- Actors: Nigel Stock, Clive Swift, Alan Parnaby, Jeremy Nicholas, Ray Brooks
- Format: PAL, Colour, Full Screen, HiFi Sound
- Language English
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3 - 1.33:1
- Classification: U
- Studio: BBC Video
- Run Time: 297 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0029WQWMC
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 15,648 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product details |
Product Description
Running time 297 minutes. Double Video Set. Stars Nigel Stock, Clive Swift, Phil Daniels.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
this is a decent adaptation though a little dated,well acted throughout and sufficiently long to cover most of the adventures of 'the pickwick club',the one gripe that i have is the omission of any of the strange tales related to the club members during their journey,such as 'the goblins who stole a sexton',my understanding of the novel is that the adventures of the 'picwick club' are a vehicle for these anecdotal short stories and the inclusion of them would have made this production so much better,even so,this is a thoroughly enjoyable version of dickens comedy-especially at it's price!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
We didn't really know what to make of this series when we first started watching it. Mr Pickwick and his friends are a strange little group and their 'adventures' are generally quite mundane, and a little ridiculous but they are presented in a very serious, melodramatic fashion. Each half-hour episode opens and closes with a voice-over by a rather pedantic, old-fashioned narrator.
The tone varies from almost slapstick comedy to the more serious. In fact we occasionally found it quite moving - especially the scenes towards the end in the debtor's prison. Pickwick and his three friends display kindness and nobility as well as pomp and silliness. All four looked right for their role, and suited the tone of the series although some of the acting - especially Phil Daniels as Sam Weller - had that over-acted BBC feel, a bit like children's TV or a stage production.
The star of the show was Patrick Malahide (Casaubon from Middlemarch); young, handsome and very funny as the roguish Mr Jingle. It was a very different type of role for him, and he managed to be both 'comic-book' and believable, with his odd staccato sentences and ingratiating charm.
Overall, after a shaky start, we really enjoyed the series. It is a little strange and old-fashioned, but perhaps that suits the style of Dickens' original, and once we got used to the mock-heroic style we found it compelling as well as often very funny. Just don't expect the up-to-date realistic drama of Bleak House or Little Dorrit.
This is a region 1 (American) copy - the DVD does not appear to be available on its own for region 2 players - we bought it as part of the BBC Dickens box-set The Charles Dickens BBC Collection.
The tone varies from almost slapstick comedy to the more serious. In fact we occasionally found it quite moving - especially the scenes towards the end in the debtor's prison. Pickwick and his three friends display kindness and nobility as well as pomp and silliness. All four looked right for their role, and suited the tone of the series although some of the acting - especially Phil Daniels as Sam Weller - had that over-acted BBC feel, a bit like children's TV or a stage production.
The star of the show was Patrick Malahide (Casaubon from Middlemarch); young, handsome and very funny as the roguish Mr Jingle. It was a very different type of role for him, and he managed to be both 'comic-book' and believable, with his odd staccato sentences and ingratiating charm.
Overall, after a shaky start, we really enjoyed the series. It is a little strange and old-fashioned, but perhaps that suits the style of Dickens' original, and once we got used to the mock-heroic style we found it compelling as well as often very funny. Just don't expect the up-to-date realistic drama of Bleak House or Little Dorrit.
This is a region 1 (American) copy - the DVD does not appear to be available on its own for region 2 players - we bought it as part of the BBC Dickens box-set The Charles Dickens BBC Collection.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
58 of 62 people found the following review helpful
A sheer delight for Dickens fans
22 Aug 2006
Format:DVD
At last on DVD, Charles Dickens' "Pickwick Papers" is brought to life in this great BBC double-sided disc. With a playing time of about six hours, there is much more detail than is to be found in the 1952 film version. And the characters look just like those by Phiz in the original nineteenth century illustrations. The pacing and dialogue is near perfect. The sets and location shots are wonderful. The disc is divided into twelve 30 minute episodes with opening and closing credits between each episode. There's also a bonus feature with Simon Callow doing a reading (in full Dickens garb) of the courtroom scenes from the story. I highly recommend this DVD.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Rendition
7 Feb 2008
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Pickwick Papers is one of my favorite books - and this production does it well. The casting of Nigel Stock as Mr. Pickwick, as well as the casting of his friends of the Pickwick Society are well-played and well-chosen.
