Jones, Gemma

Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition)

Oscar-winning adaptation of jane austens captivating and spirited romance. Special features: widescreen version deleted scenes subtitles: english spanish portuguese chinese korean thai theatrical trailer emma thompson and producer commentary ang lee and co-producer commentary and much more. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 11/22/2005 Starring: Emma Thompson Hugh Grant Run time: 137 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Amy Lee

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

Ballet Shoes

Based on the Noel Streatfeild novel Ballet Shoes, this is not the 1976 film starring Angela Thorne and Barbara Lott, but a 2007 BBC Northern Ireland production starring Eileen Atkins, Peter Bowles, Richard Griffiths, Gemma Jones, and Harriet Walter. The Fossils are an unconventional British family living in 1930's London. Orphans Pauline (Emma Watson), Petrova (Yasmin Paige), and Posy (Lucy Boynton) are being raised by an elder sister Sylvia (Emilia Fox) and her Nana (Victoria Wood) in the absence of their eccentric great uncle Matthew (Richard Griffiths). As Sylvia struggles to educate and support her three charges on very limited funds, she is forced to let rooms and enroll the girls in the Academy of Dance and Stage Training in hopes of furthering their education and preparing them to earn a comfortable living. While at the academy, each of the three ambitious girls discovers her own personal calling and labors intensively to achieve her dreams: Pauline studies to become a star on the stage, Petrova gravitates toward a career in aviation, and Posy trains to become a great classical ballerina. Their paths are difficult and full of adversity, but the sisters' steadfast support of one another and common resolve to earn a place in the history books based on their own merits propels each of them toward individual success. A compelling and inspirational film that encourages young women to strive for their dreams, Ballet Shoes is most appealing to ages 9 and older. --Tami Horiuchi

Dreams do come true…
Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) stars in Ballet Shoes, a heartwarming and uplifting film based on the beloved, best-selling novel by Noel Streatfeild and featuring an award-winning cast that includes Emilia Fox, Victoria Wood, Richard Griffiths and Eileen Atkins.

"We three Fossils vow to put our name in the history book, because it is ours, and ours alone…" With these words, three orphans, raised as sisters, leave their sheltered lives and embark on an exhilarating journey that takes them to the heights of the stage, screen and sky!

DVD EXTRAS:
Exclusive 20-Minute Interview with Emma Watson
Deleted Scenes, Ballet Shoes Audiobook Excerpt

Bridget Jones's Diary (Collector's Edition)

Bridget jones is an average woman struggling against her age her weight her job her lack of a man & her many imperfections. As a new years resolution bridget decides to take control of her life starting by keeping a diary. The fireworks begin when her charming though disreputable boss takes an interest in her. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 01/05/2007 Starring: Renee Zellweger Colin Firth Run time: 132 minutes Rating: R Director: Sharon Maguire

Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy.

If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humor, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. --Leslie Felperin

The Romantic Favorites Collection (Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason / About a Boy / Love Actually / Notting Hill)

Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/09/2007

Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Widescreen Edition)

Not that bridgets counting but its been 6 wonderful weeks 4 fabulous days and 7 precious hours with 1 flawless boyfriend mark darcy. But when mischevious and devilishly charming daniel cleaver arrives ont eh scene claiming to be a reformed man can bridget find a way to make true love last forever? Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 06/24/2008 Starring: Renee Zellweger Colin Firth Run time: 107 minutes Rating: R

Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking

The Duchess of Duke Street - The Complete Collection

Series One
From the golden age of Masterpiece Theatre comes this beloved 1976 British miniseries by the creators of Upstairs, Downstairs. Gemma Jones gives a performance for the ages in this rags-to-riches saga that charts the ascendancy of the indomitable Louisa Trotter, who rose from scullery maid to become "the finest cook in London" and Edwardian society's premier hostess. Inspired by the true story of Rosa Lewis, who held court at her renowned Cavendish Hotel, The Duchess of Duke Street is the video equivalent of a good read. Immerse yourself in this lavishly mounted BBC production that impeccably re-creates a bygone era at the turn of the century and captivates viewers with the tragedies and triumphs of Louisa's story, which includes an ill-fated affair with the Prince of Wales, an unhappy marriage, and struggles with bankruptcy and ill health. But Louisa, Cockney accent intact, prevails as the reigning mistress of Hotel Bentinck. --Donald Liebenson

