Downton Abbey - Series 1-3 / Christmas at Downton Abbey 2011 [DVD]

Downton Abbey is a superb and lavish production with many scenes at the splendid Highclear Castle .The casting is excellent above and below stairs . There are wonderful human relationships and scenes of tenderness , love and deep emotion . There are great roles for most of the cast , who give wonderful performances . Most of the cast are new faces to me .The Great Maggie Smith , I know from before , Jim Cartet too and briefly Hugh Bonneville from his small part in the film Notting Hill . The Earl of Grantham is a lifetime gift of a starring role for a leading actor , superbly played by Hugh Bonneville .Downton Abbey is an amazing , rambling story depicting the social structure of life in the early 20th century in a vast Victorian mansion . It is visually splendid and beautiful , the costumes are magnificent , it is totally absorbing to watch and some scenes are very moving . I have one or two criticisms , having myself grown up in a slightly lesser stately home . The story has a few loose ends that don't tie up. To me , the social changes after WWI seem more consistent with those following WWII . The smoking below stairs I am sure is wrong . I do not believe that staff below stairs smoked at that time and certainly not the women .Servants were payed very little money , though they were housed , clothed and everything found . I believe that smoking among working people started during WWII , when women were working in factories and men were serving in the military forces .I would recommend Downton Abbey to anyone who enjoys a good Historical and costume drama in beautiful settings .Having the boxed set , I am able to watch it again and again and am loving every moment .

I purchased series 1-3 in the UK version to replace the PBS version I had purchased previously. Some reviewers have mentioned editing of the American PBS versions of Downton Abbey. After viewing both versions several times, I did not notice any additional scenes in the UK version. There are differences, however...Series 1 is divided into four episodes in the PBS version, and seven episodes in the UK version. Series 1 total content appears to be the same in both versions regardless of episode divisions. Series 2 is divided differently as well.Overall picture quality of the UK blu-ray version is noticeably superior to the PBS blu-ray version, especially in the darker scenes which are quite grainy in the PBS version. The resolution of the PBS version appears more like a medium quality DVD than a blu-ray.The PBS version places subtitles near the actor speaking, so subtitles may be positioned anywhere on the screen. The unpredictable placement of the subtitles may cause difficulty in following the dialog. Placement of the UK version's subtitles at the bottom center of the screen makes them much easier to read.The UK blu-ray is easier to navigate through its features than the PBS product. I found the PBS version much less intuitive, and annoying.Be aware that series 1 & 2 in this set are zoned for all blu-ray zones (A,B,C) while series 3 is zone B only. If you live in the US you must have a multi-zone blu-ray player to view series 3 (US is zone A; UK is zone B).The UK version is enough superior to the PBS version that I would suggest North American viewers purchase a multi-zone blu-ray player to enjoy Downton Abbey in the actual British version. The UK version of Downton Abbey is lower priced, even with shipping to the U.S. It's all good...

DVD's difficult to manipulate. Not clear from covers what each disc contains. Series 3 has no Christmas Special, which is essential for the overall story. I bought it for research on country houses in the 20th century.

Hello diehards - you must be if you get to this at what must be bottom of the heap of reviews.I'd like to take a different approach - to consider out loud why so many of us worldwide enjoy this series. As a declaration, I am an American; I have seen the entire UK version to date through season 3 (and the Highland special - blech!).I unabashedly love period movies. There's a steping into others' lives and roles which I find have an enlightening and character challenging aspects. There's a time travel element that's refreshing and momentarily liberating.So what is it about "Downton Abbey"? We are certainly given privileged insight into their interior lives. Most of the main characters are given some complexity to provide interest and thought. The time period is close enough that we can somewhat identify with it and yet not. It's the lives of people we knew and loved - our grandparents and great-grandparents. Their lives ultimately did/do have a reflection in who we are, where we are, what we do, how we think about things and what and how we value things. The time period was a great upheaval and resulted in dramatic change for the entire world; it affected every single one of our families in the not so distant past. It's was time and a system of life styles still very much in remembrance - in photos, letters, behavior, - and even Mrs. Patmore's recipes.Why do we like to see old kitchens?Best regards always, H: