Bleak House on DVD (2005)

Peter Carr from Folkestone Kent , 17/02/2006

This was a brave venture by BBC to serialise Bleak House much as Dickens wrote it i.e. in episodes.The transfer to tv written by Andrew Davies(also did the much acclaimed Pride and Prejudice)is excellent and completely faithful to the text.The cast reads like a whos who of the british theatrical establishment and all of the performances are exellent.Watch out for some great unexpected cameos e.g.Johnny Vegas as the sly drunkard landlord.

The plot of Bleak House is one of Dickens most complex revolving around the drawn out court case between Jarndyce v Jarndyce alongside numerous sub plots.Despite this the storyline is very gripping and draws you in like a modern thriller.

My only gripe about the production is the camera work which is often jerky or handheld and can be a bit distracting.Nevertheless after being rationed to 1/2 hour episodes its good to have the whole series pulled together on dvd.

If you missed it on tele rent it now.It will not disapoint even if you dont think you are a Dickens fan.

  26 out of 32 people found this review helpful

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Wendy from Middlesex , 02/06/2006

This series has the story by Charles Dickens and the history of the period rolled into one. I found it compulsive viewing. Having watched the hour long first episode I wanted to watch the rest. I was irritated by the fact that these are programmes put straight onto DVD so each has the credits at the beginning and the end of each episode and that each episode is only half and hour in length, but in its entirity this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the series. There is a good, well known cast, each plays their role well and makes the story come to life. It made me very grateful that we do not live in those times anymore.

  11 out of 11 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Banbury, England , 25/01/2007

This is a BBC drama production at its very best. I have been inclined to dismiss most of the traditional classics but the acting and camera work in this production puts a lot of box office releases into the shade. I am happy to pay my license fee if this is what the BBC produce! Recommended for good alround entertainment.

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

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A customer from England , 19/01/2007

This whole series was excellent and compulsive viewing. The cast was magnificent and I can thoroughly recommend this.

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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David A from Bath England , 23/05/2007

Some of the best dramas around consist of TV serialisations from some years ago, and this is no exception. The quality of the production, the superb acting,the pacing and the photography are an object lesson in what makes an engaging and absorbing drama. Although the series is divided into the original episodes, just try to stop yourself watching them one after another to find out 'what happens next', as the beautifully crafted Dickensian plot unfolds. Each episode leaves you wanting more, as all the best stories do, and each episode will keep you guessing.

Dickens is one of the greats in literature, and it takes a lot of effort to translate that greatness into a media which wasn't around in his lifetime. This series succeeds in that aim admirably, and I speak as one who has read plenty of Dickens and one who is always wary of film adaptations of books I have really enjoyed.

Highly recommended.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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robertconnor from Gloucestershire [Highly rated reviewer] , 25/04/2007

Sheer brilliance at work here as Dickens' multi-stranded plot is woven into a magical TV production. Bleak House works on every single level, and certainly left this viewer alternately gripped or moved, as Davies roles out the parallel stories of the Jarndyce wards and their companion Esther Summerson, and the slow, horrible destruction wrought on Honoria Deadlock.

Casting is absolute perfection, right down to the minor characters, and Chadwick, White and Rhode James have enabled the most delicious characterisations from every player. Maxwell Martin is delightful as Esther, making her totally believable and real - there isn't a trace of 'acting' in sight, so luminous and real is she. As Honoria Deadlock, Anderson is astonishing - post-X-Files, she has once again proved herself as one of the most versatile female actors around (reference also The House of Mirth and The Might Celt). Her ability to convey such intense emotions - grief, panic, terror - hidden behind a composed countenance is sublime. However, singling these two out in no way lessens the performances from other cast members - each in turn creates an incredibly believable character.

So one of the BBC triumphs of the decade, and unmissable in every respect!

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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