Cranford - The Collection

You have to give them credit: when the British put together "an all-star cast," it usually knocks your socks off with both the breadth and depth of talent they can assemble. In the Emmy-winning 2007 PBS mini-series, "Cranford" and its 2010 follow-up, "Return to Cranford," the producers assembled a pretty spectacular cast, including Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, Greg Wise and many other veteran and up-and-coming stars.

Cranford, based on the short stories written by Elizabeth Gaskell in the 1850s, is one of those classic British Masterpiece Theatre productions. The five-hour five-part mini-series tells the stories of several women living in a small British village in the 1840s with all of the style, sophistication, wit and charm that you'd expect in a Jane Austen novel.

Return to Cranford is a three-hour sequel that continues the popular story with many of the same characters. Once again, the residents of Cranford are fearful of how the railroad might come to their town and wreak havoc on their cherished way of life.

A new three-disc DVD set, The Cranford Collection, features both mini-series.

Extras in the set include:

The Making of Cranford, a 30-minute documentary about the original production. The producers, writers and actors of the first series talk about bringing the Gaskell books to the screen. They marvel at how well the author chronicled Victorian England, her charming use of the language and her marvelous variety of characters.

Many of them praise how Gaskell exhibits the talent of Dickens, Austen and the Brontes in developing her colorful and memorable characters. They talk about how well Gaskell writes for women and Dench talks about reading the books as a child.

"Cranford in Detail" examines about how fastidious the script, costumes, make-up, score, production design, props, and other details were in order to be as true to their source material as possible. Even the dialect coach is shown working her magic. A very stylish, modern Judi Dench is seen interviewed away from the set, looking far more beautiful than her frumpy, old character in the series.

If you like classic British films, novels, settings and characters, chances are you'll find Cranford a marvelous way to spend several cold winter nights in front of the TV. They'll remain with you for years to come.