Alan Bennett began his career as one of the madcap quartet of Beyond the Fringe, partnering with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and Jonathan Miller. Bennett has since gone on to become one of Britain's most distinguished playwrights, although much of his work was written for television rather than the stage. This superb collection features 11 pieces broadcast by the BBC between 1972 and 1994, with the best known being filmmaker John Schlesinger's 1983 An Englishman Abroad, which centers on a Moscow meeting between actress Coral Browne (playing herself), who was touring the USSR with a Shakespearean troupe, and Guy Burgess (Alan Bates), the famed expatriate spy. The other 10 entries feature stars such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Prunella Scales, James Fox, and Janet McTeer, and are helmed by directors such as Stephen Frears and Richard Eyre. Equally remarkable, these works that effortlessly blend humor and poignancy range from 1982's A Woman of No Importance, a long monologue in which a woman (Patricia Routledge) rattles on about her job until she's stricken ill and taken to the hospital, to playlets involving Franz Kafka (1986's The Insurance Man) and Marcel Proust (1992's 102 Boulevard Hausmann). The five remaining dramatic pieces are: A Day Out (1972), Sunset Across the Bay (1975), A Visit from Miss Protheroe (1978), Our Winnie (1982), and A Question of Attribution (1991). Also included are two documentaries featuring Bennett: Dinner at Noon (1988), a very personal essay on hotels, and Portrait or Bust (1994), which focuses on the city of Leeds (its art gallery in particular). Bennett's ear for witty banter and sharp characterization is everywhere evident—even in the nonfiction pieces—and the acting is uniformly brilliant. DVD extras include brief but wryly amusing introductions for each piece by Bennett, and an interview with the author. One hopes that Bennett's later Talking Heads series (available in the U.K.) will follow shortly stateside. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (F. Swietek)
The Alan Bennett Collection
BBC, 4 discs, 611 min., not rated, DVD: $59.98 June 20, 2011
The Alan Bennett Collection
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