Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9781569382882
Format: Box set
ISBN: 1569382883
Label: Acorn Media
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
Number Of Items: 4
Publisher: Acorn Media
Release Date: 1999-09-11
Running Time: 199
Studio: Acorn Media
Theatrical Release Date: 1998

Peter O'Toole and Joanna Lumley star in this enchanting period drama, adapted from Rosamunde Pilcher's bestselling novel. A heartwarming story of shared innocence, Coming Home is an epic saga of love, friendship, and the discovery of womanhood. In 1935, Judith Dunbar (Emily Mortimer) is left as a British boarding school while her family is posted overseas. The naive girl makes a lifelong friend in her devil-may-care classmate, Loveday Carey-Lewis, whose wealthy and charismatic family offers Judith a surrogate home at their beautiful Cornish estate, Nancherrow. There, Judith learns about passion, courage and security. But the drama of World War II wrenches her from this privileged life, and Judith is forced to come of age in a tumultuous world...

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good adaptation of the book
Comment: Translating a lengthy book to the movie screen is never easy, but this adaptation captures the essence of the story and the times. The scenery chosen and the costumes are great, while the cast is filled with familiar faces you love to see (Peter O'Toole, Joanna Lumley, Susan Hampshire, David McCallum, Penelope Keith). The indepth details/characterizations of the book may be missing - time alone would dictate that - nevertheless, the cast draws you into the story. Like a good book, you don't want to put it down....but watch to the very end and want more. Whether you've read the book or not, you'll enjoy the movie.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent production of a good story
Comment: I haven't read the novel, Coming Home, nor any of Pilcher's work, so I can't compare the film to the book. Having read the other viewers' reviews, I gather that true Pilcher novel fans might be disappointed in the film. For others, who just want an entertaining few hours, this might do well. I picked it up because Peter O'Toole's face was on the cover and I figured he wouldn't be a part of anything that was too bad.

The story covers a period in the life of a young girl, Judith Dunbar, as she enters boarding school in England when her mother and sister go to Singapore to join her father. It is in the years leading up to WWII. (In the early scenes she is played by the radiantly gorgeous young Keira Knightly.) At school she becomes best friends with Loveday Carey-Lewis, a spirited girl from a fabulously wealthy family in Cornwall. She spends most of her holidays with this family and they take her in as one of their own. We are treated to magnificent views of the area and the pleasures of the lifestyle of the privileged. Peter O'Toole plays a small role as the father of Loveday but he steals every scene he appears in. It's almost worth sitting through the very long video to see him.
Joanna Lumley is almost his equal as his glamourous, amazing wife.

The story progresses as Judith matures, and faces the problems that beset a young woman. (The transition from Keira Knightly to the much less beautiful Emily Mortimer is a shock, but we soon grow used to her and come to admire her excellent moral qualities, which sort of make up for the lack of luster.) When the war breaks out life changes for everyone and the difficulties become enormous. At one point I wondered how poor Judith could take one more blow, but she shows, as they all do, the amazing quality of staunch fortitude for which the British have become famous. One of the main things I took away from the video was the experience of everyday people during that war. As an American who has not had any first hand experience with war, I am truly humbled to think of what others have endured.

There are some moments which, for me, were overly melodramatic, most notably the suicide. And it seemed that Judith's choice of eventual mate was telegraphed early on in the film so there was no surprise there. (I understand that it was different in the book.)

This is not Shakespeare and if you don't expect King Lear you might be pleasantly surprised by an earnest presentation of a story that contains some interesting characterizations of what could have been real people in an era not that far removed from our time. I enjoyed it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Whatever happened to the story line?
Comment: I thought the first DVD out of the set was pretty much to the plot of the book. But, whatever happened to Judith's old friend, Heather Warren, from Porthkerris?

On the second DVD from the set I was totally disappointed with how the story went. Why did they keep Edward alive? Why did they portray Walter as a nice guy? And why didn't they ship the Somervilles' out to southwest Asia and so goes for Judith? Also, it was Judith who found Gus in London. Why oh why was it Diana Carey-Lewis? Did the broadcasting company run short on budget? Were they in a terrible rush to finish the series like a botched-up plastic surgery horribly gone wrong?

Overall I sort of enjoyed it, but it could have been a lot better!!!!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Coming Home - A Trip back in time
Comment: I thoroughly enjoyed the movie of Coming Home. Having read the book a number of times and enjoyed it each time, I was pleased that the movie kept to the story line for the most part.
The actors and actresses who performed were all excellent and filled their roles perfectly.
It is the kind of movie I could and will watch again a number of times.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Booooring!!
Comment: Unlike most of the other reviewers I've never read the book nor am I a fan of the author. The only reason for watching this mini series was Peter O'Toole, one of the alltime great actors of our time. He still was a pleasure to watch but even though, I could not bring myself to watch the second disk of this bland, superficial, boring mess. I rather hold out for "Venus" to come out on DVD.

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