DVD
How Green Was My Valley

Starring: Stanley Baker, Jeremy Clyde,Norman Comer and Keith Drinkel
Acorn Media UK
RRP: £19.99
AV9213
Certificate: PG
Available 10 July 2006


In the south Wales Valleys the Morgans' are a struggling family living in a hard mining village. Though the parents try to do the best for their children, it is only Huw, whose intellect sets him apart from his brothers and sisters, who has a chance to leave the valley for a better life. Through the bittersweet turmoils which beset the Morgans' we follow their progress, some to happiness and some to death, until a time when Huw can look back and ponder "How green was my valley then, and the valley of them that have gone?"...

How Green Was My Valley is an adaptation of the phenomenally successful nineteen thirty-nine novel by Richard Llewellyn. The story had previously been adapted as an award winning movie in nineteen forty-one, staring Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara and Roddy McDowall as Huw. The BBC adaptation had the luxury of being able to spend more time developing the characters, therefore allowing for a much deeper look at the family.

I've said it before, so I'll say it again, the seventies really did show what the BBC could do with a costume drama, and a lot of the classics came from this period. The show stared Stanley Baker, as Gwilym Morgan, providing some of his most powerful work. If all you've seen of this fine actor is Zulu then you're in for a real treat with How Green. Counterbalancing his formidable presence is the goddess of acting that is Sian Phillips playing Beth Morgan. What accolades can be lauded on this fine actress, which hasn't already been said? Without doubt she brings a gravitas to any production; she even rescued Dune for me when I saw it for the first time. For the sci-fi reference spotters amongst you Gareth Thomas - Blake from Blake's 7 - pops up as the Reverend Gruffyd, a character who plays a pivotal role in the young Huw's life.

Although the acting has stood the test of time, the same cannot be said for the print. The picture, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, looks like it has been transferred from a video tape copy, a good one, but it still makes the picture seem over soft. Sound is, as you would expect, in stereo, but it's nice and clear. The extras on the disc are limited with only a bibliography of the writer, a picture gallery and some cast filmographies. The series is spread across two discs and runs for an impressive three hundred and ten minutes.

The story, itself, is full of drama, pathos and humour as we follow this family through the period of Huw's growing up and his eventual moving away from the family - a true coming of age epic. It's a well produced drama, which should please any fans of the book, and a darn good bit of BBC history. If you want to see television before it sank into the mire of game and reality shows then you could do a lot worse than this. Only problem is with such a great show you're going to be looking at television today and wondering just where your licence fee is going now.

Charles Packer

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£14.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
   
£14.99 (Blahdvd.com)
   
£13.89 (Thehut.com)

All prices correct at time of going to press.