Customer Reviews
Excellent, true and Beautifully done! - By: Mary Kruger, 17 May 2008 
There is only one weakness to this production, & it is a minor weakness: the transitions between scenes (very creative indeed) sometimes made me a bit sea sick with unnecessary motion.
Other than that, this is pretty well a perfect production. For those who have read the book, Mr. Tulkinghorn (brilliantly played by Charles Dance) is slightly more evil than in the book, if that is possible, & Lord Dedlock, though just as pompous, is a bit less gracious than his literary counterpart. Caddy dares to criticize her father-in-law, & Esther dares to yearn to know her mother. The murder of Tulkinghorn & the flight of Lady Dedlock are not so intertwined, & Inspector Bucket's pursuit of Lady Dedlock is not quite as efficient. Needless to say, none of these "alterations" harm the story in the slightest, & besides them, