Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Staff Recommendation - Bleak House

Bleak House
by Charles Dickens [DVD Dickens]

This 2006 BBC production of Dickens' novel of lost wills and family secrets has become an instant classic. Don't let the title keep you from watching this brilliant film. One of the its greatest strengths is a perfectly chosen cast and terrific performances. There are no "throw-away" roles or poorly conceived characters to be found. Former X-Files star Gillian Anderson dominates the production, however, with her tour-de-force portrayal of the icily regal Lady Dedlock. This movie has it all -- lost love, new love, legal intrigue, lots of death-bed scenes and, of course, Dickens' biting social commentary and masterful storytelling. If you put any stock in ratings, Internet Movie Database has this one rated at almost a ten (and so do I)! -- recommended by Lisa V. - Bennett Martin Public Library/Reference


Have you watched this one? What did you think?

Ten new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bleak House is my favorite Masterpiece miniseries in years! The acting is wonderful, cinematography amazing as well. Is it possible that 8 hours seemeed like it flew by?

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with your review of Bleak House. This was television at it's best. How delicious is Charles Dance, as the evil Tulkinghorn! And Gillian Anderson's Lady Dedlock, was simply spellbinding.

A miniseries to watch over and over.

so many books.... said...

There were so many great moments in this series-particularly Smallweed-"Shake Me Up Judy" ! The best thing about the series, however, is the way it shows (as does all of Dickens' best work) the evil that can lurk behind a veneer of civility and propriety. It also shows the nobility that can be found in places it is least expected. It's sometimes a tough sell to get people to watch this one because it's Dickens, and because of the title, but I got several non-fans of Masterpiece Theatre-like fare completely hooked on this series with my enthusiastic descriptions !