The Chatterley Affair

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Product Description ------------------- It was the most famous obscenity trial in history, challenging long-held notions about sex, class, and language. All the details are on record, except what the jury said, thought . . . and did. Banned in England for 30 years for its graphic language and depictions of illicit sex, D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover finally came before a jury of ordinary citizens in October 1960. In this compelling and highly original BBC drama, Louise Delamere (Cor Blimey!) and Rafe Spall (The Lion in Winter) star as fictional jurors whose passions are inflamed by Lawrence’s prose. After weighing the evidence in court each day, they explore new erotic frontiers. In the end, they must decide whether the novel might deprave and corrupt the book-buying public—and if that is what has happened to them. Accled writer Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Tipping the Velvet) mixes documentary, historical facts, and imagination to capture a defining moment in history and tell a passionate love story. Also starring David Tennant (Doctor Who, Casanova), Claire Bloom (Brideshead Revisited, Crimes and Misdemeanors), Pip Torrens (Rome), and Donald Sumpter (The Constant Gardener). DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE trial background, D.H. Lawrence biography, and cast filmographies. Contains coarse language, nudity, and sexual situations. .com ---- Louise Delamere and Rafe Spall star as lusty jurors in The Chatterley Affair, a docudrama based on the obscenity trial held in October 1960 over D.H. Lawrence's book, Lady Chatterley's Lover. Mixing historical fact into this love story about Keith, a married man (Spall) and divorcée Helena (Delamere), the film reiterates Lawrence's book's message about infusing dull daily life with passion and vitality. As the jurors read the book in court, the hearing proceeds with various actors filling in for those who were originally involved, like Allen Lane, founder of Penguin Books. The couple's affair heats up as they read passages from Lady Chatterley, and decide to reenact scenes to experience the novel's power firsthand. Though a real documentary about this banned book would be more historically valuable, the notion of creating a story inspired by the novel, framed by the novel itself as read by jurors, is an interesting experiment. Certain scenes are lame compared to the novel's potent passages, for example when Helena and Keith practice Lawrence's "bawdy" vocabulary in bed. The Chatterley Affair reminds the viewer how this important piece of literature succeeded in teaching readers that sex is a weapon against "society's ills," but the film's meta-narrative is less resounding than the actual book. Nevertheless, the film will educate viewers, serving as a reminder that our freedom to read is one we have fought for. --Trinie Dalton P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review ------ A very smart BBC drama takes viewers back to the 60's. -- Connecticut Post, February 1, 2007 A provocative BBC drama with good acting and a fine script by Andrew Davies. -- Akron Beacon Journal, January 28, 2007 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED- Extremely well acted, written and directed, The Chatterley Affair is highly recommended viewing . -- DVDTalk.com, January 30, 2007 See more ( javascript:void(0) )