The George Eliot Collection (Middlemarch / Daniel Deronda / Silas Marner / Adam Bede / The Mill on the Floss)

These five BBC films are wonderful. I am delighted that I was able to get all of them in one boxed set for such a low price. If you love period-piece drama, then you should love these films. However, some folks may complain at the lack of "fairy-tale" endings."George Eliot" was the pen name of the writer Mary Anne Evans, one of the leading writers in Victorian-era England. She wrote seven novels, five of which served as the bases for the films in this collection: Adam Bede (from 1859), The Mill on the Floss (from 1860), Silas Marner (from 1861), Middlemarch (from 1871-72), and Daniel Deronda (from 1876). Mary Anne Evans used a male pen name because she knew, in those times, that a woman writer would never be published. Even her publisher initially thought that the author was a man. Queen Victoria herself was a big fan of "George Eliot's" novels and stories.George Eliot wrote primarily about folks living in rural settings. Her novels are populated by diverse and very realistic characters. Her insights into personal politics (including the politics between men and women, men and men, and women and women) are quite astute. Her depiction of women is, perhaps, better than any of other fiction writer of her time. In short, she writes adult novels about adults for adults.I read all of the novels (on my e-book reader) prior to watching the films. You can find all of the e-book editions here on Amazon. With one exception (discussed later) all of the films closely followed the novels. Middlemarch is my favorite film in the set. I suppose Middlemarch is considered to be "George Eliot's" best novel. I also love the story of Silas Marner (I even enjoyed the updated Steve Martin version), so I really liked this adaptation with Ben Kingsley (he who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1982 film Gandhi).The five films in The George Eliot Collection are:- Middlemarch starring Juliet Aubrey, from 1994 (420 minutes)- Silas Marner starring (Sir) Ben Kingsley, from 1985 (90 minutes)- Daniel Deronda starring Hugh Dancy, from 2002 (210 minutes)- Adam Bede, from 1992 (102 minutes)- The Mill on the Floss from 1978 (212 minutes)While the production of Adam Bede was good overall, I was extremely annoyed with them for starting the film with a scene from the very end of the book. Perhaps they wanted to "hook" the audience immediately. When I was reading the novel (which occurred before I saw the film) I was surprised by the turn of events and the final outcome. The director should not have spoiled that kind of surprise by showing the audience (at the beginning) what was coming.If you are interested in the life of George Eliot, check out:  George Eliot: Life & Literature .

What a beautiful collection. It has a few shortcomings. Patsy Kensit is badly miss-cast as Hetty in "Adam Bede" but Iain Glen is a wonderful Adam. "Silas Marner" is a bit too odd - though Ben Kingsley is a good Silas his "seizure" episodes are played just a tad too strangely, almost laughed on a few occasions. I enjoyed "Mill on the Floss" but it is such a sad story - Eliot was certainly well known for the "real ness" of her novels - there isn't always a happy ending but "mill" was just a bit too dark for me. The jewels are "Middlemarch" Brilliant cast, wonderfully filmed, just riveting. And "Daniel Deronda" for the same reasons. Romola Garai, Hugh Bonneville and Hugh Dancy shine. Well well worth buying. I wish the BBC would adapt more of the "classic" novels like this. Andrew Davies did 2 of the adaptations. I find that either his name, or Sandy Welch plus BBC equals a series worth paying attention too

I enjoyed watching Middlemarch. It really shows how important it is for young people to choose the proper spouse. So many people get married for the wrong reasons and two of the main chaaracters suffer many years and have to give up their dreams and aspirations because they married self-absorbed people.Daniel Deronda was my favorite film out of this collection. It also has a similar theme. People should be careful and marry for the right reasons, no matter what.Silas Marner was a pleasant surprise. The main character is betrayed by all and even feels that God has betrayed him. The outcome is very interesting (I wont spoil it).Adam Bede had a very important message, but the film itself was mediocre.The Mill on the Floss was very good, captivating, and this story also had an underlying theme that forgiveness, love, devotion, and virtue are more important than anything else and that we should consider how we live and how we treat others because all that you have can be gone in an instant. In some ways, this film left me with a heavy heart.Overall, a good collection.

THIS IS A GREAT SET OF DVD'S FOR THE PRICE. IT IS A FINE INTRODUCTION TO MARY ANN EVANS/GEORGE ELIOT, CONSIDERED BY SOME, INCLUDING MYSELF, TO BE THE GREATEST AUTHOR IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. TO EXPERIENCE THE TRUE RICHNESS AND DEPTH OF GEORGE ELIOT'S ARTISTRY, YOU SHOULD READ HER NOVELS. NO DVD WILL EVER SUBSTITUE FOR A BOOK. THAT SAID, ENJOY THE DVDS THEN GIVE THE NOVELS A TRY. MIDDLEMARCH IS GEORGE ELIOT'S MAGNUS OPUS AND IS INCLUDED IN MANY OF THE TOP TEN GREATEST BOOKS EVER WRITTEN LISTS IN THE WORLD. HER PSYCHOLOGICAL INSIGHT AND EXPLORATION OF THE MORES OF THE TIME PERIOD CANNOT BE EQUALLED The George Eliot Collection (Middlemarch / Daniel Deronda / Silas Marner / Adam Bede / The Mill on the Floss)  THANKS!

Having Read all the reviews prior to purchasing this set I was very excited to receive it and started watching the movies right away. Wow was I disappointed. Maybe I am just used to a different style of period dramas, but mostly I was bored to tears while watching these. I am also going to have to agree with the reviewer who said the men were moronic. No I hadn't read any of these books before I bought the set, I did so merely on the reviews I read. I will say that I didn't fall completely asleep during Middlemarch. So here's my suggestion. If you are a huge George Eliot fan and have read the books you will probably love this set and I hope you do. Otherwise I wouldn't suggest this outdated, bad acting box of snoresville! Mine is going to charity!

Video quality was nowhere near as bad as some reviews suggested, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great dvd s quick delivery well packed well worth the money

Although older dvds, these movies are timeless with amazing recognizable actors! Middlemarch had 6 episodes & was excellent!

good

Minor adjustments but still see the book in it,loved The Mill and The Floss