Bleak House
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alun Armstrong, Charlie Brooks, Gillian AndersonBrand: BBC
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 510 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: E2508
Studio: BBC Warner
Product features:
- An all-star cast comes together to bring to life some of Dickens s most famous creations. There is the icily beautiful Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson), who faces the revelation of her dark past once Mr. Tulkinghorn, her husband s sinister lawyer, catches wind of it. Then there s Esther, whose own background, shrouded in mystery, begins to come to light after the murder of a strange man. Adopted by
Movie Reviews of Bleak House
Movie Review: Great acting, great story, lots of scenery chewing, and grand entertainment.
Summary: 5 Stars
The time is the 1840's in Victorian England. The film opens with a court case being heard in what was then known as Chancery. A row of justices are hearing the case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, where an inheritance from several generations ago has the trouble of having several claimants, all of whom may be the correct ones. The case has dragged on for so long that people have committed suicide over the outcome, and others have grown withered and old waiting for a decision. As for the lawyers, they're estastic -- each one will be getting paid off first, and the longer they drag it all out, the more they'll get.
The story centers around two young people, Richard Carstone (Partrick Kennedy) and Ada Clare (Carey Mulligan), who are cousins and fellow claimnants to the Jarndyce inheritance. The courts have deemed that they are too young to be on their own, so another relation, John Jarndyce (Denis Lawson) has offered them his guardianship and a home at his estate, Bleak House. As it would not be seemly for Ada to be alone, he has invited another young woman, Esther Somerson (Anna Maxwell Martin) to be her companion, and as we discover, to help him run his house. Bleak House, we discover, is actually quite pleasant, and Mr. Jarndyce is one of those people we like to meet in the real world -- he warns both Richard and Ada that to pin their hopes on the endless case is foolishness, and instead do as he did and make their own way in the world. But young Richard, as we see, is feckless and more than a little stupid -- he can't turn away his hopes of the money, and so plays at picking a profession whether it is law, or medicine, or anything else that would turn a living. We are also introduced to a friend of Jarndyce's -- Mr. Skimpole (Nathaniel Parker) who claims to be 'innocent as a child in all things' and who happily battens off of others, in the most odious fashion.
On a neighboring estate, that of Sir Lester Dedlock (Timothy West) and his wife, Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson), there is also interest in the case. They are visited by their lawyer, Mr. Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance), who begins his own hunt when Lady Dedlock faints at the signt of the handwrighting on one of the legal briefs. Immediately, we're curious as to the why and who.
The who is Mr. Nemo (John Lynch), a law writer who makes a scanty living by copying out documents for the lawyers. He's also a sad, beaten man who finds solace only in opium. His neighbor, Miss Flite (Pauline Collins), a distressed gentlewoman, has her caged birds for company as her own claim goes on forever in the chancery courts, with little hope for the future as well. And Mr. Nemo's only friend it seems, is Joe, a young streetsweeper who has a very fateful encounter with Lady Dedlock herself at the end of the first two hour segment.
As we discover, not everyone in this tale will end happily or rich. Money, in some form or another, is the constant worry of this tale, along with a general condemnation of the law profession -- one result of Dickens' novel was that it created such an outpouring of anger at the Chancery Courts that the system was finally reformed.
This one is a cold, chilling portrayal of the two extremes of early Victorian England. At one end you have the ease of the Dedlocks, John Jarndyce and Mr. Tulkinghorn. At the other is the grinding poverty of Mr. Nemo, Miss Flyte, and Joe. In between there are the uncertain futures of Ada, Richard and Esther, and indeed most of the characters in the novel. Money, and the lack of it, is one of the major themes of the story, along with family secrets, greed and outright lies.
Some critics state that this was probably Dickens' finest novel. I'm inclined to agree, all of the characters are complex, with their own stories and desires giving them voice and depth. Too, Dickens' own wit and scathing humor is pretty evident in the dialog, and the names of the various characters throughout.
This version comes in at 510 minutes, in a DVD transfer that is quite nearly perfect. The lighting at times is haunting with the use of polarized filters, the sound is crisp, and the acting top notch. Whoever did the casting in this was dead-on in their approach -- the most intriguing of the characters, Lady Dedlock and Esther, are perfect. Costuming and set design are perfect for the period. Too, the art directors were careful in not wallowing in the poverty-stricken parts of the story, nor in moralizing, they just show things as they were, and let the audience make up their own mind in what can be right or just.
Another version of this was adapted for PBS/Masterpiece Theatre back in 1985, with Diana Rigg as the cold Lady Dedlock.
DVD extras include: subtitles in English,
This miniseries is one of the reasons why PBS?s Masterpiece Theatre and the BBC remain the gold standard as far as I am concerned. If you are curious about more about this novel or the miniseries, be certain to check out their links on [...]. Highly recommended.
Summary of Bleak House
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