Search - Patricia Routledge in Three Portraits (A Woman of No Importance / A Lady of Letters / Miss Fozzars Finds Her Feet) on DVD

Patricia Routledge at Her Best

joseph4368 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States | 01/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm one of a few Americans blessed with a multi-system VHS/DVD player so I was able to view these monologues in their original UK VHS import release. These are 3 monologues written by Alan Bennett...they were originally produced for a BBC TV series called Talking Heads.
The monologues are 30 minutes in length each and are very entertaining and engaging.Included are:MISS FOZZARD FINDS HER FEET:A lady has an affair with a chiropodistA LADY OF LETTERS:A lonely busy body who keeps occupied by writing letters to complain about everything and everybody. A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE:A woman's life changes after she is 20 minutes late for lunch.All these monologues show Patricia Routledge performing at her best...and what a range of tallent she has.If your looking for Hyacinth...stick to Keeping up Appearances...but if you want to see Patricia in a range of emotion in some very interesting and entertaining monologues then this DVD is a must for any Patricia Routledge or British tv fan. Just a note: Talking Heads and Talking Heads 2 is available from Amazon UK in two 3 cd box sets and is worth purchasing also...it's a great listen with many more monologues included and performed by some of the UK's best female actors: Eileen Atkins, Thora Hird,
Stephanie Cole, Julie Walters and many more."

Extraordinary Work By Alan Bennett And Patricia Routledge

C. O. DeRiemer | San Antonio, Texas, USA | 08/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""I can't say the service was up to scratch. It smacked of the conveyor belt. In fact, I wrote to the crematorium. I said I thought the hallmark of a ceremony of that nature was reverence, whereas the word that kept coming to my mind was 'brisk.' Moreover, I added, grief-stricken people do not expect to emerge from the chapel of rest to find grown men skulking in the rhododendron with tab ends in their mouths. If the hearse drivers must smoke, then facilities should be provided. I'd heard good things about this crematorium but I hoped that they would agree with me that on this occasion it had let itself down." And with that, Miss Ruddock, a lonely middle-aged woman, has written another of her many letters. Soon, her letters will change her life, and not for the better.



This is one of three, 30-minute monologues written by Alan Bennett for Patricia Routledge. They are part of a series of monologues Bennett wrote for the BBC under the title Talking Heads and Talking Heads II. This excerpt is from A Lady of Letters. Another on this disc is A Woman of No Importance, where Miss Schofield is late to lunch and visits her doctor. The third is Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet. Miss Fozzard works in a department store and finds her life changed when her brother has a stroke. It changes even more when she visits a chiropodist.



In my view, Bennett is one of Britain's great playwrights to emerge in the second half of the twentieth century. His Talking Heads series may seem like an interminable idea...actors playing characters who relate their stories while talking to the camera for thirty minutes each. In fact, these stories are engrossing. If you enjoy writing that can be funny and tragic at the same time, give these a try. Bennett's characters most often are people wrapped up in their own lives, sometimes complacent, constrained by what they believe is proper behavior, often oblivious to what others think of them or how conditions are changing around them. They are people you might not like at first, or may feel pity for, but who, as they tell their stories, become touching and often sad.



Bennett's stories wouldn't work, however, unless he had extraordinary actors to use. Patricia Routledge probably is best known in the United States as Hyacinth Bucket and Hetty Wainthropp on television. She's a versatile actress who has won just about every award there is in Britain. She does a wonderful job of letting us know each of these different women. Miss Schofield comes close to heartbreaking as she keeps her illlusions. Miss Ruddock is exasperating and then almost tragic. Miss Fozzard fares the best, but is unsettled. "I've never had the knack of making things happen," she says. "I thought things happened or they didn't. Which is to say, they didn't. Only now they have. Sort of."



The three monologues were recorded over a span of more than ten years. The color looks good and the pictures are crisp. As extras there is a short television play by Bennett from 1982 with Routledge and a BBC interview featuring both Bennett and Routledge."

Great performances.

S. Hebbron | Leicester UK | 03/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many of my of you state side will no doubt recognise Miss Routledge form "Kepping up Appearances" in which she played the social climbing Hyacinth Bucket "Bouquet". These poignant and touching monologues demonstrate the range of her acting skill.

Originally shown as part of a series called, "Talking Heads" and "Talking Heads 2", they are enthralling works.

I would recommend you see all these works featuring other actors such as the late Thora Hird, Penelope Wilton and Julie Walters. The plays were considered so good and important, they now feature on the national school circulum in England for English studies."

An absolute tour de force!

Barbara B. | Oregon, USA | 06/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
I already was familiar with Routledge from her television roles as Hyacinth Bucket and Hetty Wainthrope, but I hadn't realized what a great actress she was until I saw the three one-woman shows in this set. Absolutely incredible! I can understand how some might find it slow. There isn't any "action" or fast clip editing ... just profound character development which showcased the talent of both Routledge and playwright Alan Bennett.



I was greatly moved by all three portraits. My only disappointment was with a fourth "bonus" performance put on as an DVD extra. The writing and acting were both sensational, but I just didn't like the character Routledge played. But other than that, this was one of the best DVD performances I've ever watched.



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