Madame Bovary [1975 BBC Adaptation] DVD

Trapped on a small provincial French farm with her widowed father, Emma (Francesca Annis) dreams of marrying her way up the social ladder and leading a glittering fairytale life amid the bright lights of the big city.

To escape, she marries a young doctor, Charles Bovary (Tom Conti), but his dull, pedestrian ways and lack of ambition soon leave her disenchanted and dreaming of a grander life elsewhere. Enchanted by stories of the many affairs of Marie Antoinette and the great romances she finds in novels, Madame Bovary embarks on a path of betrayal and illicit affairs in her desperate search for fulfilment. It is a treacherous path that will ultimately lead not to her dreams but to her utter ruin.

Adapted by Giles Cooper from the celebrated novel by Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary boasts a truly distinguished cast which also includes Dennis Lill, John Carter and David Waller.

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