The Life and Loves of a She-Devil

Great Britain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Mono), SYNOPSIS: Ruth has everything. A large, warty body, a standard house in the suburbs, two whiney children, a dog, a cat and a guinea pig. She also has Bobo, her unfaithful accountant husband who resents her very existence. Bobo wants, and is wanted by, Mary Fisher. Mary Fisher lives in a lighthouse by the sea and writes about love. When Bobo leaves Ruth for the novelist, she decides that Mary Fisher doesn't know the first thing about love. Ruth intends to teach her. SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Featurette, Interactive Menu, Production Notes, Scene Access, Product Description

An intelligent, engrossing version of a feminist victory!

I saw this on A&E many years ago.Great character development, a thorough treatment that does not stray from the novel. What a pity it is not available on DVD in the US. I guard my video copy of this movie like it is made of gold. November 19, 2007

Oh, that this were available for US DVD players

I saw this years ago on television, and it is vastly superior to (and much darker than) the American film version starring Roseanne Barr.
Hodge was wonderful. And unlike the American version, this one left me feeling somehow unsettled (to say why might involve spoilers, so I'll leave it at that). There's a lot more to think about here, than the shallow, more plot-driven story told in the US version.

Now it's available, but not in Region 1 format. Damn! October 31, 2007

The delicious Life and Loves of a She Devil

After searching for a copy of the original Life and Loves of a She-Devil off and on for nearly 20 years now and being constantly surprised it never turned up in the A&E store (the network that broadcast the series here in the US) I was recently thrilled to see the long wait was finally over as the BBC had released the series to DVD.

Although presented in PAL format, which means it won't play on your home DVD player here in the US, the She-Devil faithful are in luck as the disks will play just fine on your home computer. Unlike DVD players your computer doesn't care about formats. The Sonic CinePlayer program that came pre-installed on my new Dell Inspiron even launches itself automatically when either disk is inserted.

So if you've been dying to own this movie for years and don't mind going to just a tiny bit more trouble to watch it at the PC instead of on TV your long wait is now over. The movie is just as much fun now as I remembered it being the last time I watched it years ago.

Enjoy!
October 12, 2007

The better version

This is the better version of this story. The later, short version with Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep isn't as interesting despite Streep.
This original was shown on American TV through either PBS or A & E. It was many episodes. It enravelled very gradually but much more realistically than the American version. I can't believe it hasn't been rendered to the North American format. This format nonsense is a real nuisance! April 8, 2007

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