All Passion Spent

I agree with the others who say that All Passion Spent should be made available commercially, I vote for a DVD. It has stayed with me since I saw it on Masterpiece Theatre in the '80s. It is a perfect piece. The performances, the cinematography, the music, and the sometimes poetic script combine to provide a very affecting experience. I have an old tape that I made from TV, it isn't very good quality and each time I watch it I worry that it is going to disintegrate. While on a tour of Hampstead, I came across the house that was used in the film as the house that Lady Slane bought, it was quite exciting. I pray that somehow this moving, gentle, inspiring work of art will be re-issued, so that it can be enjoyed again by the many who love it and enrich the lives of those who have yet to see it.

This film/TV series should be in commercial release and I, too, as do the other viewers commenting online, wonder why it has not been made available. I have looked for it now for about five years. The production is memorable, and should be remembered. This plot is a perfect one for Steven Spielberg for a large screen movie production. I can just imagine what he would do with the plot involving the lives of "senior" just as he has done with other specified groups. It would be a blockbuster. I recently have re-read the book which, on the jacket, mentions the TV series. The author is Vita Sackville-West, and given the popularity of the genre at this time, I would encourage an issuing of this tape as there would be good market viability.

All Passion Spent... A class act!

This 30-year-old masterpiece wears well even (especially?) today (2017) and as another reviewer writes "is the most perfect thing I've ever seen on television"! The haggling over the rent at the end of episode one is a sublime piece of theatre!

WARNING! The action moves at a steady canter but the horses are old... VERY old! However, the pedigree of this harras is drawn from the very highest stock that British acting can offer. Actually, the youthful and beautiful Jane Snowden does a turn as the granddaughter (She reminds me of Koo Stark) but everyone else is a well-worn valuable antique of English social class, manners and propriety!

Set in the London area, between the two world wars, recently widowed Lady Slane frustrates her family by moving to a home on Hampstead Heath to enjoy her remaining years, to reflect on her past and finally learn to 'be herself', after a long life as a devoted and socially correct wife.

Her kids disappoint her but Lady Slane patiently wades through their dreadful behaviour as she seeks to take control of her own life. In the third act, events take over and as in all good telly, the baddies get what's coming to them and the goodies end up rewarded.

There is lots of humour here but it is all to be found in studying the reactions of players as events unfold or dialogue is spoken to them. These subtle, unspoken performance gems elevate this production beyond mere 'drama'. And Genoux (tireless working actress - Eileen Way) is a treat as Lady Slane's French maid and companion, who has served Lady Slane her entire adult life.

This BBC offering is a genuinely 'class act' in every sense of the word!

I saw it when it came out in the eighties and I have it in vivid memory as an extraordinary experience. The quiet telling of an intriguing life, and the very way the story unfolds. Wendy Hiller does excellent work here and the gallery around her is the true British tradition of character description. It is one of the very few cases, where I went out and bought the book, and the book disappointed me. It is one of my highest priorities as a DVD and it is crying shame, if this mini series is forgotten. The story begins at the funeral of her husband and her consequent decision to live out the rest of her days according to her own wishes after a long life as the wife of a very successful politician. Prime minister and viceroy of India among his accomplishments. We get retrospective insights in her perception of this life, but the very amusing part is the description of her family's reaction to her buying a house on Hampstead Heath and not wishing visits from anybody below 40! With on exception, a granddaughter, whom the family subsequently tries to bully unto spying! This story is sheer delight, and i sincerely hope to see it on DVD soon

This DVD IS available on Amazon for those saying they cannot find it. I have had it for almost two years now. We watch it often. This short series is a real gem. The chosen settings are perfect. Dame Wendy is über perfection in this role, as are Maurice Denham (Bucktrout)and Harry Andrews (Fitzgeorge). I particularly liked Maurice as Mr. Bucktrout and his friend Mr. Gosheron, so wonderfully played by David Waller. In fact, what a cast! Every now and again a cast meshes amazingly well and this is one of those times. Not a flaw anywhere. The wisdom and depth of Sackville-West's wonderful book shines through in this adaptation. It is pure joy to watch.