Affairs of the Heart, Series 1

Like most British literary series of the 70's, these stagings are short on dazzling set design & cinematography, but are very well-costumed and have plenty of period costume eye-candy.The scripts are tight and, judging from what I remember about the original James books, faithful to the stories' basic themes. When you condense a novel down to a 50-minute play, as they do here with "The Wings of the Dove", some finer points will get lost but the gist of the story is expressed well.A great part of the satisfaction of a series like this is to see actors as they were back in the day. Diana Rigg, Jeremy Brett, Patricia Routledge, Margaret Tyzack and Anton Rodgers are a few of the actors who are better known for other work. If you know Routledge only from her work on "Keeping Up Appearances", her younger self here will be a nice surprise.For some people, the pace of these episodes may feel slow (I felt that as well) but I would say that you should just accept that and relax into the different pace of story-telling. This series is a nice way to spend a couple of hours.Fran

This set of BBC episodes was perfect for us as we could watch one episode after dinner without setting aside the whole evening to watch a feature length movie. My husband has read the Henry James stories on which these episodes were based and said that they closely followed James's storyline. Of course, we liked some episodes better than others, not because of inferior acting, but just because of the story line. We especially liked the Patricia Routledge episode as she is one of our favorite British actresses. Had we not enjoyed Series I, we would not purchase Season II.

I bought this series, at first for Jeremy Brett, who plays in the episode "Grace", a witty and charming one. Brett is, as usual, a dashing and perfect performer. (people who wish to provide this unfairly underrated actor with a posthumous Bafta may go to facebook:"posthumous BAFTA for Jeremy Brett). But in fact, I enjoyed very much all the episodes. The stories are enthralling, deep, behind a light appearance. The actors are very good and their delivery is perfect. Moreover there are english subtitles, very helpful for people who can't hear...and for foreigners. I'm delighted with this series.

I enjoyed each of the seven dramas that are part of this series. Being less than an hour long, they're perfect for an evening break on a busy day. In my opinion, the acting, costumes, and scenery are all done very well. I think that someone can enjoy these "classic tales of love and loss" whether or not they're familiar with the Henry James fiction on which they're based. When I received the package, I watched at least one each night until I had seen them all, and know I'll be watching all of the episodes again. I'm glad I bought this series and plan to buy Series 2 of Affairs of the Heart soon. Worth getting!

Did not like Kim C. Not much chemistry....and the movie was broken up...a lot left unsaid...it was lacking and not memorable. I usually love Matthew Macfaydn, but it was just a bad script.

I can't add much to the previous review, I agree completely with the excellence of this set. I can only say that I contacted the company that put this out and they tell me the Second series will be out in September 09 and I'll definitely have it on preorder!

These stories are mostly very good, but some are over-acted a bit and some are slow-moving. But on the whole they represent period drama and are respectable in their presentation. We will revisit them from time to time.

This Series is, in my opinion, is a waste of time and money. My husband nor I enjoyed it at all

Classic period drama written, directed, performed and filmed in the visual/tonal style of the original Upstairs, Downstairs. Quite complex Henry James plots are well captured in limited time, and his glacial pace is sometimes improved upon with quickfire dialogue (especially in the Diana Rigg / Jeremy Brett episode). Old-school and theatrical, but in a good way, I think -- reminiscent of London theatre. It's actually wonderful to see actors play out long scenes without a cut, moving around the space with the opportunity to use body language as well, instead of the tedious static close-up reverse shots that predominate today. If you can handle TV filmmaking styles of yesteryear, highly recommend.

For those who prefer to watch films rather than to read books, these short films based on Henry James works are a faithful representation. The cast of actors includes Jeremy Brett (Sherlock Holmes), Patricia Routledge (To Sir With Love and Keeping Up Appearances), Dianna Rigg (whose roles have been too many to mention here), and Anton Rodgers (Noah's Ark and May to December)among many other well-known British actors.