Downton Abbey - Series 1 & 2 Box Set [DVD]

Gift for mum

I am not going to go into the description of the series itself because others have commented it already and you can find a summary of it in the Blu-ray page here at amazon, so just let me add that I did not expect to find this story interesting enough to continue watching it but after the first two episode I was hooked, so if you are new to this series; please check it out and you might find it compelling and interesting to follow the Crawley's family affairs through the years.For those purchasing from USA (where I live) the discs are truly Region Free and played without fault (you can set aside any worries that may not work in your Region 1 player).Delivery was not fast but it was expected for a package coming from the other side of the Atlantic and it arrived in perfect condition.The only thing that I missed was that the Christmass episode 2011 must be purchased separately and it is not included in this boxset but again the description says that it is not included.By the way those Christmas episodes are really part of the series and follow the storyline so please don't watch the series skipping them thinking that they might be irrelevant to the whole story (there are 2 Christmas episodes so far and must be watched not to miss crucial parts of the saga).Thank you for your time in reading my comments.

I have recently ordered and received from Amazon Series 1&2 as well as the stand alone Christmas edition.The Series one had started in South Africa recently and is televised on Sunday nights.We were bugeyed slaves of the series from episode one!!!!The decor and costumes is so authentic period ,the cast is absolutely brilliant,the story line the best I have ever experienced.Although we do not have the British first hand experience we were soon in teary eyed empathy with the various characters and their intricate trials and tribulations.After the third episode we decided that it was more than what mere flesh and blood could endure to wait a whole week for the next episode to show and promptly ordered the whole set as well as the Christmas DVD and paid for super fast delivery.Our package arrived within 5 days after ordering (WHAT SERVICE!!)Our experience was that the Blu-ray edition was even better viewing than the televised edition for picture clarity.My wife and daughter went through both series like hot knives through butter in a week's time.We are absolutely delighted with our purchase and Amazon rose enven higher in our esteem for promptness and selling quality products.a Truely wonderful experince.I have deliberately not said a word about the story line, suffice to say it remains spellbinding to the last scene!!!Five stars at least for both the product and Amazon!

Downton Abbey has been phenomenally successful, which is why we decided to purchase this boxed-set. Yes, it's well made, slick, very easy viewing. Alas however, it doesn't really hold a candle to previous, other highly successful series, going back to the Forsyte Saga, Brideshead Revisited etc. This has to do with the absence of a sound literary base to it, a novel written by someone like Evelyn Waugh, who knew what he was doing. Julian Fellowes and Gareth Neame are no Galsworthys or Paul Scotts. The major gripe is that, so like banal soap operas such as the Archers or Coronation Street, the story line is merely based on events, rather than on both events and character development linked with them. The characters are often wooden, flat and uninspiring. The Bates couple is an excellent example, as is the Matthew - Mary couple and Lord Grantham. However, buying the DVDs rather than watching Downton Abbey when broadcast on television has a major advantage, which of course is that no episodes are cut by adverts. The televised version is ruined by 5-minute commercial breaks every quarter of an hour, which is absurd. After all, there is a limit to the number of cups of tea you can get up to make or trips to the loo to be taken in the space of an hour. In France, French television is not very good, but at least it respects films and other works by not having them cut by adverts.As an historical saga it has some interest; the episodes dealing with World War I are interesting, as is the evolution of the female condition and issues such as women dying in childbirth. However, these serious issues are too often dealt with in a superficial or OTT manner. Did Sybil really have to run off with an Irish revolutionary-cum-chauffeur? She gets her comeuppance though, big time. Suspension of disbelief is the order of the day here. There are also occasional linguistic anachronisms with dialogue slipping dangerously towards early twenty-first century idioms.The one saving grace of this series is of course the inimitable Maggie Smith, doing a brilliant job of playing ... the inimitable Maggie Smith. Alas her character is getting on in years and one lives in constant fear of her being written out, especially with the fairly high death rate amongst some of the younger members of the cast. She really makes this series, and without her I'm sure it wouldn't be anything like as popular. Long may she continue to rescue this series from tedium.

We like the series but have missed some episodes so this is a real bonus.TB.

I love downtown abbey it’s my favourite drama series and my favourite characters are mr bates and Anna and I love all the other characters and I love downtown abbey film 1 and downtown abbey film 2 are the best by Catherine McDonald I would recommend the seller to family and friends

Il prodotto supera la descrizione fornita dal venditore,. Grazie

We really enjoyed it.

Essentially this edition of the Blu Ray includes the original UK version of the series, both season one and two and the christmas special at the end of season two. So it is a great way to start the series as its everything right up to season 3, at a lower price then the single season alone.The special features are your average series extras, and my girlfriend tells me that they may be some of the PBS extras they show before and after they air an episode.The Blu Ray looks stellar at 1080i. For a period piece to, this is hard to keep legit with the HD, but they do it maginficantly. My only concern is that its 2.0 stereo and no 5.1 That is the only thing I can say that is negative about this product. But, I will say that I seem to forget that its only 2.0 stereo, because everytime I hear the magnificant theme score, I am transfixed and travel to Downton, its that good.I wont give away any story spoilers, but just say this. It begins 1912 England and follows the family and extended family and workers that live amongst Downton. Our purpose of the story is to find out exactly who will inherit this maginifcant house, filled with workers and lives and dreams, and carry forth the progressive torch that is the Downton Estate and money.I have high regard for good shows and was very peculiar about whether this would live up to all the hype and awards. Simply it does, and by the 3rd episode it surpasses any expectation. An amazing ensemble piece that gives every one, EVERY CHARACTER, their do and their purpose. I am just in awe of the wisdom and concise decision making of Sir Robert.If your lookin for a new show. A show you want to fall in love with. A show with lots of charcters, yet interestingly easy to follow. This is it.

