Starring kate beckinsale pearl harbor as flora poste, a london society girl, and joanna lumley absolutely fabulous as floras friend and mentor, this heartwarming comedy is full of charm and clever satire. Stella gibbonss 1932 classic novel, cold comfort farm, is a. Everyone on the gloomy farm is completely around the twist, but flora tries to sort everything out. In this adaptation of the satirical british novel, flora poste, a plucky london society girl orphaned at age 19, finds a new home with some rough relatives, the starkadders of cold comfort farm. Stella dorothea gibbons 19021989 was born in london. Made for television, but released in the theaters, cold comfort farm surpassed the projected outcome for this film. My former shakespeare professor reported long ago that when he viewed it in the theatre, the entire row of seats were physically shaking from the laughter of the occupants. From academy award winning director john schlesinger comes a brilliantly witty film. Cold comfort farm quotes showing of 85 one of the disadvantages of almost universal education was the fact that all kinds of persons acquired a familiarity with ones favorite writers. In her own inimitable way, flora insists on creating order out. Cold comfort farm holds special meaning for the director, who has.
A young woman orphaned in london is forced to take up residence with a group of oddball relatives at thei. Cold comfort farm sends up highminded classics with a wit and impressive restraint. Winner of the 1933 femina vie heureuse prize, cold comfort farm is a wickedly funny portrait of british rural life in the 1930s. Cold comfort farm 1995 stream and watch online moviefone. Set in the 1940s, this story about a young orphaned girl who goes off to live with her distant relatives and bring. With a penchant for tidying up messy situations and lives, she goes about changing the lives on the farm. British fiction is packed with stories of forlorn orphans being shipped off to live with stonehearted relatives. And in cold comfort farm, based on stella gibbons darkly funny 1932 novel of the same name, flora reaps riches with the extraordinary eccentrics who populate a. Cold comfort farm is a delightful tale based on the book of the same name. Id never put that pretty in gurtgreasy washingup water. Cold comfort farm is a 1995 british comedy film directed by john schlesinger and produced by the bbc and thames television, an adaptation of stella gibbons 1932 book of the same name, the film stars kate beckinsale, joanna lumley, ian mckellen and rufus sewell. In england in the early 1930s, 20 year old flora poste, recently orphaned and left with only 100 pounds a year, goes to stay with distant relatives on cold comfort farm. Flora finds cold comfort farm to be a ramshackle affair populated by eccentrics including the imperious ada doom sheila burrell, her daughter judith eileen atkins, judiths rough but handsome son seth rufus sewell, and amos ian mckellen, an amateur preacher whose sermonizing seems to release some kind of demons within him.
The movie, based on the famous comic novel by stella gibbons, is dour. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Cold comfort farm is a british comedy based on stella gibbons book of the same name starring kate beckinsale, joanna lumley, ian mckellen, miriam margolyes and rufus sewell. The movie, based on the famous comic novel by stella gibbons, is dour, eccentric and very funny, and. Plot young flora poste is an orphan and lives in london in poor conditions. Cold comfort farm tv movie 1995 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Overview of cold comfort farm, 1971, directed by peter hammond, with rosalie crutchley, sarah badel, brian blessed, at turner classic movies. Cold comfort farm, made for british television with an infinitely lighter touch than mr. Cold comfort farm is a comic novel by english author stella gibbons, published in 1932. With a takecharge attitude and some encouragement from her mischievous friend, mary, flora changes the starkadders lives forever when she settles into their rustic estate, bringing the. Kate beckinsale, eileen atkins, sheila burrell, stephen fry, freddie jones, rufus sewell, ian mckellen. She contacts her relatives and visits the starkadders, a family who lives outside london in cold comfort farm. Originally broadcast on 1 january 1995 on the bbc, it was schlesingers final film shot in his home country of britain, and was picked.
Set in rural sussex of the 1920s flora beckinsale a sophisticated city. Cold comfort farm has been ranked 3317 times, wins 48. Cold comfort farm is a 1995 british comedy film directed by john schlesinger and produced by the bbc and thames television, an adaptation of stella. Released 1995, cold comfort farm stars kate beckinsale, sheila burrell, eileen atkins, ian mckellen the pg movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 44 min, and received a. This is a fast and fun movie with a feel good ending. Rent cold comfort farm 1995 on dvd and bluray netflix. I could easily see this becoming a cult film because of repeated lines, silly names and colorful characters. Cold comfort farm this hilarious spoof on british costume dramas based on great literature stars kate beckinsale much ado about nothing as a strongwilled, young woman named miss flora poste, who finds herself orphaned and without means in the 1930s. Cold comfort farm 1995 in this adaptation of the satirical british novel, flora poste kate beckinsale, a plucky london society girl orphaned at age 19, finds a. Cold comfort farm times favorite theater button overview. Thus, the untidy cold comfort farm and the people who inhabit it seem an apropos challenge for her. Cold comfort farm 1995 directed by john schlesinger. Flora poste, a recently orphaned socialite, moves in with her country relatives, the gloomy starkadders of cold comfort farm, and becomes enmeshed in a web of violent emotions, despair, and scheming, until flora manages to set things right.
What i liked about the film is the transformative nature of flora poste, beckinsales character. John schlesingers new comedy, based on stella gibbons, 1932 satirical novel. This time, the dreadful relatives find their lives in an uproar. Rent cold comfort farm 1995 starring eileen atkins and kate beckinsale on dvd and bluray. Cold comfort farm quotes, movie quotes movie quotes. Cold comfort farm is a highly diverting lesson in what a young woman can accomplish on the strength of supreme selfconfidence. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing cold comfort farm near you. A novelist, poet and shortstory writer, her first novel, cold comfort farm, won the femina vie heuruse prize for 1933.
Heartwarming cold comfort by hal hinson washington post staff writer may 24, 1996 john schlesingers cold comfort farm is a radical and most welcome departure from. Cold comfort farm by stella gibbons, paperback barnes. Cold comfort farm is one of our alltime favorite movies. Amongst her other novels are miss linsey and pa, nightingale wood, westwood, conference at cold comfort farm, and beside the pearly water 1954. Recently orphaned, flora ignores the sage advice of mrs. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Cold comfort farm was first published by longmans in 1932, and was, according to the critic lynne truss, labelled middlebrow, to.
With eileen atkins, kate beckinsale, sheila burrell, stephen fry. Fancying herself a writer, flora encounters perfect material for her novel in the humorously odd collection of rural characters. Lumley and moves to the country to live on a decrepit farm with her eccentric relatives. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of cold comfort farm by stella gibbons. A recently orphaned young woman goes to live with eccentric relatives in sussex, where she sets about improving their gloomy lives. Overview of cold comfort farm, 1995, directed by john schlesinger, with eileen atkins, kate beckinsale, sheila burrell, at turner classic movies. Cold comfort farm kate beckinsale sheila burrell eileen atkins 1996 rural british eccentrics change their ways under the influence of a chic cousin kate beckinsale from 1930s london.
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