HELEN MIRREN AT THE BBC Makes Its DVD Debut on 2/19

BBC VIDEO ™ PRESENTS A STUNNING TREASURY OF NINE HISTORIC PERFORMANCES BY ACADEMY AWARD® WINNING ACTRESS HELEN MIRREN


Available For The First Time On DVD February 19, 2008; Historic 5-Disc Set
Features Exclusive Made-For-DVD Interview with Helen Mirren Along With
20-Page Program Notes Booklet

December 20, 2007 – Helen Mirren’s Oscar® -winning performance in The Queen and her Golden Globe®-winning performance in Elizabeth I are merely the capstones of an illustrious and distinguished 40-year career. This February, BBC Video™ brings to DVD nine treasured productions from the BBC archives starring the Academy Award® -winner - Helen Mirren at the BBC. The productions on this five-disc DVD box-set boast high-profile talent including Ian Holm (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Garden State), Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding, Shrek the Third), Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers) and more. Bonus features include Helen Mirren Remembers, an exclusive made-for-DVD interview recorded this year with Helen Mirren, an interview with British chat show host Michael Parkinson from 1975 and a 20-page program notes booklet packaged within the DVD box. A perfect addition to any drama fan’s DVD library, Helen Mirren at the BBC will be available on February 19, 2008 for the suggested retail price of $79.98. The prebook date is January 15, 2008.

Helen Mirren at the BBC spotlights career-defining television performances from her early years. In productions dating from 1974 to 1982 and ranging from Bernard Shaw’s The Apple Cart with Nigel Davenport, to Dennis Potter’s acclaimed television play Blue Remembered Hills, this collection showcases a young actress already in firm command of her talents and ready to soar to global stardom.

Winner of an Academy Award® , three Golden Globes® , four Emmys® and numerous BAFTAs, Mirren has conquered all of her pursuits on stage and screen. Most notably, she was recognized with the Academy Award® for Best Actress for her outstanding lead performance in The Queen (2006). Other productions in which she has won awards include Elizabeth I (2005), Gosford Park (2001), The Madness of King George (1994), and Prime Suspect (1991).

HELEN MIRREN AT THE BBC PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS:

The Changeling (1974)

The Changeling featured Helen Mirren in one of her first breakout performances, as tragic heroine Beatrice-Joanna. Betrothed to Lord Alonzo De Piraquo, Beatrice-Joanna finds herself in love with nobleman Alsemero instead. Her decision to have Alonzo murdered puts into motion a heartbreaking chain of events with tragic consequences.

The Apple Cart (1975)

Helen Mirren and Prunella Scales appear in The Apple Cart, a Shaw play set forty years in the future, where the king must match wits with an unruly mistress and a cabinet seeking to transform the nation into a constitutional monarchy.

Caesar and Claretta (1975)

Robert Hardy and Helen Mirren star as Benito Mussolini and Claretta Petacci who spend their last night locked together in a small peasant cottage by Italian partisans.

The Philanthropist (1975)

Philip and his circle of friends talk philology, playwriting and everything in between. During the course of their party, couples form and love blooms as they socialize, insulated from the seismic events unfolding in the world around them. In The Philanthropist Helen Mirren appears in a showstopping performance as Philip’s fiancée Celia.

The Little Minister (1975)

Helen Mirren plays Babbie, a mysterious young gypsy girl who incites a Luddite riot in rural 1840s Scotland. Drawn into this event is Babbie’s love interest Gavin Dishart, the new "little minister" of Thrums's Auld Licht church. But before the two can declare their love for each other, Babbie has a secret that belies her gypsy past.

The Country Wife (1977)

Horner, a first-class rake, devises a brilliant scheme to lure in the fine married ladies of London society under their husbands’ noses. But Horner soon meets his match when he becomes involved with Margery Pinchwife (Mirren), an innocent newlywed from the country.

Blue Remembered Hills (1979)

It’s 1943 England, and the end of World War II is still two years away. On a sunny afternoon, seven children play in the Forest of Dean. However, their innocent and carefree day suddenly turns deadly when a harmless prank goes horribly wrong. This Dennis Potter play is traditionally cast with adult actors as the children, and Helen Mirren does not disappoint as pigtailed Angela.

Mrs. Reinhardt (1981)

Helen Mirren is recently separated Mrs. Reinhardt, who meets a charming American during her trip to the south of France. Things are going very well until Mrs. Reinhardt can’t help but feel that something isn’t quite right.

Soft Targets (1982)

Alexei Varyov is a Soviet journalist who is paranoid of the British Home Office, certain that there is a conspiracy against him. However, he bumps into and can’t help being drawn to Celia Watson (Mirren), and is soon whisked into an unforgettable world of Sussex parties and society weddings, meeting all sorts of eccentric people along the way.

Helen Mirren at the BBC
Street Date: February 19, 2008
Prebook Date: January 15, 2008
Price: DVD: $79.98