Forsyte Saga - Complete Original Series

Release Date: 2003-02-25, Rating NR (Not Rated),

MOVIE DVD - Long before American TV's Dallas, there was The Forsyte Saga, the British serial that took England and the world by storm in 1966-67. "Saga" is the right word for this, too, as the series is told in 26 hour-long episodes that follow the lives and loves of the moneyed Forsyte clan over more than four decades. The story begins in 1879, centering on two cousins, Soames (Eric Porter) and Jo (Kenneth More), and the feud that develops between them over the beautiful pianist Irene (Nyree Dawn Porter). The second half follows their children Fleur (Susan Hampshire) and John as the feud continues into the 1920s. The Forsyte Saga was based on a series of novels written by John Galsworthy in the early 20th century, and while Galsworthy earned a Nobel Prize in recognition of these (and other) works, they play in this adaptation as pure soap opera, and spectacularly at that. Don't expect high production values, as each episode was turned out on a two-week production schedule. Yet the characters and performances