Customer Reviews:
Incomplete!.......2008-01-29
Although I have only just bought this and haven't even seen one programme yet I can remember some of the adaptations.
Martin Cuzzzlewit and Our Mutual Friend were good but the David Copperfield is far too short. I can remember the version from the 1970's featuring the brilliant Arthur Lowe as a memorable Micawber - a part he was born to play. Surely this more comprehensively faithful version should have been featured rather than the abridged more recent one? Also why not include Nicholas Nickleby and Bleak House, two of Dicken's major novels which are unaccountably omitted. I realise this collection came out too early to feature the recent excellent adaptation of Bleak House, but surely they could have included the fine version from the 1980's. It would have also have been nice to have The Old Curiosity Shop; there was another excellent 70's versions featuring Trevor Peacock as a superb Quilp.
To reduce the collection slightly they could actually have left out Christmas Carol, which after all isn't actually a novel, and has been adapted to death!
Great Expectations Satisfied........2007-06-15
This collection features eight complete editions of various Dickens interpretations from the BBC stable, from 1977's "Christmas Carol" through to 1999's "David Copperfield". The total mileage is 1977 minutes, not including various extras. Divide that by the price offered and, however much the price is, it'll still be a bargain.
There are some big stars here, and some who should be or should have been: there are some fine performances in some of the smallest of parts. With eight different directors, the production is uneven, and some series suffered from smaller budgets than others, but there is not a duff series among them. If I had to choose a worst, then "David Copperfield" over-eggs an already mawkish pie (and is top-heavy in big names). The best? Well, "Great Expectations" has a wonderful atmosphere, especially out on the marshes. But top of the tree for me is "Martin Chuzzlewit" with fantastic humour in every nuance.
Customer Reviews:
Atmospheric retelling of a poignant novel.......2008-02-04
Nicely done version high on atmosphere set in an authentic looking period location. We see the terrible poverty endured by the masses, the sumptuous luxury enjoyed by the elite classes, and the feeling of righteous revolution is palpable. Bogarde's well cast as the slightly decadent English lawyer determined to do something really noble in his life before he goes, and the film nicely portrays the seething class hatred on both sides, but especially highlights the vindictiveness and lust for revenge from the main agitators of the revolution. A decent enough version which could have done with being a little more engaging in its narrative, but generally a satisfying tale retold.
a good film to watch, but with that certain thing missing.......2005-12-24
i bought this film because i read the book and felt that it was stunning. after seeing the film i was very satisfied, but i felt it missed that special factor, for instance in the 2nd chapter when they are in the horse carriage the book describes it to be very eery and rather scary, whereas in the film i just didn't quite get that feel. but overall, a good film to watch, but don't expect it to be as good as the book.
One of Rank's Best Films.......2002-07-09
Although not quite in the same league as the lavish MGM 1936 version starring Ronald Colman, Rank achieved a notable success with this despite critics misgivings upon its initial release. Dirk Bogarde plays an alcoholic lawyer who sacrifices his life on the guillotine to save the husband of a woman he loves (the beautiful Dorothy Tutin). Overall, it was a fine effort, many of the actors being household names. Even Alfie Bass has a part in this!! The video version is quite watchable, a fine print and decent sound. Not sure what the DVD version is like though, but it deserves the full treatment. If you like the good old British movies of the 1950s, you will love this.
"It could have been a far, far better thing".......2002-06-17
I bought the Special Edition in the hope it would be a Widescreen presentation but,regrettably,it is in conventional 4.3 ratio. A big disappointment. However, and frustratingly, one of the extras included is the Theatrical trailer which IS in Widescreen! The other "extras" are Biographies (of Dirk Bogarde & Dorothy Tutin, the leading players plus Ralph Thomas who directed), a stills gallery plus a 29 minute documentary. Most critics rate the earlier film version starring Ronald Coleman as the best but I am more than content with Dirk Bogarde's portrayal of Sidney Carton. To my eye, he captures the essence of the clever but world-weary, cynical & self-destructive lawyer to perfection. In many scenes his mere expression speaks volumes. All the supporting players, in a cast which includes Christopher Lee, are top-notch & I am pleased to have it on DVD which, of course, delivers the best picture quality. I just wish Carlton had seen fit to release it in Widescreen. Could it be that no copy now exists in the vaults?
