The formula for calculating the Top Rated 250 Titles gives a true Bayesian estimate:

 weighted rating (WR) = (v ÷ (v+m)) × R + (m ÷ (v+m)) × C

where:

• R = average for the movie (mean) = (Rating)
• v = number of votes for the movie = (votes)
• m = minimum votes required to be listed in the Top 250 (currently 3000)
• C = the mean vote across the whole report (currently 6.9)

for the Top 250, only votes from regular voters are considered.

Directed by: Brian Percival.

North and South is a powerful adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s feisty and passionate love story, set across the social divides in the changing world of Victorian industrial society. Margaret Hale is one of literature’s most original heroines: a southerner from a country vicarage newly settled in the industrial northern town of Milton. In the shock of her move, she misjudges charismatic cotton mill-owner John Thornton, whose strength of purpose and passion are a match for her own pride and wilfulness. When the workers of Milton call a strike, Margaret takes their side, and the two are brought into deeper conflict. As events spiral out of control, Margaret – to her surprise – begins to fall in love with Thornton…

This witty and poignant story, starring the Oscar-winning Judi Dench, follows the small absurdities and major tragedies in the lives of the people of Cranford, as they are besieged by forces that they can’t withstand. Cranford in the 1840s is a small northern English town on the cusp of change. Things are on the move. The railway is pushing its way relentlessly towards the town from Manchester, bringing fears of migrant workers and the breakdown of law and order. The arrival of a handsome new doctor from London causes a stir, not only because of his revolutionary medical methods, but also because of the effect he has on many of the ladies’ hearts in the town. Three Gaskell novels have been woven together to create this uniquely rich and comic drama about ordinary human lives during one extraordinary year.

A witty and poignant story, starring the Oscar-winning Judi Dench

Cranford, BBC Costume Drama, Judi Dench, Gaskell, rich and comic drama, period drama, bbc classic drama, cranford dvd, gaskell dvd, gaskell drama,
]]> http://dvdnouveau.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/147/feed/ 0 nouveauguru cranford-3d-cmyk http://dvdnouveau.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/pusher-i/ http://dvdnouveau.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/pusher-i/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:50:15 +0000 nouveauguru http://dvdnouveau.wordpress.com/?p=143 Continue reading →]]> Drug dealings, ultra-violence, prostitution. Yes, it seems the sex, drugs and rock n roll side of gangster movies is not relegated to the grimy, but familiar streets of New York or London. In Pusher, the drama plays out in Copenhagen, with hard drug-dealer Frank as our reprehensible but ultimately likable hero. The story is well-worn: Frank’s deal goes wrong and suddenly he owes a lot of money to some very scary Serbs, with heart-felt loves for cuisine. But director Nicolas Winding Refn’s frank, wry confidence and no-frills handheld sets this one apart and, along with the rockingly excellent soundtrack, gives this low-budget debut it’s cinematic quality. Denmark loved it, as did my 17 year old sister - and, if you find you do too, you have two more films in the trilogy to look forward to.