The French Lieutenants Woman

The French Lieutenant's Woman on DVD

DVD Special Features:

Original theatrical trailer
Interactive menu screens
Chapter search
Languages in Dolby Digital: English
Languages in Mono: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Subtitles: French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Englsih for the hard of hearing, German for the hard of hearing
1.85:1 Widescreen 16:9 version

Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons star as two separate pairs of lovers in this engaging and beautifully visualised film. Embraced by audiences and critics alike-and garnering five 1981 Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress (Streep)-The French Lieutenant's Woman will forever remain one of the most literate, imaginative and stunning love stories ever to grace the screen.

As Mike and Anna, two film actors involved in a tumultuous affair, and Charles and Sarah, the star crossed Victorian lovers whom the actors portray, Streep and Irons are at their compelling best. Just as his character Charles's reputation is ruined by the enigmatic Sarah, Mike finds he cannot accept the intangible affections of the wily Anna. The skilful interweaving of these two love stories-one period, one contemporary-yields a fascinating insight into the passion and mystery that can pull two people together....and just as easily tear them apart.

With The French Lieutenant's Woman writer Harold Pinter and director Karel Reisz take an experimental spin on John Fowles' magnificent novel set in Victorian England, and come up with something puzzling. Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep play the forbidden lovers in Fowles' story, but in a parallel story line they also play contemporary actors performing those characters in a movie production and having an affair of their own during off-hours. Got that? Considering that Fowles himself presents alternative endings in his novel, something equally eccentric is called for here. But little is accomplished by this intertwining of a fictional past and present, and the opportunity to do justice to a great story is lost. On the plus side, Irons and Streep are instantly striking as a natural couple on screen, and their presence makes watching this film easy enough despite the larger problems.