Maggie Smith at the BBC

The incomparable Dame Maggie Smith dazzles you with legendary performances in four timeless works from the BBC archives, now restored and remastered on DVD. You'll applaud her as Portia, the beautiful and resourceful heroine of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in an acclaimed production never broadcast in the US ... as Epifania-glamorous, clever and the richest woman in the world-in George Bernard Shaw's The Millionairess ... as Susan, the alcoholic wife of a beloved country vicar, in Alan Bennett's Bed Among the Lentils ... and as Violet Venable, a society matron hiding a gruesome secret, in Tennessee Williams' Suddenly, Last Summer. Distinguished co-stars include Tom Baker, Rob Lowe and Natasha Richardson. Extras: Extended intreviews with Dame Maggie, The Country Wife radio play, a 12-page booklet with synopses and biography, and more.

The Merchant of Venice
This Shakespeare classic stars Maggie Smith as the beautiful and resourceful Portia. The story begins when Bassanio approaches good friend Antonio for a loan to travel to Belmont and woo the wealthy heiress Portia. Unfortunately all of Antonio's ships and cargo are currently as sea, so he approaches moneylender Shylock for a loan himself. Shylock, having been humiliated by Antonio only a week earlier for being a Jew, proposes a morbid condition: if Antonio cannot repay the loan within the specified time, Shylock is free to take a pound of flesh from anywhere on his body. Bassanio is alarmed by this proposal, but Antonio agrees to the deal, surprised by the generosity of the interest-free loan. Bassanio happily departs for Portia's hand, little knowing of what is to happen next when Antonio finds all of his ships lost at sea, and with no money to repay Shylock in time...

Starring: Maggie Smith, Frank Finlay, Charles Gray, Christopher Gable Written by: William Shakespeare, Directed By: Cedric Messina, Produced By: Gerald Savory.

The Millionairess
Epifania (Maggie Smith) is glamorous, clever...and also the richest woman in the world. After yet another row with her spendthrift husband, Epifania meets an intriguing Egyptian doctor (Tom Baker). But she faces the challenge her money-mad father imposed on her before his death: She can only consider for marriage a man who can convert ₤150 into ₤50,000 within six months. Coincidentally, the good doctor has a similar challenge from his mother and can only consider for a wife a woman who can make her own living for six months with only 35 pence to start. Will Epifania be able to prove her profitability? And is the good doctor even interested in the challenge of a woman used to getting whatever she wants?
Starring: Maggie Smith, Tom Baker, Charles Gray, Peter Barkworth, James Villiers, Priscilla Morgan, Donald Pickering Written by: George Bernard Shaw, Directed By: William Slater, Produced By: Cedric Messina.

Bed Among the Lentils
Bed Among the Lentils is one out of a series of dramatic monologues written by acclaimed playwright Alan Bennett under the main title Talking Heads. In this piece of contemporary drama, Maggie Smith is Susan, the jaded and alcoholic wife of a beloved country vicar. With a particularly acerbic tongue, Susan's words and religious musings are funny and tragic at the same time. While telling stories of the villagers complete with impersonations, her state of mind only softens when she speaks of her local Indian grocer.

Starring: Maggie Smith, Written by: Alan Bennett, Directed By: Alan Bennett, Produced By: Innes Lloyd, Music by: George Fenton.

Suddenly, Last Summer
Faithfully adapted from Tennessee Williams' one-act play, Suddenly, Last Summer features Maggie Smith as domineering Violet Venable. Dr. John Cukrowicz is a gifted Chicago brain surgeon who is frustrated by lack of funds at the asylum where he works. Venable, a wealthy New Orleans society matron, offers a generous grant if Cukrowicz can lobotomize her niece Catherine, who seems to have gone insane ever since her cousin Sebastian (Violet's son) died under mysterious circumstances during a trip to Spain last summer. As Catherine continues to be incoherent about the causes of her condition and Sebastian's death, Dr. Cukrowicz tries to put together the pieces without altering Catherine, despite pressure from Violet, who refuses to divulge any details about her son. Finally, under the influence of a truth serum, Catherine tells the gruesome story of Sebastian's death, and thus his secrets that Violet wanted no one to remember...

Starring: Maggie Smith, Rob Lowe, Richard E. Grant, Natasha Richardson, Written by: Tennessee Williams, Directed By: Richard Eyre, Produced By: Simon Curtis, Music by: Richard Hartley.