LILLIE (REISSUE)

I watched this on television when I was but a very small child. I remember waiting for it weekly to come on Masterpeice Theatre and that it was hard to get the television to myself to view this series. Francesca Annis left an impression on me that I have never forgotten. This item has been on my wish list for YEARS and I am overjoyed to see it available again! I just viewed it again for the first time, as I was able to purchase a previous version through an Amazon Marketplace seller. It holds up, despite the years since its' release, due in large part by the magnificent cast, lavish sets, and strength of Ms. Annis' stunning performance. I cannot recommend this highly enough! I rated it a four only because of the strange age makeup they used on Ms. Annis, which does not hold up to the rigors of HDTV and seems to change from frighteningly plastic, to ghost white, to almost normal. The serious lack of any real extra bonus features is also a minus. I could not stop watching this until I had viewed the entire series again. Anything that will hold your attention this long and this well is a wise investment. The life of Lillie Langtry was an amazing epic journey that any woman would have traded places with her for, and it is brilliantly executed in this series! You can even stay in the home that the king had built for her to this day and visit the original saloon named after her, in the town re named for her in Texas! Facinating Character Subject? A crass understatement. Buy it and live the life of a poverty to princedom real life story!

This miniseries is the story of a self absorbed, self centered PB (professional beauty) or super model as she would be known today. Lillie Langtry later became an actress but from what little else I know about her, she couldn't hold a candle to Sarah Bernhardt or Lillian Russell.The people who deserved her kindness and consideration didn't get it and the ones who weren't deserving of it did. She sold her soul for jewelry, beautiful clothes, property, race horses, houses and the most intoxicating of all, social standing. In order to continue to receive expensive jewelry from one of her many lovers, she would willingly take a beating so violent that she had to be hospitalized. Her husband, Edward Langtry, played stunningly well by Anton Rogers, although a buffoon who lost his fortune shortly after their marriage, died alone in an asylum due to alcoholism. Rather than consider his feelings of being overshadowed by her popularity and adultery w/the Prince of Wales (Bertie), she chose to buy him off by sending him a small amount of money each month until his death. Oscar Wilde, the poet and playwright, played to perfection by Peter Egan, hardly worthy of the attention that she fawned on him, was taken care of by Lillie after his bankruptcy 'til the day he died. Even her own father, a minister who was disgraced and forced to leave his church due to misconduct w/women, didn't receive any help from Lillie. She'd say that "it's about time that I do something for him" but she never did. Lillie grew up w/6 brothers and I feel that contributed to her attitude towards men, that they're to be used and cast aside when finished w/them. I think she felt that her father deserved what he got as did her husband and that she'd make herself look good in the eyes of others but would do as little as possible to help them. As a result of her reckless and thoughtless behavior throughout her life, her illegitimate daughter born to the Prince of Austria, was passed off as her niece who later learned her true parentage and did not speak to her mother again until just before Lillie's own passing. Lillie never got to enjoy her daughter or grandchildren due to her own disregard for the feelings and lives of others. She died alone and forgotten, a sad but just ending to a woman who cared for no one but herself.Francesca Annis played the part of Lillie and although others have given her rave reviews, I feel that each part Annis plays is the same flat portrayal w/only a name change. Compare her acting in Madame Bovary and you'll see what I mean. She was a stunning beauty in her day so she may have been cast w/that reason uppermost. Others outshined her in this production but I gave it 5 stars anyhow because I truly enjoyed it.

I remember seeing this on PBS and was so excited when it was finally put in DVD format AND for a reasonable price. This is the story - told in about 12 episodes - of the life of Lillie Langtry who began her notorious adult life as the mistress of the Prince of Wales (later he became King Edward VII). During that time she also was the muse to artists John Everett Millais, Edward Poynter, Edward Burne-Jones and Frank Miles. When that affair ended, she became a very well-known actress. Unfortunately, she wasn't all that good but people came to see her perform because of her notoriety. The word we'd use for Lillie nowadays is a tramp - she used men and slept with them and in return she received access to more rich and powerful men and also plenty of money and jewelry. She lived a relatively long life, had a daughter and died alone in Monte Carlo.If you enjoy period English drama, love seeing the beautiful costumes, and want to get enveloped into the delicious, fabulous, tawdry, decadent, funny, sad life of a woman who reinvented herself more than once and survived the times, this is the DVD for you.Francesa Annis is so beautiful and is truly a wonderful actress -- it was a pleasure to look at her. All the supporting cast are so well placed in their characters that you actually think you are seeing the real people they are portraying.Of course, there must have been great liberties taken in presenting the story since no one really knows what transpired in conversations between the real people, but this is as convincing as it gets.I just loved this when I first saw it on PBS and I still love it now.

Essendo degli anni '70 la qualità non è eccezionale e non può competere con certi capolavori moderni (da Poldark a Downton Abbey ecc.) ma la storia è avvincente, gli abiti e le scenografie pure quindi se uno ama i film inglesi in costume ed ha già visto tutto il meglio delle produzioni più recenti è uno splendido passatempo di molte ore. La storia è quella descritta: una ragazza ambiziosa che vuole andarsene dal paese sposa un uomo credendolo ricco ma quando questo fallisce si ritrova ad arrangiarsi diventando l'amante del futuro re e di molti altri uomini, frequentando salotti di alto bordo e diventando persino attrice (una specie di Madame Bovary ma con più doti e fortuna). Interessante e spesso persino coinvolgente seguire tutta la vita di questa donna, il film non è mai noioso o superficiale. In lingua inglese (molto comprensibile) e senza sottotitoli.

Very good value for money and great entertainment. Also very educational in terms of UK social history more than a century ago. Those were the days of the "class system". faint traces of which can still be seen in the UK today. .

In the most beautiful way and seeing to every detail the viewer is introduced in a lifetime that very well merges with the one we are living now. The differences in gender are very well depicted and settled. As the story evolves we plunge into the definiteness of time ticking by and how it affects each character. The viewer gets so involved in the drama and the plot that they do too feel the sadness of aging, loss, and loneliness. It feels as if time had stopped and we are part of the cast, wearing those amazing gowns and frocks and acting in the coolest, unengaging way with others, to keep our status pure and undamaged, even though it IS damaged through time by our wrong decisions or by the circumstances in life.​

Vicenda interessante, protagonista ben descritta e ottimamente interpretata. penso l'affresco storico sia condotto bene, con rispetto per i personaggi reali qui descritti. Piacevolissima compagnia.

It clearly had been sent to me from the UK, and therefore was PAL........which I cannot watch! As I ordered it from .CA, I would have thought it was obvious that I would have wanted something I can watch!!It did not mention any of this when I ordered it.L. Newman