Two DVDs with language that's not just clean, but good

Nowadays, theaters are overloaded with films composed of CGI effects, bathroom humor, and gore galore. But throughout the years, the best movie makers have found the truest special effect is dialogue.

Two films from across the pond, both produced in the 1990s, mesmerize viewers with their use of language. The Winslow Boy, from 1999, is based on a true story about a successful banker who risks his fortune and the family’s good name to defend his son from an accusation of theft. After being dismissed from a prestigious prep school, a disgrace that could cause early-1900s British society to shun the entire family, the boy proclaims his innocence despite the evidence.

The family’s subsequent stand takes them to court. The patriarch makes personal and financial sacrifices to hire the best lawyer, or, as the British say, solicitor.

Renowned playwright and director David Mamet, who is recognized normally for salty dialogue in his works, has sensitively adapted Terence Rattigan’s play. This genteel look at a father’s determination to see justice done—and to see his son vindicated—offers filmgoers a superb screenplay, proving that a story can be told without bombarding the viewer with profane and offensive material. It’s rated G, and stars Nigel Hawthorne and Rebecca Pidgeon.

Next, the Academy Award-winner for best picture in 1995, Sense and Sensibility, stars Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, and Hugh Grant. Thompson also wrote the screenplay for this film adapted from the Jane Austen novel about two sisters discovering the joys and tribulations of young love. Sense and Sensibility is rated PG. Set in prim and proper 18th-century Britain, the beautifully photographed and splendidly acted melodrama is full of humor, wit, and passion. There’s no profanity, no sexual situations, no violence—just great storytelling.

Listen to Phil Boatwright’s DVD reviews, along with clips from the films, on The World and Everything in It: