A Year In Provence

Peter Mayle's wining-and-dining bestsellers A Year In Provence and Toujours Provence come to the small screen in this 2-disc, 6-hour adaptation, originally broadcast on the BBC. John Thaw stars as Peter Mayle, with Lindsay Duncan as his wife Annie, in a sharply drawn and very witty look at the adventures that befall a middle-aged English couple who quit the London rat race and take up residence in unexpectedly rustic Provence, France. While director David Tucker gets off to a shaky start--he has Thaw and Duncan literally shouting their lines at one another--the two soon find their own voices, and what follows is often hilarious and always delightful. It's a no-frills release to be sure (at the very least we could have expected a "making of"), but such quibbles aside this well mastered box set will make a very popular addition to any size collection. Highly recommended. (S. C. Sickles)