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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786303379111 Format: Box set, Color, NTSC ISBN: 6303379117 Label: A&E Home Video Manufacturer: A&E Home Video Number Of Items: 6 Publisher: A&E Home Video Release Date: January 15, 1998 Running Time: 600 minutes Sales Rank: 17666 Studio: A&E Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 1991
Description: London of the Roaring Twenties. A new spirit of freedom and style is in the air. Rigid structures separating society by class and sex are falling. Into this exciting new world step Beatrice and Evangeline Eliott, two beautiful sisters born to wealth and privilege, and suddenly left penniless. Determined to make a new life for themselves, their pluck, talent and flair for fashion propels them into the center of London's heady social swirl. Their epic journey takes them through toil and tears, romance and heartbreak, and tragedy and triumph as they struggle to establish a name that will become synonymous with high fashion: the House of Eliott. This beautiful collection includes the first twelve episodes of the acclaimed BBC series from the creators of the landmark Upstairs Downstairs.
Amazon.com: Family secrets, scandal, thwarted love, intriguing characters, and great clothes: what more could an Anglophile want for a satisfying series of evening entertainment? The House of Eliott, which originally aired in the U.K. from 1991 to 1993, has it all. Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard star as Beatrice and Evangeline Eliott, two free-spirited, talented sisters whose lives come unraveled when their father dies and leaves them unexpectedly broke. Their discovery of where his money went is just the first of several betrayals that befall them as they struggle to start their own fashion business. Yes, it's about women and clothes, but The House of Eliott is much more than a chick flick. Bea and Evie's determination to make it on their own terms reflects every artist's struggle, and the fact that they are women trying to start a business in 1920s England adds another layer to that challenge. They are helped and hindered by a wide-ranging cast of characters: a freewheeling photographer, an impostor half-brother, a stuffy cousin and even stuffier aunt, temperamental bosses, and a handful of dedicated employees. Several of the supporting characters face their own struggles in subplots that are seamlessly woven into the main story. Series creator Jean Marsh's introductions helpfully remind the viewer where the last episode left off and also providing valuable historical background on fashion, politics, and women's rights. The characters that Marsh and the actors have jointly created are so compelling that watching the closing credits feels like bidding farewell to old friends. --Larisa Lomacky Moore
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Like Watching Paint Dry...
Yes, watching The House of Eliott is quite a bit like watching paint dry... Farrow and Ball paint in Porphyry Pink, whilst sitting in a comfortable armchair with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. Meaning this is lovely for those of us who prefer the slow drip of Englishy Atmosphere to a big shot of American Action. Unfortunately all of the BBC productions nowadays, even the new adaptations of Dickens and Austen, are filmed and cut in the requisite "Law and Order" style which in my opinion has become exceedingly tiresome indeed. This was one of the last BBC soundstage productions that has that ... Read More
Rating: - INCOMPLETE
iT'S A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY TO WASTE WHEN YOU CAN ONLY GET 3 VOLUMES OUT OF FOUR. THE BOOK HAS THE FOURTH PART SO BETTER PLAN ON BUYING THAT, TOO
Rating: - Excellent Period Drama
The house of Eliott is an excellent British series about two sisters suddenly left penniless in postwar England. To make ends meet they take in sewing, and eventually open a dress shop. The two sisters are very good friends with the older sister (Bea) being the more practical sister and the younger sister (Evie) more impulsive and kind hearted.
I liked the series a great deal. The costumes, historic detail and characters are wonderful. At times I found myself annoyed by Evie (who I thought was occasionally inconsiderate and selfish), but that's what makes great characters. They are ... Read More
Rating: - Superb
This fabulous series, a hit around the world, was not filmed in London, but in my ex home city of Bristol, in the Clifton district and in the country houses of Wiltshire, such as Stourhead, and surrounding countryside to be exact. Many locations I know well and recognise. Clifton is a mini Bath, with similar fashionable features, buildings and parks, and my distant ancestor, the Spanish Empress Eugenie also lived there in the 19th century. However, it provided the BBC with an ideal place to film this series and it created a gripping rags to riches tale of two sisters making it in the 1920s fashion ... Read More
Rating: - A classic for women
Although this series is from the early '90s, I only recently discovered it. A timeless story about coming of age - for both of the main characters, as well as the transitional time period of the 1920's for women. The story caught me immediately as I could relate to the characters struggle. While the two sisters have grown up comfortable and sheltered, their father's sudden death leaves them with an uncertain future. Their realistic fate greets them with constant challenges to be overcome. The older sister Beatrice has a great deal of emotional baggage from having to raise her sister and missing her ... Read More
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