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Amazon.co.uk Review
Dickens was the master of Victorian social satire, ruthlessly exposing the cruelty and absurdity that supported the strictly hierarchical class-structure of the day. This superb production of Our Mutual Friend does full justice to his darkest, most complex novel, fleshing out the satirical bones of the plot with performances that eschew caricature in favour of psychological depth. Anna Friel's Bella is wonderfully complex, her innate goodness struggling with her love of money and desire for advancement. Paul McGann, as the lawyer Wrayburn, is also superb, wrestling with the implications of his feelings for Lizzie. And of course, this being Dickens and the BBC, there's a terrific supporting cast, including Timothy Spall as the melancholy articulator of skeletons, Mr Venus. As the fortunes of the characters rise and fall, the river Thames flows eternally on, the symbolic backbone of this remarkable story. At six hours, this version of Our Mutual Friend is a long production, but not a moment too long. A mystery, a love story, a critique of the pursuit of wealth and status, this is perhaps the best adaptation of Dickens ever to be committed to film. --Simon Leake, Amazon.com
Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Documentary
The Making Of
Music Edit
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Documentary
The Making Of
Music Edit
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
94 of 95 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I just want to put in a word for the crew that filmed, lit and designed this. It is ravishing and the attention to detail is astonishing. At almost any point you can freeze-frame the action and the result is like something you'd see in the National Gallery. Technically this is by far the best thing the BBC has done for years.
It's also much blacker than Dickens usually is, despite being basically, a happy tale. The blackness, especially in the first half, comes from painstakingly researched historical detail and the effort they've put into the locations: gone are the flimsy sets of 1970's BBC Costume Drama...
It's also much blacker than Dickens usually is, despite being basically, a happy tale. The blackness, especially in the first half, comes from painstakingly researched historical detail and the effort they've put into the locations: gone are the flimsy sets of 1970's BBC Costume Drama...
132 of 135 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Lizzi and her father earn their money with recovering corpses from the Thames. One night they find a drowned young man. It is Mr Harmon who just came back from the colonies to collect his vast inheritance. Old Mr Harmon's lawyer Lightwood and his friend Wrayburn appear on the scene, to have a look at the corpse. And Wrayburn casts an eye on Lizzie ... Lizzie's father is soon suspected of having murdered the young man, but before he can be put in jail he drowns in the river himself and Lizzie is all alone now, or is she? ...
As the the heir is dead now, the money goes to poor and simple Mr Boffin, the manager of old Mr Harmon's business. He is a very kind man, therefore he wants to support young Mr Harmon's fiancee Bella and persuades her to join him and his wife and enjoy their new good fortune with them. Bella - who didn't know her fiance in the first place and wanted to marry him because of his money - does this, of course, as it opens new and promising opportunities for her. But then she falls in love with the wrong man, who even has the cheek to propose to her: John Rokesmith is Mr Boffin's secretary and poor as a church mouse. Mr Boffin is outraged by Rokesmith's proposal to Bella and throws him out. Now Bella has to face a difficult decision ...
While the Boffins and Bella have some fun with the inherited money it appears that melancholic and bored Mr Wrayburn, who couldn't be bothered with life before, has fallen in love with Lizzie. But Lizzie has disappeared after her father's death and doesn't want to be found by him. And Wrayburn is not the only one who wants to find her...
As the the heir is dead now, the money goes to poor and simple Mr Boffin, the manager of old Mr Harmon's business. He is a very kind man, therefore he wants to support young Mr Harmon's fiancee Bella and persuades her to join him and his wife and enjoy their new good fortune with them. Bella - who didn't know her fiance in the first place and wanted to marry him because of his money - does this, of course, as it opens new and promising opportunities for her. But then she falls in love with the wrong man, who even has the cheek to propose to her: John Rokesmith is Mr Boffin's secretary and poor as a church mouse. Mr Boffin is outraged by Rokesmith's proposal to Bella and throws him out. Now Bella has to face a difficult decision ...
While the Boffins and Bella have some fun with the inherited money it appears that melancholic and bored Mr Wrayburn, who couldn't be bothered with life before, has fallen in love with Lizzie. But Lizzie has disappeared after her father's death and doesn't want to be found by him. And Wrayburn is not the only one who wants to find her...
I loved the series! The setting was really great, from the dirty cramped houses of the poor to the large houses of the rich, everything appeared really authentic. And the characters were marvellous and absolutely original as if they stepped out of Dicken's pages directly into the film. Where do they get these faces??? I especially liked Peter Vaughan as Mr Boffin and Kenneth Granham as Mr Wegg, the sceeming crook. And then of course Paul McGann as Mr Wrayburn. He plays these world-weary characters very well.
