THE ALAN BENNETT COLLECTION FEATURING AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD

Street Date: 3/29/11

DVD SRP: $59.98

New York - January 26, 2011 - One of Britain’s most popular and prolific playwrights, Alan Bennett is a national treasure, whose BBC work is brought together in the the March DVD release of The Alan Bennett Collection featuring An Englishman Abroad.  Best known for The History Boys and The Madness of King George, Bennett began writing for the stage following his runaway success with Beyond the Fringe in the Sixties, but soon found that his work transferred effectively to the small screen.

The 4-disc collection, spanning more than 20 years from 1972 to 1994, showcases Bennett’s observant eye for the absurdities of modern life and his sharp ear for dialogue, with more than 10 hours of programming.  Honored with seven BAFTA Awards, An Englishman Abroad was inspired by Coral Browne’s real-life encounter with an eccentric Englishman in Moscow. None other than the notorious spy Guy Burgess (Alan Bates), he sends the actress on a rather counterrevolutionary mission.  This collection also features The Insurance Man (Daniel Day Lewis as Franz Kafka), A Question of Attribution (Prunella Scales as Queen Elizabeth II and James Fox as Sir Anthony Blunt), 102 Boulevard Haussmann (Alan Bates as Marcel Proust, and Janet McTeer) plus early plays A Day Out and Sunset Across the Bay (directed by Stephan Frears) and Our Winnie.  Patricia Routledge (Keeping Up Appearances) stars in A Visit from Miss Prothero and A Woman of No Importance. Two film essays, Dinner at Noon and Portrait or Bust, reveal Alan Bennett’s unique onscreen presence. 

THE ALAN BENNETT COLLECTION BONUS FEATURES

• Specially-shot introductions
• Alan Bennett Interview

NOTE TO EDITORS

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Artwork for all BBC titles is available on BBC Worldwide’s press site http://press.bbcdvd.com/.

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