the audience applauded

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Don't Believe the Hype

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is simply one of the finest plays written, performed, and produced. I have seen both versions. I first saw the Richard Chamberlain and Eileen Atkins version as a girl and later was shown the John Gielgud version by a friend who by some slight of hand had it. It is simply exquisitely written and exquisitely performed. If you haven't read or seen this work don't miss out. It does more for the human heart, mind, body and soul than any other work I've read or seen in theater or television and those number quite a lot. It celebrates language and spirit and intelligence and wit. It provides hope which, speaking for myself, is in shockingly low supply.

My 2006 review is below, but for the small band of us crying out for this to be on DVD, I found it! Only I can't include the info here--it's against IMDb rules--so Google the title + Chamberlain and look among the results. Yippee!The review:This broadcast positively transported me when I saw it on PBS, and I would buy it in a minute if someone had the good sense to issue it on DVD.There's a version starring Kenneth Branaugh (much of whose work I love) that's very watchable, but it doesn't reach the heights this one does.If you've never seen or read anything by Chrisopher Fry, as I hadn't, you'll be astonished that it was written for 20th century audiences. It's a serious look at life disguised as a romantic comedy set in medieval England. The cast is uniformly excellent, and Chamberlain and Atkins are magical. (After playing Dr Kildare on American television for several seasons, Chamberlain went to Britain to study and work; he ended up playing Hamlet in a major production. This performance shows what he can do when allowed to.)They say life's a comedy to those who think..."The Lady's Not for Burning" is a comedy *for* those who think.

I saw this performance on PBS many years ago, taped it, and watched it again several times before I lost the tape by lending it to a "friend." Chamberlain's performance is transcendent, and that's not a word I use very often. He convinced me that he is one of America's greatest actors, one of the few who is comfortable with lyrical, poetic language, such as Fry's, and who is totally convincing as a romantic lead. Eileen Adkins is perfect as the cynical Jennet, possible the equal of Pamela Brown who was closely identified with the role. This film needs to be released on DVD so that a new generation can discover the drama of Christopher Fry and see Chamberlain at his best.

Even though it has been thirty years, I remember this well, as do my mother and sister. I probably saw it a dozen times over it's KCET run, every time we knew it was going to be on, and loved every showing.So many in the cast are favorites of mine that I'll refrain from going into each performance, except to say that the casting was excellent all around. Growing up in Los Angeles I was fortunate to see Richard Chamberlain on stage several times, and never better than he was in this role. Kristoffer Tabori stood out as well, as he has done so consistently throughout his career.If you have the opportunity to see this, DO NOT MISS IT. You will not be sorry.Message to KCET: PLEASE RELEASE THIS ON VHS/DVD!!!!!