Series Two
For devotees left hungry for more at the conclusion of The Duchess of Duke Street, Gemma Jones re-creates her signature role as the indomitable Louisa Trotter, the former scullery maid who left her mark on turn-of-the-century England as "the finest cook in London" and the reigning mistress of Hotel Bentinck, in the second set of this series. As her own mother remarks, Louisa "has done very well. She's moved up in the world." The Bentinck is no Fawlty Towers. Louisa, based on the real-life Rosa Lewis, the proprietor of the fashionable Cavendish Hotel, presides over her domain with a stiff-backed iron rule. She is, as one of her staff remarks, "a tough customer ... a woman with spirit." Throughout these 16 episodes, packaged in six volumes, both she and her employees will be severely tested. Louisa's troublemaking brother inspires mutiny among the devoted staff, and Louisa is besieged by mysterious love letters. Darkening the horizon is the deepening shadow of World War I. This long-sought sequel to one of Masterpiece Theatre's finest hours boasts the same impeccable production values and peerless ensemble acting. Make your reservation. --Donald Liebenson

An inspiring story of triumph and loss, love and laughter

Born into the servant class, Louisa Leyton rises from the scullery to become the best chef in Edwardian London and manager of the most elegant -- and discreet -- hotel in town. She learns the rules of high society from powerful men captivated by her beauty, but she never sheds her Cockney accent or attitude. Even in the throes of World War I, Louisa proves she can take whatever life dishes out and remain in a class all her own.

Based on the true story of Rosa Lewis, a culinary genius and owner of London's venerable Cavendish Hotel, this acclaimed BBC series dramatizes the life of an indomitable woman in stories full of humor and heart. Created by John Hawkesworth (Upstairs, Downstairs) and starring Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones's Diary, Sense and Sensibility) as Louisa and Christopher Cazenove (A Knight's Tale, TV's Dynasty) as Charlie, the dashing love of her life.

As seen on Masterpiece Theatre

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE a biography of Rosa Lewis, Edwardian period background, photo gallery, and cast filmographies.

P.D. James: The Essential Collection

Studio: Koch International Release Date: 08/05/2008 Run time: 2075 minutes

Jane Eyre (A&E, 1997)

Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 08/29/2000 Run time: 100 minutes Rating: Nr

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 (Ciarán 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

Longitude

In the 18th century a rural clock maker john harrison begins an obsessive forty-year effot to devise a system of determining longitude at sea with an ingenious marine timepiece. Meanwhile 200 years in the future naval officer rupert gould begins his own quest to refurbish the chronometers. Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 08/29/2000 Starring: Jeremy Irons Michael Gambon Run time: 200 minutes Rating: Nr

Gracefully adapted from Dava Sobel's extraordinary bestseller, the four-part TV production of Longitude combines drama, history, and science into a stimulating, painstakingly authentic account of personal triumph and joyous discovery. Equally impressive is the way writer-director Charles Sturridge has crafted parallel stories that complement each other with enriching perspective. The first story involves the successful 40-year effort of 18th-century clockmaker John Harrison (Michael Gambon) to solve the elusive problem of measuring longitude at sea. In 1714 the British Parliament had offered a generous reward to anyone who solved the problem, and Harrison devoted his life to that solution. The second story, some 200 years later, involves the effort of shell-shocked British Navy veteran Rupert Gould (Jeremy Irons) to restore the glorious clocks that Harrison had built. Like Harrison, Gould is the most admirable type of obsessive, but, also like Harrison, he risks his marriage to accomplish his difficult task.

Thousands of sailors perished at sea before Harrison's triumph changed history, but Longitude demonstrates that Harrison's glory was slow to arrive--and his prize money even slower. A fascinating study of 18th-century British politics and clashing egos in the arena of science, the film is both epic and intimate in consequence, and Sturridge's magnificent script inspires Gambon and Irons to do some of the best work of their outstanding careers. The ever-reliable Ian Hart appears in Part 3 as Harrison's now-adult son and apprentice, and Longitude approaches its dramatic climax with the exhilarating tension of a first-rate thriller. Rallying after sickness to prove the integrity of their marvelous seafaring chronometers, the Harrisons still had to fight for official recognition, and Gould's restoration of the Harrison clockworks provides a fitting coda to this exceptional story about the thrill of discovery and the tenacity of remarkable men. --Jeff Shannon

Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Full Screen Edition)

Not that bridgets counting but its been 6 wonderful weeks 4 fabulous days and 7 precious hours with 1 flawless boyfriend mark darcy. But when mischevious and devilishly charming daniel cleaver arrives ont eh scene claiming to be a reformed man can bridget find a way to make true love last forever? Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 06/24/2008 Starring: Renee Zellweger Colin Firth Run time: 107 minutes Rating: R

Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking