"Cranford" (2007) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Creators:

Sue Birtwistle
Susie Conklin

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

18 November 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | England | Doctor | Gossip | Small Town

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Judi Dench	...	Miss Matty Jenkyns (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Imelda Staunton	...	Miss Pole (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Julia McKenzie	...	Mrs. Forrester / ... (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Alex Etel	...	Harry Gregson (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Deborah Findlay	...	Miss Tomkinson (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Barbara Flynn	...	Mrs. Jamieson / ... (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Jim Carter	...	Captain Brown (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Claudie Blakley	...	Martha (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Francesca Annis	...	Lady Ludlow (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Emma Fielding	...	Miss Galindo (6 episodes, 2007-2009)
Simon Woods	...	Dr. Harrison (5 episodes, 2007)
Lisa Dillon	...	Mary Smith (5 episodes, 2007)
Rosy Byrne	...	Lizzie Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
Kimberley Nixon	...	Sophy Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
John Bowe	...	Dr. Morgan (5 episodes, 2007)
Selina Griffiths	...	Caroline Tomkinson (5 episodes, 2007)
Philip Glenister	...	Mr. Carter (5 episodes, 2007)
Lesley Manville	...	Mrs. Rose (5 episodes, 2007)
Hester Odgers	...	Helen Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
Julia Sawalha	...	Jessie Brown (5 episodes, 2007)
Alex Jennings	...	Reverend Hutton (5 episodes, 2007)
Adrian Scarborough	...	Mr. Johnson (5 episodes, 2007)
Andrew Buchan	...	Jem Hearne (4 episodes, 2007)
Debra Gillett	...	Mrs. Johnson (4 episodes, 2007)
Emma Lowndes	...	Bella Gregson (4 episodes, 2007)
Hannah Stokely	...	Bessie (4 episodes, 2007)
Dean Lennox Kelly	...	Job Gregson (3 episodes, 2007)
Andrew Byrne	...	Malachi Gregson (3 episodes, 2007)
Joe McFadden	...	Jack Marshland / ... (3 episodes, 2007)
Greg Wise	...	Sir Charles Maulver (3 episodes, 2007)
Hannah Hobley	...	Bertha (3 episodes, 2007-2009)
Eileen Atkins	...	Miss Deborah Jenkyns (2 episodes, 2007)
Haydon Downing	...	Walter Hutton (2 episodes, 2007)
Alistair Petrie	...	Major Gordon (2 episodes, 2007)
Michael Gambon	...	Mr. Holbrook / ... (2 episodes, 2007)
Adam Henderson Scott	...	Assistant Auctioneer (2 episodes, 2007)
Roger Ennals	...	Mulliner (2 episodes, 2007)
Patricia Leach	...	Gypsy Woman (2 episodes, 2007)
Andrew Westfield	...	Farmer Graves (2 episodes, 2007)
Finty Williams	...	Clara Smith (2 episodes, 2007)
Imogen Byron	...	Kate (2 episodes, 2007)
Philippa Burt	...	Villager (2 episodes, 2007)

Also Known As:

Cranford Chronicles (UK) (working title)
Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

60 min (5 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Ashridge Park, Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Judi Dench called the writing "inspired" and "extraordinary".

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards (2008) (TV)

Simply Delicious

If you thought that North and South 2004, Bleak House 2005 and Jane Eyre 2006 were heroic steps forward in period adaptation you are absolutely going to adore this. I'm hoping, on the strength of the first episode, that we may be about to ascend new heights.

Liberties are taken. The material is being reinterpreted for the screen with a dashing disrespect for fidelity that is bound to offend those critics who watch screen adaptations with their Everyman edition on their knee but what Thomas has done here is bring the spirit of Gaskell and the humour of the age (specifically northern humour), magnificently to life.

Eileen Atkins' performance alone will carry this series to every Award ceremony worthy of attention but there is so much more you may be left agape with wonder or clapping your hands with glee at the stories surrounding Cranford's womenfolk, many condemned to spinsterhood by the Napoleonic Wars. And there's much more still to come.

You won't see the novel reassembled piece by piece, but what you'll get instead is a mordant, hilarious, moving, masterpiece of the art of adaptation and a brilliant cast extracting every last every drop of juice from the fruit (sucked separately, of course).

Cranford is vibrantly alive and kicking as it never has been before. Bring on the rest. If you please.