The Chatterley Affair (BBC/Acorn)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C- Telefilm: B
One of
the great censored books (often adapted since) is D.H. Lawrence’s classic Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which survived
a court case that changed Britain and the world for the better. The 1996 British telefilm The Chatterley Affair (directed by James Dawes) gives us a smart,
amusing, fictional account of the case, puts it in historical context and
remains us that it was not that long ago a revolution of free speech, writing
and thought took place.
The
interesting twist here is when two fictional jurors (Rafe Spall, Louise
Delamere) become so enamored of the book and each other that they have a hot
sexual affair. This is both humorous and
irony, while the fine teleplay by Andrew Davies challenges the idea of
censorship, self-censorship and intelligently makes absurd how people try to
censor reality when it is staring us in the face. This is one of the best TV movies to come out
of England in a while, not because there have not been any good ones, but
because this has some heart and soul to it.
There is some nudity and the language is adult at times, but it is in
context and it all works very nicely.
The solid supporting cast is a plus.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image originates in digital High Definition
and it is definitely the older 1080i kind.
Though this has some nice shooting and great archival footage, so it is
still enough of a pleasant viewing experience despite hazing flaws when people
move. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has
no real surrounds, but is nicely recorded and plays back just fine in simple
stereo. Extras are barely here,
including text on cast filmographies, D.H. Lawrence biography and very brief
notes on the case.
- Nicholas Sheffo
