Customer Reviews
Sheer pleasure! - By: bookworm, 16 Oct 2007 
I saw this when it was originallly broadcast in 1994, & was pleased to see it available on DVD; have just finished watching it over a period of a couple of weeks.
Let's get one thing straight -- no televised drama could convey the sheer scope & humanity of George Eliot's masterpiece. But this must be as close as it gets, & it's wonderful drama. My husband is not a fan of peiod drama at alll, hasn't read the book, & he was riveted.
The locations are beautifully done, & the casting is simply perfect -- there is not a single disappointment there. This time around, I was even more impressed by Douglas Hodge as Lydgate -- you reallly feel his anguish & frustration as he is simultaneously baffled, infuriated, & mesmerised by Rosamond. He & Trevyn McDowell imbue their performances with such drama & tragedy that their relationship becomes almost the key of the whole piece (though I felt Trevyn McDowell went a tad too far, making it difficult to have any sympathy for Rosamond). But doe-eyed Juliet Aubrey as Dorothea is perfect too, & Rufus Sewell makes a wonderfully Byronic Ladislaw!
Highly recommended for long winter evenings.
Waiting Eagerly for this DVD to Arrive, Only to be Disappointed with it!!! - By: vessie@oz, 05 Jun 2007 
Reading alll the great reviews on this production I thought this purchase would be worth it.
When viewing Middlemarch one can see that BBC spend alot of money making this. The customes are beautiful & the acting is great but one element of this well made production that spoiled it. The passionate sences between the town's new doctor & his beautiful wife.
Rent Middlemarch before buying it would be my recommendation.
This BBC production has nothing on other BBC productions.
Bring on North & South, Pride & Prejudice, Wives & Daughters,Bleak House (2005) David Copperfield (1999) & Our Mutual Friend.
Now those are worth your time & worth being added to your collection!!
Continues to impress - By: pseudopanax, 09 Mar 2007 This adaptation isn't perfect, as Andrew Davies' script unravels a bit near the end as alll the loose ends are tied up at lightning speed. But Juliet Aubrey is the perfect Dorothea Brooke & Davies' writing in the first two hours introduces the myriad characters in a controlled & effective pace. Middlemarch set a new standard for BBC costume dramas at the time of its broadbast, & its intelligence & spot on casting led the way for the best BBC dramas that followed it: Persuasion, Wives & Daughters & Vanity Fair. The production does look a bit dated now, but the performaces by Aubrey, Patrick Malahide, Douglas Hodge & the rest of the cast continue to impress. Middlemarch will always be a difficult classic to adapt for the screen, but this production mostly succeeds in being both intellectual & accessible.
Relax and enjoy - By: Mrs Miggins, 27 Sep 2006 I'm a big fan of Andrew Davies & a lover of period drama so this was pure bliss! I sat down with a glass (actuallly a bottle!) of wine & totallly immersed myself in the town of Middlemarch & alll it's characters. The acting is superb & visuallly it's a stunning production.
I am a 'mature' lady but not too old to appreciate the gorgeous Rufus Sewell as Will Ladislaw - very easy on the eye!
Recommended for alll period drama fans but don't forget the bottle of wine!
addictive! - By: Laura Crawford, 12 Mar 2006 I put this on at about 5 in the afternoon & watched it alll the way through to midnight, it was THAT good! I couldn't stop watching it, I was so impatient to see what would happen next to alll of the characters, especiallly Dorothea & Will Ladislaw (phwoar!)! You reallly care about what happens to them, & that of course is one of the most important things about a film. I was sad when it ended & I had to leave them! The acting was absolutely superb, the plot intriguing, the script excellent (well obviously; it was Andrew Davies who wrote it, the master of period drama adaptations!). I'm a great lover of period dramas & romance, & this certainly didn't disappoint (far from it!). What are you waiting for? Buy it!