Faithful adaptation of Dickens' must-see romantic classic........2001-12-10
An accurate adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel. Set in London and Paris, Dickens' classic tells the tale of a man who gives the ultimate sacrifice so as to ensure the happiness of the woman he loves. With the tragic French Revolution as its background, the film does not only cover historic and cultural issues but also moving moral issues and of course, love. An extremely well-made British production and with Bogarde playing an exquisite Sydney Carton, who can possibly resist?
Customer Reviews:
Marvellous!.......2005-04-15
There is no other word to describe it. I am talking about both the unbelievebly bargain price and the magnificence of the films.
To get it out of the way, 'Tale of Two Cities' is only very good. It is not one of the best Dickens stories (but it is still Dickens), and it is not directed by David Lean, however Dirk Bogarde still does extremely well and it is enjoyable.
Right, now we come to the masterpieces: these are certainly two of the greatest top 100 movies ever made, in anyone's list, in mine both are top 20. As far as I am concerned, if you start off with a great story then you will have a good film. What these two films add is acting so brilliant that it could persuade you to alter your sexuality if it so desired, and direction so grainy amd wonderful, that sunny beaches and snow-capped mountains seem dull in its shadow.
In terms of quality for money, this is the best bargain you will ever get, and I am not just talking about DVDs.
An Excellent Trio.......2004-06-26
This excellent trio of Dickens' masterpieces reflect the genius of the master writer.
Tale of Two Cities captures the mood of the time. A minor criticism is that the crowd scenes lack the number of people used in the earlier film of the story starring Ronald Coleman. Dirk Bogarde's interpretation of the sad Sydney Carton is true to the character created by Dickens. The final guillotine scene with the famous quote "It is a far, far better thing........" is a highlight of the film.
Oliver Twist is one of David Lean's best films.His direction is faultless. The dark forboding atmosphere he creates draws the viewer hypnotically into the story of Oliver the waif who endures many hardships before a realistic happy ending. Look out for the excellent Alec Guinness as Fagin.
Great Expectations, another David Lean film. John Mills gives his usual convincing performance. Again David Lean's direction is beyond reproach. Not one of my favourite Dickens' tales but worth watching.
Product Description
ALL REGION DVD - KOREAN IMPORT - NTSC.
Customer Reviews:
A marvelous example of David Selznick's way with literature, and why Ronald Colman was a star.......2007-05-07
A Tale of Two Cities is an outstanding example of a film which in memory seemed great and a classic, but when seen again is just a classic. That's not faint praise, either. Jack Conway may be listed as director, but make no mistake...this is David O. Selznick's film. It carries his strengths with great emotional impact, but it carries Selznick's flaws just as emphatically. Thanks to Charles Dickens, we have a hugely empathetic tale of noble sacrifice and redemption, played out against the extremes of injustice represented by the French Revolution. Thanks to Selznick, that story has been brought to life with cinematic fervor, strong actors, melodramatic situations, vast and detailed settings, and a screenplay which may run for over two hours but which never loses our interest. But Selznick was a man who was convinced that if one blow of the cinematic hammer could drive a nail home, then two or three more would naturally do the job better. And so at regular intervals we have characters, major and minor, over-acting. We are left in absolutely no doubt of the nobility of the noble of the heart; how evil the evil are; how dedicated and chirpy the servants are; or when we should tear up, or smile at amusing antics, or be repulsed by the evil madness of the revolutionaries. Selznick even employs message cards to remind us where we are and what we should be feeling, a technique that went out of fashion with the death of the silent movies.
