Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey Season 1 [Blu-ray]
Description:
A star-studded cast (Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle, Dan Stevens) round out the glittering, gossipy, and beguiling men and women of this epic tale!
After a tragedy at sea claims the life of the presumed heir, Lord Crawley is faced with the possibility that the house he's loved his whole life might someday belong to a distant cousin he's never met. But before that can happen he must deal with his scandalous daughter, Lady Mary - considered by many to be the rightful heir to Downton. Even the staff has opinions on the family's affairs. And while most are devoted to the Crawleys, there are others whose selfishness and scheming do more than simply disrupt the well-oiled inner workings of the estate. As the servants' mischief escalates, even the most faithful employees begin to imagine a different life.
Pitting hundreds of years of British aristocracy against the tides of social upheaval and technical progress, under the looming shadow of World War I, will the fate of Downton and its family - above and below stairs - be resolved? Or will life be altered so dramatically that its master no longer matters?
Product Details:
Actors:
Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery
Average Customer Review:
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1067 of 1106 found the following review helpful:
Be Alert....varying editions..Jan 24, 2011
By Songbird
"Chirp"
There appears to be two (2) editions of Downton Abbey....in watching the past 3 episodes as presented on my PBS station, I have become increasingly aware that the editing was very "jumpy"....short short sequences to a meaningful story line.....then, I discovered that there is an edition, UK edition, that is full length....meaning there are 7 episodes in total....the edition being shown on my local PBS station, is all of 4 episodes....and the shifty scenes that I am observing on the Sunday night presentation have been edited for USA viewers. To me, this is ruinous to a finely produced English landscape, pre-world war I.
Just be more alert to this. I am not aware of any information from my PBS station to this effect, that I am indeed viewing a condensed version of Downton Abbey....
I have just purchased DVD, UK edition of Downton Abbey to view in my home....this should be a more in-depth story, without the shifting of scenes that add up to being difficult to the entire story line.
499 of 514 found the following review helpful:
DO NOT BUY THE DUMBED DOWN PBS VERSION!Feb 01, 2011
By Miles from Home EDIT: I am revising my post and giving this 5 Stars instead of one as PartlyCloudy has kindly pointed out that my review of the PBS version has ended up under the "UK version". There is much confusion out there since the infamous Daily Mail article claimed that a full two hours of the original ITV series had been cut by PBS. Many claim the cuts are minor and unnoticeable. I'd venture to guess that about 35 minutes were edited out of the original, but more importantly, it was a hack job and many scenes do not play out as intended. Below is my slightly revised review of the PBS version which you should avoid at all costs:
Do not buy the so-called "dumbed down" PBS version of the outstanding British ITV series Downton Abbey. We watched the entire series with great joy while in the UK last year, and after excitedly telling our American friends to watch Downton Abbey on PBS, my husband and I looked at each other in horror and confusion as we watched one butchered scene after another. Don't be misled by those who recalculate the running time to account for the removal of commercials (from the ITV version) or the reformatting to shorten the series by increasing episode length (7 episodes in the UK, 4 longer episodes in the US). The fact is, SCENES WERE OMITTED AND OR TRUNCATED because as PBS Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton shamefully admitted, "American audiences demand a `different speed' to their shows." She also claimed that American audiences would have trouble understanding the complicated inheritance issues. Wow. This is an extraordinary admission from a PBS executive. Don't people turn to PBS for an intelligent alternative to the idiocy of American commercial television? I submit it is Rebecca Eaton who is dumb, not the PBS viewership.
There is apparently a Region 2 version of the unedited ITV series on Amazon (EDIT: and now we see there is an "unedited UK" version provided by PBS though I have not seen it and cannot attest that it's the actual ITV version), so just check your tech specs before buying or search elsewhere. And for the much anticipated season two of Downton Abbey when it premieres later this year, get a UK VPN and stream it from the ITV Player. Each episode remains available for streaming for several weeks after it airs. Note: Many inadvertently refer to this as a BBC series. It is in fact an ITV production.
Shame, shame, shame on Rebecca Eaton and PBS.
566 of 594 found the following review helpful:
Enjoyable, if a tad flawed, Edwardian seriesNov 14, 2010
By Cherchezlafemme Julian Fellowes has mined his script for Gosford Park, and took a few cues from the beloved 1970s series Upstairs, Downstairs - Collector's Edition Megaset (The Complete Series plus Thomas and Sarah), to create Downton Abbey, a stunning and colorful drama set around the aristocratic Crawley family and the staff which serves them. Set between 1912 and 1914, Downton Abbey chronicles the conflict of class, gender, and politics, and serves it up with a refreshing dollop of sizzle and scandal. Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, and Dame Maggie Smith (as Robert, Earl of Grantham, Cora, Countess of Grantham, and Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, respectively) are knock outs, but the rest of the cast are no slouches either, with the stunning Michelle Dockery at the forefront as Lady Mary Crawley, who is the selfish, proud, and vindictive eldest daughter you can't help but like. The actors and the stunning interiors of Highclere Castle, home to the Earls of Carnarvon, give Downton Abbey a glossy, sophisticated sheen, even when the script's twists and turns can be a bit of a let-down. Nevertheless, the drama is engrossing and invigorating, and a worthy addition to the collection of any period drama aficionado--and anyone who likes good drama, period!
130 of 138 found the following review helpful:
This is the original UK edition!! (and it's fabulous!)Jan 11, 2011
By Jenny Allworthy It says right on the DVD that this is the original UK version. Masterpiece apparently did make very slight changes to this one for the US market. Don't get fooled by some stupid journalist from the UK saying that they had cut out 2 hours. Those were 2 hours of commercials that they cut out as this aired on commercial ITV in the UK, not on public BBC!!!!
By the way, this has one same sex kiss in it, so if you are SO conservative that you cannot stand to view that, then do not purchase this.
However, I adored this and everyone I recommended it to loved it as well. Lots of gorgeous costumes and the filming location, Highclere Castle is absolutely breathtaking. Maggie Smith is at her best with her haughty and opinionated Dowager Countess and the rest of the cast is spot on as well.
Thank-you ITV and Masterpiece for giving us another wonderful miniseries. So much better than most of the drivel or violence on television today. Loved, loved, loved it!!!!!!!!!Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey
122 of 135 found the following review helpful:
Nobody does it better than the BritishNov 12, 2010
By The Famous Jano I became aware of this wonderful ITV series while reading a message board about Larkrise to Candleford (another great series, highly recommended). I've just viewed it on youtube thank you british folks! After I watched it, it occurred to me that it was somewhat like "Upstairs Downstairs" in that you saw the workings "above the stairs" and was as down. The difference is that it is set in a magnificent country mansion (or seat, whatever, I'm not british).
It's set in the early 1900s. The costumes and settings are superb.
I did feel the earl was a little to egalitarian concerned about the downstairs staff, just too "nice". From the series 1901 house, on pbs, the servants/staff were to be as out of view as possible.
based on 568 reviews
( 568 customer reviews )
