I was so happy when this finally came out on DVD, I snapped it up and received it on my birthday! Although I wish a truly complete miniseries will appear one day, this version is very satisfying. Of course, many chapters in the novel had to be combined, e.g., Jo and Laurie's meeting and "Meg Goes to Vanity Fair" occur at the same party; and "A Telegram" and "Camp Laurence" happen on the same day. Other events were switched around chronologically; for instance, Laurie's proposal to Jo happens, as it does in all the film versions, before her trip to New York (in the novel, he proposes after she comes home). But on the whole, these changes and the necessary concessions to time constraints are handled smoothly.
Susan Dey is a wonderful Jo, and Eve Plumb manages to portray the strength in Beth's gentleness, making her much more human than earlier Beths. Greer Garson is a treat -- nice to see Aunt March as a product of her era and upbringing rather than merely crusty and bad-humoured. William Shatner's mannered style rather suits the character of Prof. Bhaer, and the rest of the cast is fine.
Some of the language and colloquialisms in the script, and the music Laurie plays on the piano, strike me as being not of the period; but these are minor, piddly flaws in an otherwise highly enjoyable adaptation.
Susan Dey is a wonderful Jo, and Eve Plumb manages to portray the strength in Beth's gentleness, making her much more human than earlier Beths. Greer Garson is a treat -- nice to see Aunt March as a product of her era and upbringing rather than merely crusty and bad-humoured. William Shatner's mannered style rather suits the character of Prof. Bhaer, and the rest of the cast is fine.
Some of the language and colloquialisms in the script, and the music Laurie plays on the piano, strike me as being not of the period; but these are minor, piddly flaws in an otherwise highly enjoyable adaptation.