We hadn't caught any "Downton Abbey" on TV, but bought this DVD set based on the praise the series had received, and the question everybody was asking after the Christmas Special (included in this set): Is John Bates going to hang? How could I resist a cliffhanger like that?At the beginning of season 1, it's 1912 and the prospect of WWI looms. But the denizens of Downton Abbey have other things to worry about. Such as meeting the stranger who will inherit the home out from under the family when the Earl leaves this Earthly plane. There are also tensions below stairs, as when John Bates joins the staff as the Earl's valet, but cannot perform all extra duties expected of him due to his war wound.Spreading over both seasons is Lady Mary's scandal, which starts off hilarious - for the viewer, not for her.Season 2 starts in 1916. England has been at war for a year and a half. In January, 1916, England began forced conscription. In 1918, the Spanish flu began its course, killing 20 to 50 million people worldwide over the next two years. All of these affect Downton Abbey. But the plot line that takes over at the end involves John Bates and his wife. His odious loathsome wife.This is a review of the combined two-season set, Downton Abbey Seasons 1 & 2 Limited Edition Set - Original UK Version. Sometimes Masterpiece Theater-worthy series can be too drawn out, too much of little happening for a half hour at a time. But "Downton Abbey" is not one of those. Though there is plentiful character exploration, and there's a huge cast of characters to explore, the plotting is so excellently choreographed that we never got bored. As far as writing and dialogue, I thought "Downton Abbey" to be average for Masterpiece Theater. But as far as interesting characters and gripping plot-lines, this series is top of the line.Everything you've heard about Dame Maggie Smith's character is true. She has many of the best lines in the show. Totally irksome, annoying and maddening. But often the truthsayer, and she sometimes surprises.This 2-disc set has season 1 on the first disc. The second disc has season 2, the 2011 Christmas Special and the Limited Edition boxed set Special Features.Special Features:1. Fashion and Uniforms (17 minutes) This consists of film clips interspersed with interview snippets with the cast and crew. Most of the people are talking on set, with actors usually in their costumes. Commentators include Rosalind Ebbutt (costume designer), Alistair Bruce (historical advisor), Anne 'Nosh' Oldham (hair & makeup designer), Rob James-Collier (plays Thomas), Hugh Bonneville (the Earl), Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley), Susannah Buxton (costume designer), Penelope Wilton (Isobel), Jessica Brown Findlay (Sybil), Laura Carmichael (Edith), Michelle Dockery (Mary) and Zoe Boyle (Lavinia).Season 1 takes place in the post-Edwardian era, and the men wear tuxes and the ladies wear lovely beaded gowns over corsets - think Titanic style.The 2nd season starts in the middle of WWI. Before the war, women in trousers were common only in the fishing industry. This is the beginning of the "panting" of women in all walks of life, though it's unlikely that Lady Violet, Dowager Countess, ever resorted to pants.Though what is said in this special is interesting, it lacks depth, and with such a popular show, it's too bad BBC didn't have the funds to present something more comprehensive.2. Romance in the Time of War (16 minutes) The format is the same as special #1, and apparently filmed at the same time. Many of the speakers in #1 also appear in this special, and there's new people: Julian Fellowes (writer and creator), Iain Glen (Richard Carlisle), Thomas Howes (William), Sophie McShera (Daisy), Lesley Nichol (Mrs. Patmore), Joanne Froggatt (Anna), Brendan Coyle (John Bates), and Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes).It is hard for us to understand, now, how massive a break with the rules it was for Sybil to marry the chauffeur. The reactions seems overblown to us, but this was earthshaking to a family like the Earl's in that time.Zoe Boyle says that her hair took and hour and a half to set up every day. This is in part because she has an added hairpiece, but, still, it gives me an idea of why the ladies of that set couldn't do without a maid.3. House to Hospital (13 minutes) Commentators include some also appearing in special features #1 and #2, with the addition of: Donal Woods (production designer), Gareth Neame (executive producer), Jim Carter (plays Mr. Carson), Dame Maggie Smith (Countess Violet) and Elizabeth McGovern (Cora).Most of the great houses of England were converted to some sort of wartime use. In real life, the families usually moved out of their mansions during their war-time incarnations. The producers needed the Earl's family to stay at home, of course, so they figured turning Downton into an officers' convalescence home would be more believable than if it had turned into a full-blown hospital.Though Season Two's war scenes are brief, they are in excellent juxtaposition to the trials and tribulations of the people at home. As Elizabeth McGovern says, "You go from these horrific scenes of wartime in the trenches, with men being blown up. Then you cut back to these rather petty domestic battles that are being fought in the home front with every bit the passion and energy and commitment."4. About VisitBritain (1 minute) This is a video ad, with no narration, for the VisitBritain website.Happy Reader

On a tellement vu de séries américianes avec tous les codes habituels ( violence / procès, etc). Ici on se retrouve chez les Lords anglais et leurs serviteurs, deux univers d'un autre siècle, qui se croisent et se cotoyent avec leur code respectifs et le rythme de vie du début du siècle précédent. La psychologie des personnages est vraiment le point fort de la série, les sentiments tout en retenu, les luttes de pouvoir et d'influence. La réalisation est plus que soignée, chaque épisode est un film à lui tout seul. J'aime que d'un épisode à l'autre, un lapse de temps de parfois 6 mois ou 1 an se soit écoulé, on saute ainsi dans le récit et les personnages ont parfois une autre vie. Mini série avec moins de 10 épisodes par saison. Je suis conquise. Version originale et sous titres en anglais pour garder le jeu des acteurs intact et améliorer son anglais. Il existe un coffret avec les 3 saisons et les épisodes spécial Noel. Toujours en import anglais. Ne ratez pas cette opportunité.