I love films that do such an excellent job of evoking a bygone era. Not simply "costume" but also mood, mores. It tells a story of a period of U.S. history about which I think most contemporary U.S. citizens are ignorant. Truly, how many out there know the history of the Dutch in the U.S. or even that New York was first New Amsterdam? The screenplay/dialogue is very faithful to Edith Wharton's novel. Another huge plus as I detest rampant rip-offs of literature.
Despite anachronisms pointed out on this site, I can only find one major flaw in the film: The choice of narrator. Whatever her talents as an actress, Ms. Woodward, after 40+ years, still retains traces of her Georgia accent which simply DO NOT GO WITH a story about New York in the 1890's. If it were possible, I would re-dub the film with the voice of Linda Hunt. No traceable accent, excellent diction, and intriguingly androgynous.
Despite anachronisms pointed out on this site, I can only find one major flaw in the film: The choice of narrator. Whatever her talents as an actress, Ms. Woodward, after 40+ years, still retains traces of her Georgia accent which simply DO NOT GO WITH a story about New York in the 1890's. If it were possible, I would re-dub the film with the voice of Linda Hunt. No traceable accent, excellent diction, and intriguingly androgynous.
