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Cold Comfort Farm

Play trailer Poster for Cold Comfort Farm TV-PG 1996 1h 44m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In this adaptation of the satirical British novel, Flora Poste, a plucky London society girl orphaned at age 19, finds a new home with some rough relatives, the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm. With a take-charge attitude and some encouragement from her mischievous friend, Mary, Flora changes the Starkadders' lives forever when she settles into their rustic estate, bringing the backward clan up to date and finding inspiration for her novel in the process.

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Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Farm

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Critics Consensus

Cold Comfort Farm sends up high-minded classics with a wit and impressive restraint that rivals its inspirations.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly 09/07/2011
A
Cold Comfort is Babe-ish in its perfection: Schlesinger, working with a zingy script by Malcolm Bradbury, has created a burnished little world much like those in his other BBC films, An Englishman Abroad (1983) and A Question of Attribution (1991). Go to Full Review
Geoff Andrew Time Out 06/24/2006
Malcolm Bradbury's script and John Schlesinger's direction ... between them coarsen, soften and simply lose much of Gibbons' extraordinarily sophisticated, wonderfully funny humour ... Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy Variety 06/02/2006
4.5/5
Schelsinger's masterfully directed eccentric satire is based on Stella Gibbons' 1933 book which spoofs the serious, soul-searching, rural-set stories of writers like D.H. Lawrence and Mary Webb. Go to Full Review
John Griffin Ottawa Citizen 02/13/2025
Cold Comfort evolves effortlessly into a "romp," a "lark," and a tonic for the world-weary. Go to Full Review
Joe Leydon The Moving Picture Show 07/18/2014
3/4
[A] mischievous send-up of D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy and assorted other high-toned practitioners of grimly serious rural romances. Go to Full Review
Robert Levin Critic's Notebook 05/02/2009
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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Blobbo X @Blobbo 02/23/2025 Not unlike well-done Masterpiece theater with plenty of wry, tongue-in-cheek, subtle British humor infused throughout. See more Paul G @RT67423558 03/12/2024 Just about watchable as the story is reasonable but its just not funny enough. I don't think it has aged well. See more isla s @RT89656869 09/04/2022 This is a somewhat dull looking TV film, which is relatively watchable but, as I say, rather dull. However, I liked Ian McKellen playing the over the top minister, 'Amos Starkadder' and it features some other big British names, including Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Rufus Sewell and Eileen Atkins. Its a bit like a theatre production - a slowish plot but with some good dialogue and characters. Its amusing at times but I didn't think it was very memorable - or if it is, it may be for the wrong reason(s) (the overly theatric performances given by one or two people while the rest of the production is a bit dowdy). I wouldn't specifically recommend this film as such, no, as its really not a 'full blown feature film' - unless, perhaps, you really want to see the cast as detailed above. As a TV budget/based period drama, its alright though but not really more than that. See more s r @ScottR 06/20/2022 Eccentric and witty. My cousin said that it was the best movie she had seen in decades and it was a surprise delight. It was a Pollyanna story that didn't dwell on her misfortunes, at least until later when she was highly sought after. This was a confusing part in the plot. Regardless, the quirkiness of English farm, its accents, customs and overall feel kept my interest. It's worth seeing. It was an STG DVD. See more 08/09/2017 Fell in Love with Kate & Rufus with this movie. Dark Worthy Gritty Comedy. See more 05/29/2017 I really feel like this could have been done *much* better, but until someone gets around to it (and I'm not ruling out BBC giving it another go, since they did such an excellent job with Pride & Prejudice, showing that when they put in the time and budget, they can make masterpieces), this one is good enough to still be a highly satisfactory adaptation of the novel. The biggest frustration to me is the large amount of reshuffling of the story done at the end, clearly to save time. I'd rather have watched longer and got to enjoy more, particularly Rennet and Mr. Mybug, which was cut completely. The casting is really what makes the movie, it's absolutely perfect. No really, there's no one name I can give you as "this person stood out", because every one of them was fun to watch. I don't think you have to have read *too* much of the type of novel this mocks, I've read a couple of Austens and *tried* to read the Brontes and Hardy and god knows who else but failed at all of them, but I still know the 'type' of novel enough that this was both an amusing book and an amusing movie. See more Read all reviews
Cold Comfort Farm

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this adaptation of the satirical British novel, Flora Poste, a plucky London society girl orphaned at age 19, finds a new home with some rough relatives, the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm. With a take-charge attitude and some encouragement from her mischievous friend, Mary, Flora changes the Starkadders' lives forever when she settles into their rustic estate, bringing the backward clan up to date and finding inspiration for her novel in the process.
Director
John Schlesinger
Producer
Alison Gilby
Screenwriter
Stella Gibbons, Malcolm Bradbury
Distributor
Gramercy Pictures
Production Co
Gramercy, Polygram
Rating
TV-PG (D|S), PG
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 10, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.6M
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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