The Charles Dickens BBC Collection: The Pickwick Papers / Oliver Twist / A Christmas Carol / Martin Chuzzlewit / David Copperfield / Tale Of Two Cities / Great Expectations / Our Mutual Friend

Average customer rating:

Incomplete!

Great Expectations Satisfied.

The Charles Dickens BBC Collection: The Pickwick Papers / Oliver Twist / A Christmas Carol / Martin Chuzzlewit / David Copperfield / Tale Of Two Cities / Great Expectations / Our Mutual Friend
Starring: Michael Hordern , Ian McKellen , Charlotte Rampling , Paul Scofield , and Maggie Smith
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000ASALSI
Release Date: 2005-10-24

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:

London's Burning 6.......2008-02-22

Absolutely love London's Burning have series 1-5 and pre-ordered series 6 just after christmas, then for the 3rd time yesterday i had a email saying that it would be delayed, so i cancelled my order but then reordered it, just to see what happened and hopefully fingers crossed i should receive it tomorrow as it was dispatched today!

Pity about no delivery.......2008-02-20

I love the whole of London's Burning, but Amazon have let me downon delivery, yet again, so I haven't even seen Series 6 since it was on television. Amazon also let me down with Hill Street Blues Series 3 and St Elsewhere Series 2. I realise that they don't have full control, but perhaps it would be better if they didn't offer goods for sale until they actually have them available. Asking Amazon for an explanation is pretty much a waste of time as all you get is an email of gobbledegook.

Delivery.......2008-02-10

Now i beleive that this series is excellent.

Not that i would actually know. I'm a huge London's Burning Fan and when i found out this was coming out i put it under pre-order.

The day it came out and was due for dispatch Amazon delayed my order. I understood that delays happen. The day of the delayed dispatch arrived and gain on that day i received another email informing me it was delayed again. Without reasons for these delays I have now cancelled my order with amazon.

I'm sure this series is excellent and if i had viewed it i would probably have given it a 5 star rating but because of Amazon incompetece i only give it 3

Customer Reviews:

To be or not to be..........2008-01-08

Well I be bored rigid watching Derek driveling on in this on. I couldn't wait till they finally did him in. not soon enough for my money. What pompous affectation! Connected to zilch emotional depth. He is a top notch Shakespearean actor today but must look back at this one and groan. I'm with John from Glasgow - not one of his finest moments - ugh!

Jacobi Superb.......2007-01-28

There can be no such thing as a definitve Hamlet, but Derek Jacobi gives my favourite performance available on DVD. Full of humour and humanity it's a superb performance. The production is typical of the BBC Sakespeare series - a bit creaky and not exactly adventurous, but "the play's the thing." Very good support from Patrick Stewart, as a sympathetic(!) Claudius, and Claire Bloom is gorgeous enough to bring oedipal thoughts to any of her sons. The only disappointment in the cast is Lalla Ward who seems overpowered as Ophelia.
Overall probably only worth 4 stars but the extra one is for Jacobi.

What would he do had he the motive and the cue for passion that i have?.......2006-05-09

Excellent. Derek Jacobi is clearly a Shakepeare fan himself, but oh my, sitting through nearly four hours of his whiny voice and stressed words is near enough unbearable. He brings nothing new to the character, do not expect any individuals interpretation, this is pure laziness on some level.
Kenneth Brangth's 1997's Hamlet is marvellous, this is absolute torture and tedium, it only gains three stars due to the faithfulness to the text.
But Jacobi's voice is like that of an angst ridden teenager ''Toooo bee or noot be beeee'. Ah! Mel Gibson, Kenneth Brangth, Laurence Oliver-even Ethan Hawke was a superior choice of Hamlet, but Jacobi-noooo.
If it is ever repeated on the BBC and nothing else is on, and your a Shakespeare fan, check it out. But there is no need to make this mundane adaptation a priority.

Pretty Good.......2006-02-10

Well, as far as Hamlet productions go this isn't half bad. The acting is of high calibre (particularly 'Laertes'), though the set has aged badly. The 'Grave Digger' scene, IS THE GREATEST YOU WILL EVER SEE. It is worth buying the DVD for that scene alone. In fact, you needn't bother watching the rest of it, just select that scene and you'll see what I mean. It is superb. Earlier productions by Gielgud, Olivier, Burton, do not even come close to it. I can't stress enough how wonderful that scene is. Truly brilliant.

Jacobi - the best Hamlet.......2005-04-01

Of all the Hamlets - Jacobi is the best. One of the few actors talented enough to make Shakespeare accessible. The humour, humanity, passion and force of his performance will probably not be excelled. Overall, this production has minimalistic settings allowing the quality cast to shine.

Customer Reviews:

Both Comedy and Tragedy at their best.......2007-07-24

This is an absolute essential for any rock music fan. Alex Cox captures perfectly the exuberance of the punk scene in the first half of the film, and cleverly juxtaposes it with an unglamorous portrayal of heroin addiction in the second half of the film; Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb are utterly convincing as the ill-fated lovers, and the script is a goldmine of unforgettable one-liners.

In response to the request for help, the Special Features are as follows:

Audio Commentary By Director Alex Cox
Love Kills - The Making Of Sid And Nancy
Extended Interview With Director Alex Cox
Theatrical Trailer
Photo Gallery
Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic
Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages - English
Subtitles - English
Region 2 / PAL / Colour

PLEASE HELP.......2007-07-02

Can anyone please state just what makes this a "SPECIAL EDITION", ? I already own the Criterion version of this film, and now this special edition is out, but I can`t click to see the back of the box, so can someone please tell us what the special features on this edition are? Since Amazon is reluctant to state them here!

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