Product Description Behind the façade of perfect lives lies a prison of elicit passion and deception Two wealthy, handsome couples—one English, one American—meet at a German spa and forge an immediate bond. Through nine seasons at the spa, the splendid foursome share the same tastes, the same desires, and the same elegantly perfect lives. But in a series of startling time and perspective shifts, we learn, little by little, just how far short of perfection their lives really were. Faithfully adapted from Ford Madox Ford’s impressionistic masterpiece, this powerful drama explores a tangle of religion, sex, and Edwardian-era social mores in a highly original style. Starring Jeremy Brett, Robin Ellis, Susan Fleetwood, Vickery Turner, Elizabeth Garvie, Pauline Moran, and John Ratzenberger. As seen on Masterpiece Theatre. Amazon.com From the opening voiceover line--"This is the saddest story I have ever heard"--The Good Soldier reveals how deep and wide heartbreak can run, even within the confines of Edwardian manners. Based on the understated masterpiece by Ford Madox Ford, the 1981 film unwinds in what feels like real time as it explores the friendship--and treachery and pathos--of two couples, one English, the other American, over several summers in Europe before World War II. The narrator, American John Dowell (Robin Ellis), looks back at the ruins of friendship, trust, and marriage, in a daring time-travel fluid narrative that completely tracks in how someone would try to make sense, later, of such deep tragedy. The title hero is Capt. Ashburnham, played by TV's favorite Sherlock Holmes, Jeremy Brett, and his performance is breathtaking. Ashburnham is an English Gatsby--blessed, envied, and ultimately cursed--yet even when those closest to him see his foibles, they can't help but bend to his will. Meanwhile, as Dowell sifts through the collateral damage left by his onetime friend, he admires him still. "It never lets you down," he muses, "the English habit of taking absolutely everything and everyone for granted." Also giving splendid performances are Susan Fleetwood as Ashburnham's buffeted wife, and Vickery Turner, Dowell's compulsively chatty, and untrustworthy, wife. Keep an eye out for a pre-Cheers John Ratzenberger, who plays a shallow boy toy (!) lurking in someone's hidden past. Extras include an excellent biography of Ford Madox Ford. --A.T. Hurley Review Superb...gorgeous -- the New York Times "The Good Soldier" is a good example of British television at its very best. -- Connecticut Post Recommended 3 1/2 Stars. An intriguing, elliptical puzzle of a film, that delivers some interesting performances . -- DVD Talk, ISBN13: B000MV8Z9U ISBN10: B000MV8Z9U Material Type: dvd