For me, Patrick Malahide as Mr. Jingles, was an enriching choice. His phrasing of Mr. Jingle's strange syntax is insanely comedic. Another mention is the perfectly hammy Phil Daniels as servant/savior Sam Weller. There is no holding-back of any of the main or secondary characters. In this, Dickens has the unique ability to round-out so many characters that the casting of actors to portray his books is especially important.
I think it was done very, very well in "The Pickwick Papers".
I'm afraid I wore through my first copy and ordered the second today.
I have to admit the stop and start between episodes, as is true of most BBC series from the mid-1980's, is unfortunate. (I take the time as I would during commercials on the television.)
At the risk of sounding precious, I do call this portrayal of "The Pickwick Papers" a joyful hill and dale adventure.
For me, Patrick Malahide as Mr. Jingles, was an enriching choice. His phrasing of Mr. Jingle's strange syntax is insanely comedic. Another mention is the perfectly hammy Phil Daniels as servant/savior Sam Weller. There is no holding-back of any of the main or secondary characters. In this, Dickens has the unique ability to round-out so many characters that the casting of actors to portray his books is especially important.
I think it was done very, very well in "The Pickwick Papers".
I'm afraid I wore through my first copy and ordered the second today.
I have to admit the stop and start between episodes, as is true of most BBC series from the mid-1980's, is unfortunate. (I take the time as I would during commercials on the television.)
At the risk of sounding precious, I do call this portrayal of "The Pickwick Papers" a joyful hill and dale adventure.
52 of 64 people found the following review helpful
good color and sets
17 Oct 2006
Format:DVD
The Pickwick Papers is a superb story, filled with comic situations and building to a climax and satisfying conclusion. Everyone should see a movie version of Pickwick. The question is which version, the 1985 BBC version or the 1952 version.
The 1985 version is a little over 5 hours long or 300+ minutes. There is also a 30 minute reading attached (Simon Callow posing as Dickens, if you can stomach that). The 1952 version is two hours long or 110 minutes.
It never helps a comedy, still less a farce, to adopt a slow pace. And to stop the show every 25 minutes to show titles and credits and to have some idiot tell you what you have just seen and what you are going to see next--this is detrimental to a comedy. The pace of the 1985 is about three times slower than the 1952 version, which moves at a rapid pace.
The result of this pacing is that there is very little in the longer version that is not also in the shorter version, the Christmas celebration at Wartles and a few other touches, like the (unseen) cricket match, the political campaign, and the hunting scenes.
But the most serious problem with the 1985 version is the casting/acting. None of the cast have particularly comic features, and all of them play their parts straight instead of playing them with that touch of the comic that makes such characters amusing. The exception is Sam Weller, who is played better in the 1985 version than in the 1952 version. The actor who played Pickwick was tolerable and sometimes bordered on the comic, but mostly his version of the character ranged from foolish to irritating.
The 1985 version tries to show you a character who exhibits good will. The 1952 version makes you feel good will. (And incidentally, some of the best one-liners in the 1952 version are not even in the book! For those who've read the book, I'll leave it to you to find them. You'll be surprised.)
The problem is that the 1952 version is only on VHS and LP speed at that. Send dunning letters to the copyright owners to put this version on DVD.
The 1985 version is a little over 5 hours long or 300+ minutes. There is also a 30 minute reading attached (Simon Callow posing as Dickens, if you can stomach that). The 1952 version is two hours long or 110 minutes.
It never helps a comedy, still less a farce, to adopt a slow pace. And to stop the show every 25 minutes to show titles and credits and to have some idiot tell you what you have just seen and what you are going to see next--this is detrimental to a comedy. The pace of the 1985 is about three times slower than the 1952 version, which moves at a rapid pace.
The result of this pacing is that there is very little in the longer version that is not also in the shorter version, the Christmas celebration at Wartles and a few other touches, like the (unseen) cricket match, the political campaign, and the hunting scenes.
But the most serious problem with the 1985 version is the casting/acting. None of the cast have particularly comic features, and all of them play their parts straight instead of playing them with that touch of the comic that makes such characters amusing. The exception is Sam Weller, who is played better in the 1985 version than in the 1952 version. The actor who played Pickwick was tolerable and sometimes bordered on the comic, but mostly his version of the character ranged from foolish to irritating.
The 1985 version tries to show you a character who exhibits good will. The 1952 version makes you feel good will. (And incidentally, some of the best one-liners in the 1952 version are not even in the book! For those who've read the book, I'll leave it to you to find them. You'll be surprised.)
The problem is that the 1952 version is only on VHS and LP speed at that. Send dunning letters to the copyright owners to put this version on DVD.
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