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I freely admit, I find Dickens' books unreadable and adaptations of his books usually unwatchable (I except the recent version of Bleak House).
I only watched this adaptation because of the cast and I was bowled over. It's beautiful to look at, I read the book afterwards and could see all those vivid images and the characters as protrayed by the actors in my mind in a way that I doubt would have happened if I hadn't seen this adaptation.
There are so many scenes which are stunning to look at. Perhaps that brings me back to my reason for not liking Dickens - that the characters are somehow lacking and that the background is more important. But speaking as a Dickensaphobe, I felt the background did the job and I was utterly enthralled.
The most haunting character for me was Bradley Headstone played superbly by David Morrisey. A truly wonderful portrayal of a man in torment, trying so desperately to keep a lid on things.
The women characters (often in Dickens novels seeming to me to be a bit too simpering) were strong. In the case of Lizzie Hexham (Keeley Hawes) gentle but without being a doormat. Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel), a bit flighty but fundamentally decent.
Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) the bored lawyer who is woken up by the sight of Lizzie and the enigmatic John Rokesmith, Steven Mackintosh, the other stand out star so far as I am concerned. I can't describe his performance without giving the plot away but he shows so many moods, form the gentle to the terrifying.
Even if you don't like Dickens, you will like this.
I only watched this adaptation because of the cast and I was bowled over. It's beautiful to look at, I read the book afterwards and could see all those vivid images and the characters as protrayed by the actors in my mind in a way that I doubt would have happened if I hadn't seen this adaptation.
There are so many scenes which are stunning to look at. Perhaps that brings me back to my reason for not liking Dickens - that the characters are somehow lacking and that the background is more important. But speaking as a Dickensaphobe, I felt the background did the job and I was utterly enthralled.
The most haunting character for me was Bradley Headstone played superbly by David Morrisey. A truly wonderful portrayal of a man in torment, trying so desperately to keep a lid on things.
The women characters (often in Dickens novels seeming to me to be a bit too simpering) were strong. In the case of Lizzie Hexham (Keeley Hawes) gentle but without being a doormat. Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel), a bit flighty but fundamentally decent.
Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) the bored lawyer who is woken up by the sight of Lizzie and the enigmatic John Rokesmith, Steven Mackintosh, the other stand out star so far as I am concerned. I can't describe his performance without giving the plot away but he shows so many moods, form the gentle to the terrifying.
Even if you don't like Dickens, you will like this.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Slightly Cross
I would have beeen delighted to review this wonderful BBC production if I had received the DVD, which I have not ( one month after paying for it ).
Published 6 days ago by bigsister
Excellent with reservations
The BBC classic literature dramatisations have come a long way since the good old days when the budgets scarcely ran to convincing cardboard scenery. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Geoffrey Walker
Menu problems
I haven't finished this yet - and almost didn't watch it properly because I had some trouble with the main menu. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Caz
surprising turns
I love this series, not only because it's a good BBC period drama, which I normally like. This is really a very exciting story. Read more
Published 12 months ago by annalubu
Even as a thriller it is slightly meddled
The very first element that has to be said about this novel, or this work is that it is too intricate and characters are too complicated and intertwined in their motivations and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU
One still worth watching!
I bought this DVD - thirteen years old though the production is - after reading the book and I was more than a little surprised to find - as stated by another reviewer - that it is... Read more
Published 15 months ago by J.Nelson
Great drama, dreadful quality DVD
This is such a disappointment. Not because of the storyline (although it is certainly not Dickens best) or the acting which is top drawer (with the exception of the kid that plays... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Phame
Wonderful Drama
Not quite the tear-jerker type but excellent drama in its own right and well portrayed. I would say its almost on par with Bleak House. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Volvi
An excellent BBC film
This is an excellent adaptation of a Dickens classic.
As ever the BBC has done this very well.
Excellent acting and overall presentation
As ever the BBC has done this very well.
Excellent acting and overall presentation
Published 20 months ago by Peter S. Walker
Star studded classic! BUY IT - WATCH IT!!!!
This is a great and compelling piece of drama.
It is amazing to see the number of people who starred in this drama who have gone on to have incredible acting... Read more
It is amazing to see the number of people who starred in this drama who have gone on to have incredible acting... Read more
Published on 12 May 2010 by S. L. Addy
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