Customer Reviews

i first watched it on TV - By: Maya Shemolewitz, 10 May 2008
When it airedin my countryin the summer of 2002 & i loved it. it was one of the best mini series i have ever watched. i don't know if it was the subject, gay romancein 19 century England, but this is to this day stillin my top 5 of most see mini series.
the plot, the script, the character & the acting are amazing. you can tell it is BBC made due to it's quality.
i highly recommend it & If you don't want to buy try & rent it from somewhere I promise it be worth it.

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Vapid and Shallow - By: Roger Paterson, 07 Mar 2008
This is tv at its worst! A vapid story with shallow characters, I can only imagine that it was designed as titillation for the unsophisticated. And, by the way, isn't the story stolen from a Penthouse comic circa 1972? Shame on you BBC.

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A brilliant adaptation - By: Carole, 11 Feb 2008
Sarah Waters is one of my favourite novelists & "Tipping the Velvet" was the first of her books I read. I love the book & I have to admit that I was both excited by the idea of the TV adaptation but also worried that it might be donein a sensationalist way.

I was wrong. The adaptation was pretty good & I was glued to the TV when it was first shown. Rachael Stirling is brilliant as Nan & the rest of the cast are good too. Nan's affair with Florence is handled so well & with great sensitivity, it is really touching to see it & it made me cry. I must also mention Anna Chancellor too. She is perfectly cast as the imperious Diana Leatherby.

This DVD is an essential for any collectionin my opinion, not only for those of us with a personal interestin the subject but also for anyone who likes period drama away from the "crinolines & bonnets" genre.

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Bland Velvet - By: Bod, 06 Aug 2007
It is difficult to have compassion with Nan, she seems to be portrayed as either very naive or very calculating; a clingy & creepy woman who skips from one lover to the next pinning all her hopes & dreams on her. So I wasn't really routing for her success.

There seems to be a lot of padding out with previous footage of flashbacks. The music is hauntingly creepy & soppy all topped off with Nans droning monotone narration. It is also a little patronising as it is predictable & has this underlined with flashbacks & slow motion. Had these elements been taken out it would have taken up the pace a notch & could have been condensed into a couple of hours, however I did watch all three episodes back to back, which is not the idea of a running drama.

I'm not sure who this programme is aimed at. It is a mushy romantic novel for the screen with lesbian sex scenes; this would alienate a lot of viewers whilst some views would find it not passionate enough. On a positive I really enjoyed the historical side of old London & the insight into the attitudes & living at that time but while it would whittle away the hours on a winters night, I was disappointed with it on the whole.

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The B.B.C at It`s Best - By: Mr. Mwbernstein, 15 Jul 2007
A SENSITIVE & PASSIONATE PORTRAYAL OF A YOUNG LADY`S LIFE.LIVING IN A SMALL SEASIDE TOWN BUT WANTING MORE,(IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE)IT FOLLOWS HER GROWTH INTO WOMANHOOD.WITH SUPERB PHOTOGRAPHY AND DIRECTION YOU WOULD ONLY EXPECT FROM THE BBC.`RACHAEL STIRLING`(DAUGHTER OF DIANA RIGG) PLAYS NAN ASTLEY WHO GOES OFF IN SEARCH TO FIND BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS IN THE BRIGHT LIGHTS.THE FULL THREE EPISODES ARE INCLUDED. 180 MINUTES OF PURE PERFECTION.THE MUSIC, THE SETTINGS, THE COSTUMES,THE ACTING I COULD GO ON FOR EVER.YOUR`LL FIND YOURSELF WATCHING THIS D.V.D OVER & OVER AGAIN,AND FINDING NEW THINGS IN IT EACH TIME.THE EXTRA FEATURES ON THE D.V.D ARE INTERVIEWS AND AN EXTENSIVE PHOTO GALLERY. A TRUE MASTERPIECE.IT`S THE B.B.C AT IT`S BEST.