Martin Chuzzlewit [VHS] [1994]

The above rating only gives scope for 5 stars. This is a 10 star production. An all-star cast provide 110% performances (as always in these Dickens' adaptations), to bring my favourite Dickens' novel triumphantly to the small screen. Dickens always seems to bring out the best performances of our finest actors and no more so in this wonderful production. Special mention must go to Pete Postlethwaite who, as always, gives us good value with two! fantastic portrayals as first, the rascally Montague Tigg, friend of Chevy Slyme, and then, in the second half of the story, as Tigg Montague, Chairman of the Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Insurance Company. Paul Scofield, as always, is masterly as Old Martin Chuzzlewit. Tom Wilkinson, in his finest 5 hours, as the hypocrite Pecksniff. Keith Allen as the villainous Jonas Chuzzlewit gives a finely-wrought portrayal of filial greed. Elizabeth Spriggs as the infamous nurse Mrs Gamp (you can almost smell the snuff!! Achoo!!). Sir John Mills also makes his mark with a finely-judged portrayal of the clerk, Chuffey. I understand that this television production cost 4 million pounds to make. Well, all I can say is that I get my 4 million pounds worth of entertainment value every time that I view this splendid video presentation. I hope that the BBC issue this on DVD soon. Please!!!

I have waited quite a while for this to come out on dvd and it has been well worth the wait.
A rich mans family circle like vultures in the hope of financial reward.He,(the Martin Chuzzlewit of the title),is a grumpy old git and the family are Dickens usual suspects,hypocrites,wasters,stuck-up middle classes,honest as the day is long working class,pale and boring hero & heroine all glued together by a cracking story.
The plot is,as ever with the BBC,faithfully followed and is paced to perfection.
But it's the cast that make this such a success.Tom Wilkinson conveys breathtaking hypocrisy effortlessly,Keith Allen portrays OTT evil just the way Dickens liked it,(I cant help but feel he would make a spot on Bill Sykes),.Pete posslethwaite,Paul Schofield and all involved work their socks off to produce what is one of the finest 'classics'the telly has ever put out.
The picture quality is acceptable.Apparently its been remastered,its certainly not just a straight from video transfer.Sound is a little disapointing,stereo only,but at least its clear.
There are no extras and while this may seem mean I have to say that I bought this from Amazon on region 1 & the price was so cheap even without extras its still fantastic value for money.
If you are looking for superbly acted,paced and produced drama then I can't recommend this highly enough,buy it now!

It takes Dickens to invent and explore such a sordid family history and story. For Dickens the world is cut into three types of people.

First the rich who are supposed to make money by all means, and of course first of all speculation. Madoff certified and a long time before that particular character appeared in finance. Dickens explores the greed of these people but also in some the sound sense of business and fairness, and yet always distorted by selfishness, since selfishness seems to be the main characteristic of man.

Second those who exploit the rich and they are of different types. The beggars or immoral servants, those who drink too much and reside in the petty crime of overbilling their services and taking advantage of an open door. These are luckily counterbalanced by those who are faithful, honest, hard working and ready to help those who deserve that help. Some are easily taken in and exploited again by some social climbing individuals.

Third the social climbers who consider all means are permitted to climb any step, or should I say rung, on the social ladder. They exploit the young, they steal their work and use it under their own names, they flatter the rich when they feel these are weak and gullible.

The best side of Dickens is that everyone will get the payment their deserve. The social climbers will be ruined by their own greed and the bigger greed of some other predators, when it is not plainly killed by one of their victims. The greedy rich will be the prey of all types of predators and those unworthy to be rich because totally overcome by their greed and unable to repent or simply be humble about it will die in the hands of worse characters of lower extract, including their own children. The faithful servants will be rewarded and happy in their hearts. The profiteering servants will be gently discarded.

Two themes are addressed besides these. The position of women in Victorian society. They are pure victims if they do not keep some distance and independence, the victims of men who take wives only to make a profit or to be presentable in society. But at the same time some can get free and keep free as soon as they are of age, provided they want to sever some ties that may hamper them or to refuse some attachments that may prove unwise. Strangely enough in this totally inhumane society women are a ray of sunshine when they believe in love and fight for it.

The second is America. Dickens had a special feud with the USA about his works being pillaged and looted by the American press without paying the royalties his copyright should have produced. Here again the American caper of Martin Chuzzlewit is a visit to a hellish and totally negative hallucination.

But if we look at the weddings in this story we find that ambiguous vision of Dickens: One marriage is a total failure, that of Mercy with Jonas Chuzzlewit; two will be happy, the marriage of Mary with Martin Chuzzlewit and the marriage of Martin's self appointed servant with the housekeeper of the wicked profiteer Mr. Pecksniff. Two will never be fulfilled, that of Tom Pinch who was in love with Mary who chose Martin, and that of Charity whose paramour is taken away to Tasmania. Tom Pinch's sister will probably marry happily with Tom's friend. We are far from the four weddings of the Midsummer Night Dream by Shakespeare. Dickens' world sounds more like a Janus-like picture of a dream that covers up a nightmare.

This particular production by the BBC captures the slow and delicate rhythm of the original with quite a lot of details and side situations that give some depth to the main line of the story. This production also seems to emphasize the depiction of the monstrous and bleakest characters and even Old Martin Chuzzlewit, Martin's own grandfather, is not shown most of the time, and even at the end as a very palatable person. A beautiful piece of 19th century literature that will inspire some of the political minds of that century and the next. When you see such deep social rot the idea of a revolution becomes acceptable or even worth being desired.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU