Helen Mirren at the BBC (The Changeling / The Apple Cart / Caesar and Claretta / The Philanthropist / The Little Minister / The Country Wife / Blue Remembered Hills / Mrs. Reinhardt / Soft Targets)

Differences between US and UK Versions
In regard to the previous review by Donald J. Lloyd, this set is indeed offered differently in the US and the UK. Unfortunately, neither is a complete set. The US set (5 discs; 13 hours and 31 minutes; 9 titles) is missing:

A Midsummer Night's Dream (TV Movie Dec 13, 1981)
Cymbeline (TV Movie Dec 20, 1982)
The Hawk (Theatrical Movie released Dec 10, 1993)

all of which are in the UK set.

However, the UK set (6 discs; 17 hours; 11 titles) is missing:

Soft Targets (Oct 19, 1982 Episode of TV Series Play for Today)

Both sets contain:

The Changeling (Jan 20, 1974 Episode of TV Series Play of the Month)
The Apple Cart (Jan 19, 1975 Episode of TV Series Play of the Month)
Caesar and Claretta (TV Movie May 9, 1975)
The Philanthropist (TV Movie Oct 29, 1975)
The Little Minister (Nov 2, 1975 Episode of TV Series Play of the Month)
The Country Wife (Feb 13, 1977 Episode of TV Series Play of the...

Dennis Potter fans take note
Dennis Potter fans stateside should take note that this is the first US release of BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS in any form here. You could order a PAL version from the UK for $40 PLUS shipping (part of the Dennis Potter Collection), but now you can get this important work AND all these other great Helen Mirren performances for $60 in this box set. I don't miss the Shakespeare plays offered in the UK version of this set (I already have them as part of BBC Shakespeare sets)and the Poliakoff Soft Targets is a great bonus. I get a duplication in Apple Cart (which is part of the BBC Shaw set), but still, this new Mirren set is a GREAT VALUE!
Now let's hope BBC get off their bums and issue the Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard plays they have in their vaults BEFORE the tapes completely disintegrate!

incomplete set
If the shown info is correct, this is not the complete set as issued in England. The England set has 6 discs and runs 17 hours, whereas this US one is 5 discs and runs only about 13 1/2 hours. I don't know why this is so, but an addition $20 would have made the US set worthwhile. Who wants an incomplete set?

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