The Earlier Version
I haven't seen this version, but adored the 1980 version. I have the feeling that this one really left a lot of the story out. Why isn't the earlier version available on DVD?
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MovieChat Forums > Love in a Cold Climate (2002) Discussion > The Earlier Version
agreed
I would like to see the earlier version
am watching it [the 2001] now, and a main character has just died..and it's all so speeded up :(
I can't remember the exact details, but I received a copy of the 1980 version through a contact on that board several years ago. What a difference! I'm cringing at the portrayal of Cedric just now in the 2001 version; it's too ghastly for words. What a terrible waste of an otherwise superb group of performers. There's simply no excuse for this terrible kind of production.
Update: Just started watching my DVDs with the older version. I'm already captivated all over again. Forget the idiotic twaddle of the 2001 version. I also went on the board for the 1980 version and learned there are copies of that version available from various outlets at a wide range of prices.
Put puppy mills out of business: never buy dogs from pet shops!
Just out of curiosity why do you think the 1980 version so much better? I really liked the 2001 version. I haven't seen the 1980 version yet as it is apparently still unavailable.
shareActually, I didn't completely dislike the newer version, as I adore the late, great Alan Bates and Sheila Gish, as well as Celia Imrie, Anthony Andrews and Rosalind Pike. If one never saw the 1980 version, I can imagine enjoying the later version. The problem chiefly lay in the script and production decisions.
The later version omitted the marvelous character Davey Warbeck, who was married to Linda's aunt, Emily. Davey (deliciously portrayed by the enormously talented Michael Williams, late, devoted husband of the divine Judi Dench, who plays Aunt Sadie in the 1980 version with her usual attention to detail), as a dedicated hypochondriac, pursues every faddish medical practice with hilarious results. Where one would think Fa would find him a terrible sewer, Davey instead charms the rather irascible Uncle Matt, as well as the viewers. They also omitted Linda's elder sister, Louisa. The original spent a bit more time showing Fanny and Linda as children. Likewise, Cedric's role in the original was much broader, so we get to know him so much better. By stretching the story to multiple episodes, the 1980 version deepens its character development in ways more truncated later productions seldom do. The earlier production also shows more amusing scenes at Matt and Sadie's estate during the war. I've been showing this version to a friend, who can't stop laughing.
If you go to the board for the 1980 version, you should be able to follow links for finding its DVD at reasonable prices. It's definitely worth the effort. I've found even if I don't like later versions of various productions as much, I value the opportunity to compare them. Sometimes, each version does certain themes or characters more effectively than the other.
Put puppy mills out of business: never buy dogs from pet shops!