Lady Chatterley

After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.

Lady Chatterley (1993) is a British miniseries created by Ken Russell for BBC One, a four-episode period drama adapted from the novel by D. H. Lawrence. Joely Richardson plays Constance, Lady Chatterley, a countess whose husband Sir Clifford Chatterley (James Wilby) is left impotent after a crippling wartime injury. With his consent she seeks fulfilment elsewhere, and her affections turn toward Oliver Mellors (Sean Bean), the gamekeeper on the estate. The engine of the story is the slow tension between duty and desire, played out in drawing rooms, dinners and the quiet woods where the two meet. Each episode lingers on conversation, glances and the cost of secrecy in a rigid class system. Set in Edwardian England after the First World War, the series is a sensual, melancholic and frank romance that foregrounds emotional restraint and sexual awakening. Viewers who enjoy Pride and Prejudice and Brideshead Revisited will find its class-bound romance and taboo longing familiar, though its candour is bolder than either.

• Pride and Prejudice (1995)shared period drama tone, class-bound romance, sexual awakening themes
• The Night Portershared british period drama with frank sexuality and class repression
• Brideshead Revisited (1981)shared taboo romance and emotional restraint in a stratified english setting

Created by

Ken Russell

Release Date

1993-06-06

Episode runtime

50 min

Rating

6.8 / 10 (26)

What is Lady Chatterley about?

A crippled aristocrat's wife is torn between loyalty to her husband and her awakening desire for another man.

What is Lady Chatterley like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Lady Chatterley as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Lady Chatterley violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Lady Chatterley.

Which shows are like Lady Chatterley?

Shows with a similar feel include Pride and Prejudice (1995), The Night Porter, and Brideshead Revisited (1981).

How long is Lady Chatterley?

Lady Chatterley: 1 season, 4 episodes.

Is Lady Chatterley still running?

No, Lady Chatterley has ended.