Adam Bede [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I thought the movie was extremely well-done and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I have not read the book, so I do not have that added perspective. I do think Adam Bede, the main character, is an upstanding moral fellow. I do not think he is so black and white as the editorial review suggests, that he cannot see shades of gray. He is concerned not only for his own well-being, but is also concerned for those he loves, as well. I did not take him to be so stuck in his moral absolutes, that he judged others unfairly.

Adam loves Hetty. Hetty is beautiful and aspires for something more than working in the village. On the back of the box and maybe in the book, she comes across as selfish and vain. In this movie, she comes across as wanting more than she has, but not out of selfishness or vanity, out of mild ambition and desire-- the same way most of us would want something more if our prospects were bleak. However, this is Victorian England and the class system make this almost an absolute impossibility. Hetty foolishly ignores the probability that an affair with an aristocrat will go nowhere, and she falls in love with the kind and handsome landowner. She has an affair with him and gets pregnant, despite the fact that she's led Adam to believe she is interested in him and despite the fact that he loves her and intends to marry her.

This is a heartbreaking and suspenseful film. All the characters are likeable and the "villain" isn't really one person, it's a whole culture-- the class system and the obstacles one faces if he or she doesn't have a title and money behind him or her.

Although there is no happy ending for Hetty, it's not as bad as it could have been (no spoilers here), and the end result seems fitting and bittersweet.

Definitely recommended.

As a 1992 tv new years day film first aired on BBC1,i really should read the novel to give the story true justice! OK,basically there's Adam Bede as you figured played by Iain Glen(DOWNTON ABBEY).But dont feel put off! theres a marvellous plot,rollicking and with a true twist round the corner! The first 5 minutes i would say really get uou into it-its probably one of the few films ive watched that entice you in straight away! oh,and dont feel put off because its George Eliot-shes really not boring as you may think! The cast also features Susannah Harker(PRIDE&PREJUDICE) in a shy yet strong role as Dinah,Patsy Kensit(HOLBY CITY)in one of her countless performances before fame,as vain Hetty Sorrel who gets in some sticky situation!! To top off 1st class performances by James Wilby,Robert Stephens,Juia McKenzie- and Jean Marsh of course as Adam's mother!Try it,its obscure but a real diamond hiding behinding the shadows!

I am hoping this wonderful novel will be filmed again. It is such a pity to find the casting all wrong as it can make the plot hard to understand. The actress playing Hetty is too old for her role - Hetty is meant to be 16 at the beginning of the story, not 29! It is most important that the character of Hetty is shown as the very young girl she is in the novel, as this explains her childish fancies and her inability to understand that there is no future in a romance with the young 'gentleman'. He, himself, is very young too, barely 21, and highly susceptible to female beauty.
One reviewer points out, quite rightly, that all characters are sympathetically portrayed (as they are in the novel) and that the 'villain' is the societal values at the time.
May I just say, that the story does not take place in Victorian times, but in 1799-1800. It would be many decades before Queen Victoria was born! The time period in question is Georgian.
Kathy T. Australia