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Our Mutual Friend [1998]
![Our Mutual Friend [1998]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51M9CJREK0L._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £24.99
Our Price: £12.00 (subject to change)
Editorial
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
Excellent in every way (and I don't often say that!)
Review date: 2007-09-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
I don't know how I missed this when it came on TV back in 1998 ... but I'm sure glad I found it now.
This is an extremely good adaptation of a very readable Dickens novel - if you haven't read the novel, I'd recommend it. This adaptation cleverly keeps 90% of the original story while leaving out a couple of minor characters that add interest to the novel but are not necessary. The casting, locations, storyline, everything are spot on and it is a cracking story.
If you are a fan of costume drama, you really don't want to miss this one.
Oh, and have a go at the book, too - but give yourself a lot of time, it's MASSIVE!
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Reviews
The Feeling's Mutual
Review date: 2007-09-23 Rating: 10 out of 10
This series sets out to enthrall and entertain and accomplishes both in superb fashion.
It's a complicated story, with many well-defined characters, and it's a bit of a chore to keep them sorted, but it's worth the effort. This is a tour de force of production and acting. It's a little gruesome in parts, but it brings home the look, the feel, the dirtiness and -- almost -- the smells of riverside London. The additional background interviews with the producers and actors is worth watching for the history alone.
The fly in the ointment in the DVD version I watched (in the USA) is that the screen aspect was slightly compressed, narrowing the facial features. A minor gripe and readily ignored.
Dickens lives!
Dickens for people who don't like Dickens
Review date: 2007-09-10 Rating: 10 out of 10
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.
Another 5 Star BBC Production
Review date: 2007-06-05 Rating: 10 out of 10
What a production!!!
If you enjoy Charles Dickens you will not be disappointed with this production.
a wonderful adaptation
Review date: 2007-05-10 Rating: 10 out of 10
I remember seeing this excellent adaptation when it first came out on BBC TV, one of a long and very distinguished list of productions of classic novels ('Bleak House' and 'North and South', both of which were wonderful, have been more recent examples). It just seems to be something the BBC do very very well. The recent ITV adaptations of Jane Austen have seemed pedestrian, unnecessarily quirky and inept by comparison, with the possible exception of 'Northanger Abbey'. Anyway, this Dickens adaptation has all the familar hallmarks - a very strong sense of atmosphere, particularly in the scenes on and by the Thames, a screenplay that is both clear and inclusive, managing the complex array of characters and plot development very expertly, excellent direction and some wonderful performances, particularly from Keeley Hawes as Lizzie Hexham and David Morrissey, rivetingly watchable as the agonised, monstrous schoolmaster Headstone. When I first saw it it sent me off to read the book (which is marvellous) and I was again impressed by how faithful and powerful it was. Highly recommended.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Anna Friel
Steven Mackintosh
David Morrissey
Keeley Hawes
Paul McGann
Director(s):
Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503107826
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-08-20
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 350 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1999-01-03
Language: English (Original Language)