Precious Bane

I'm so happy I recorded this on VHS tape when it was featured on Master Piece Theatre. This is a movie I can watch again and again. Like living in the early 1800's in England isn't hard enough, Prue is born with a "hare lip" and is outcast from birth. The people in her village accept her somewhat but always fear that she is "from the Devil's smithy" and are quick to turn on her. Especially when a lot of bad luck befalls her family. She is strong and courageous but shies away from Kester Woodseaves, a traveling weaver who catches her eye. Partly because she fears rejection and also because she thinks he is so virile that he should have a wife who is as lovely as a lily. Kester is a modern man who does not believe in the superstitions of the time and he speaks his mind and follows his heart. The movie stays true to the original story by Mary Webb and is riveting from beginning to end.

Just reading the reviews of this wonderful BBC mini series reminded me how much I enjoyed this when it was first broadcast many years ago. At the time I remember waiting with anticipation for the next installment and fell in love with John Bowe and Janet McTeer ,two talented actors that we don't see enough of on TV or cinema these days.

I have tried without success to obtain several of the BBCs fantastic dramas from the past, including the 1973 version of Jane Eyre and the 1972 version of Anne of Green Gables, all wonderful timeless classic stories, which sadly the BBC seem to have no intention of releasing on video or DVD. If anyone learns otherwise I would love to hear from them.

In the meantime we will have to content ourselves with our recollections of how wonderful they were.

I have copied my video of this on to DVD so that I can enjoy it whenever I like and it makes a very successful (and rare) wedding present as well! This is just an absolutely wonderful adaptation of a much loved novel. Everything about it is just perfect and it has aged amazingly well. There is always a chance with something this old that it might appear a bit creaky next to more modern dramas but 'Precious Bane' more than holds its own.

The quality of the acting is amazing with Janet McTeer making a superlative Prudence and a young Clive Owen stomping around as the taciturn Gideon Sarn.

I challenge anyone to watch the final sequence without at least sniffling a little at the sheer romance of it all. It is the perfect film to watch when it is cold outside and you are snuggled up on the sofa.

I really can't recommend this highly enough.

When this was first aired on Masterpiece Theatre, it had a profound effect on me. It's beautifully filmed and acted. I immediately read the book by Mary Webb, and it remains one of my all time favorites. Janet McTeer is wonderful as Prue, and I fully expected her to become a regular on the British drama scene. I guess she chose to focus on the British stage instead.

I was hoping that with the American success of Janet McTeer years later(with Tumbleweeds) this film would again become available to us. Alas, it has not yet been released on DVD. If anyone out there is listening, please make this available again!

I was just bouncing through Janet McTeer's bio after seeing Songcatcher. I remember the first time I ever saw her was as Prue in Precious Bane. I can barely remember the story, but her haunted eyes and cleft lip were unforgettable.

I remember wondering if she really had a cleft palate; the makeup was done so well.

Mag