Lady Chatterley (TV serial)
1993 British TV series or programme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lady Chatterley is a 1993 BBC television serial starring Sean Bean and Joely Richardson. It is an adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's 1928 novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, first broadcast on BBC1 in four 55-minute episodes between 6 and 27 June 1993. A young woman's husband returns wounded after the First World War. Facing a life with a husband now incapable of sexual activity she begins a passionate affair with the groundskeeper. The film reflects Lawrence's focus not only on casting away sexual taboos, but also the examination of the British class system.
Michael Haggiag
| Lady Chatterley | |
|---|---|
| |
| Based on | Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence |
| Written by | Ken Russell Michael Haggiag |
| Directed by | Ken Russell |
| Starring | Joely Richardson Sean Bean James Wilby Hetty Baynes Shirley Anne Field |
| Composer | Jean-Claude Petit |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Tom Donald Robert Haggiag Barry Hanson Johan Eliasch |
| Producer | Michael Haggiag |
| Cinematography | Robin Vidgeon |
| Editors | Mick Audsley Peter Davies Alan Mackay Xavier Russell |
| Running time | 55 minutes |
| Production company | London Film Productions in association with Global Arts for BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 6 June – 27 June 1993 |
Cast
- Joely Richardson - Lady Chatterley[1]
- Sean Bean - Mellors
- James Wilby - Sir Clifford Chatterley
- Shirley Anne Field - Mrs Bolton
- Hetty Baynes - Hilda
- Ken Russell - Sir Michael Reid, Lady Chatterley's father[2][3]
Reception
The show had an audience of over 12 million.[4]
Donald Liebenson,[5] a Chicago-based film critic said "Those who believe British miniseries to be too proper and corseted may want to make an exception for Ken Russell's 1992, four-hour BBC adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's scandalous novel...The production is impeccably mounted--no pun intended--and the performances (particularly by the daring Ms. Richardson) impassioned."[6]
In September 1994, Adrian Martin said "Russell brings not a skerrick of art or craft to this project."[7]
Dennis Lim of The New York Times called it "a sudsy...mini-series".[8]
The Independent said "What actually happened was perilously close to cartoon."[9]
In 2005, the BBC reported that the show's dramatisation "toned down" the book's "more explicit scenes".[10]