Still, A Tale of Two Cities is undoubtedly a classic of movie making. Thanks to Dickens and to Ronald Colman as Sydney Carlton, thanks to some vivid casting, thanks to a great mise en scene, as they say, and thanks to Selznick's showmanship and craft, one would have to be a cynic among cynics not to be carried away by Carlton's sadness and his natural nobility. Just as importantly, you'd have to be dead in the heart and head not to be moved by his sacrifice, at how Carlton redeems himself for a friend and the woman they both love. "This I know," he tells Lucie Manette one afternoon. "I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you. Will you hold me in your mind as being ardent and sincere in this one thing? Think now and then that there is a man who would give his life to keep a life you love beside you." The courage he gives a young seamstress as they prepare to meet their deaths, the drum roll for the blade to descend, his walk up the stairs to the guillotine, those last words as the camera moves up from the crowds, up past the blade and up to the sunlit clouds...well, I was choking back tears. The ending is melodramatic, flawed for me by a syrupy score and by the over-acting of the young woman playing the seamstress. But, I'll tell you, it works.
It's Sydney Carlton who drives the movie. Without a first-rate actor with whom we can empathize and admire, the part would either be awash in self-pity or simply become tiresome. Ronald Colman may seem a bit old fashioned now. We've come to expect our heros to be much more direct, younger and less idealistically romantic. Colman exuded breeding and intelligence even when he was sword-fighting. He made no enemies of men and he gave women someone to dream about. His portrayal of the dissolute, drunken, self-loathing Carlton never falls into simple sloshing about or petulance. He can see himself with a clear eye and a sense of ironic understanding. He makes Carlton not only a man who has wasted his talents and his life, but a man who we are willing to believe is able to find redemption. That redemption is the unexpected love for Lucie Manette that even extends to deliberately sacrificing of himself to save the man Lucie Manette loves. His love for her is that great.
Selznick peopled his film with vivid caricatures. Some work, some don't. The greasy, revolutionary enthusiasts of the guillotine all begin to look and act alike. The haughty, mannered French aristos are so self-centered we wind up kind of admiring them, and the last scenes showing some of them being noble in the face of the blade is a little phony. Still, Basil Rathbone as the Marquis St. Evremonde wearing a white, powdered wig is a sight to enjoy. His concern for his horses, after they've just run down a peasant boy, is touching. "It's extraordinary to me that you people cannot take care of yourselves and your children," he says, with impeccable Rathbonian diction. "One or the other of you is forever in the way. How do you know what injury you might do to my horses?" And Blanche Yurka as Madame Defarge should make us all extremely wary of women who knit.
A Tale of Two Cities is nothing less than a marvelous, coarsened Selznick "literary" production. It remains an immensely watchable film. If it fails at being "great," it certainly ranks after seventy years as a classic. The DVD transfer looks very good. The extras include a couple of cartoons and a radio adaption of the story.
Customer Reviews:
everyone must watch.......2006-02-24
as a fan of the book, quite possibly the best ever written i decided after watching the dismal dirk bogard version to try this wow it was amazing never has a book come to life with such drama and passion. it would be churlish to single out any performance the whole cast were superb it says on the box that if you want an intelligent version of the story then watch this, and for once i wholeheartedly agree,a more moving film i've yet to come across you will not be disappointed
DVD:
- The Girl Next Door [1953] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Grinch [2000]
- The Incredible Hulk [1966]
- The Long, Long Trailer [1954] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The New Adventures of Superman (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Princess and the Pirate [1944] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Set-Up [1949] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- The Trigger Effect [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Thomas and Friends - Steam Team
- Tom And Jerry Tales Vol.1
DVD List
DVD
All Drama
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Drama
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Categories
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DVD
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Video
The Classic Bronte BBC Collection : Jane Eyre / Tenant Of Wildfell Hall / Wuthering Heights (5 Disc Box Set)
The Jane Austen BBC Collection : Pride and Prejudice / Sense and Sensibility / Mansfield Park / Northanger Abbey / Emma / Persuasion (9 Disc Box Set)
The BBC TV Shakespeare Collection
The Anthony Trollope Collection (6 Disc BBC Box Set)
The George Bernard Shaw Collection - 6 Disc Box Set (Arms and the Man / The Devils Disciple / Mrs Warrens Profession / Pygmalion / Heartbreak House / The Millionairess)
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