Customer Reviews

Excellent faithful dramatisation - By: Elisabeth, 05 Oct 2008
It's difficult to imagine any dramatisation of 'Bleak House' being better done. The cast is uniformly excellent & the adaptation successfully captures the 'page-turner' quality of the book. Not to be missed.

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Gillian Anderson gives the acting performance of my lifetime - By: P. W. Taylor, 29 Jul 2008
By pure coincidence I read Bleak House twice just before it was shown on television. I enjoyed it so much the first time that I just had to read it again. When I heard of the BBC dramatisation I was pleased because it is always interesting to see if the casting of the actors & actresses matches the reader's own visualisation.

There were many performances to enjoy including the perfect casting of Alun Armstrong as Bucket & Hugo Speer as Sergeant George. I also felt that Denis Lawson as Jarndyce, Patrick Kennedy as Richard, Carey Mulligan as Ada & Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther did exceptionally wellin their key roles.

Having said this, the reason I am writing this review is that I feel compelled to acknowledge what I consider to be the greatest television performance I have ever seen by any actor or actress. I am not a fan of the X-Files, & have seen no other filmsin which she has appeared, but I consider that Gillian Anderson has given the performance of my lifetime.

I would like to understand & try to explain to myself why it is that I can only watch Gillian's scenes as Lady Dedlock with tearsin my eyes, not just once but every time.

In Pride & Prejudice, I was captivated by the performances of Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle as their mutual dislike turned to love. I read somewhere that Colin Firth strived `to do nothing'in certain scenes, a difficult thing for an actor to do, & maybe that was part of the reason for his outstanding success.

In Pride & Prejudice the communication is between the actors, Lizzie & Darcy. By this I mean that the viewer is not directly involved but can experience the joy of their love affair as it gradually blossoms. However, by contrast I feel thatin Bleak House the main line of communication is between the character, Lady Dedlock, & the viewer.

Lady Dedlock has all the barriers up to everyone she knows. This has the effect of making the viewer the only person who understands her. There are many close up profile shots of Gillian - & what a profile! - where little or nothing is said but the viewer telepathically knows what she is thinking & feeling.

The beautiful blue eyes, trembling lip & fantastic body language scream noiselessly at you - isolation, despair, hopelessness, defiance! The tiniest of facial changes, such as when she seems to acknowledge Sir Leicester's profound love for her, pull your heartstringsin a way that I have never before experienced from a television show.

Her proud, disdainful manner, exceptional ice-queen beauty & yet utter vulnerability make for a potent & heady portrayal. You want to reach out & help her but you cannot. When Jarndyce & the girls ran through the rain to the summerhouse & encountered Lady Dedlock sheltering from the storm what a moment that was. The guarded dialogue that followed, the dismissal of Hortense with the latter walking barefoot through the wet grass, was terrific storytelling by Dickens.

Finally, & on a lighter note, it was amusing to see that Lady Dedlock's face appears alongside a lobster & lettucein the opening credits - no, really! Mention should also be made of the nice little double act between Krook & his cat, Lady Jane. What a cat!

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Excellent, true and Beautifully done! - By: Mary Kruger, 17 May 2008
There is only one weakness to this production, & it is a minor weakness: the transitions between scenes (very creative indeed) sometimes made me a bit sea sick with unnecessary motion.

Other than that, this is pretty well a perfect production. For those who have read the book, Mr. Tulkinghorn (brilliantly played by Charles Dance) is slightly more evil thanin the book, if that is possible, & Lord Dedlock, though just as pompous, is a bit less gracious than his literary counterpart. Caddy dares to criticize her father-in-law, & Esther dares to yearn to know her mother. The murder of Tulkinghorn & the flight of Lady Dedlock are not so intertwined, & Inspector Bucket's pursuit of Lady Dedlock is not quite as efficient. Needless to say, none of these "alterations" harm the storyin the slightest, & besides them, Dickens' 750 page book is absolutely faithfully represented with the finest talent. I often felt (especiallyin the scenes with Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock) that I was reading the book all over again.

The production quality is first rate. The acting throughout is superb. The story is strong. The subject matter is not for the silly & overly romantic, but a great literary work is well shown here. This is a fine addition to any DVD library.

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Top Quality Drama! - By: Duck Fan, 13 Mar 2008
I love this adaptation of Bleak House. I was gripped by it when it was originally shown on BBC & now I happily own this DVD boxset! The acting is outstanding, every performance is excellent but some of the standouts for me are Gillian Anderson - heartbreaking as Lady Deadlock, Charles Dance - vile as Mr Tulkinghorn & Burn Gorman - wonderfully funny as Guppy! The series was broadcastin the style of a soap opera with episodes ending with a cliff hanger (of course the novel was also originally publishedin monthly installments)but I think the DVD is equally as gripping & I found myself up way past my usual bedtime watching another episode followed by another & then another & so on. This boxset dosent have many extras but it's good value for several hours worth of top quality drama!

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Superior quality - By: J. Kirkland, 21 Feb 2008
BBC adaption at its best an all star cast - Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance who lead the way however its the younger cast one or two already famous who fit their characters as though they were born to play them!

Exceptional story, drama, intrigue, murder, suspense, humor & a starin the making from Burn Gorman as the hapless yet lovable Guppy who stole almost every scene he was in!

Overall the best the BBC has donein ages a period piece beyond measure & a cast to die for. They do not come any better than this & as already said some stars were madein the remaking! Well done to all.