don't understand it.This mini-series was so wonderful, I lived inside its ambience for months after it was over. And I read and reread the books. The language of the scripts is brilliant--a great homage to Mitford; and the acting is sublime. Fa, Lord Merlin and Davey were especially superbly developed characters, as was The Bolter. Hilarity reigned in many scenes and poignancy in the rest. The whole thing was just great!
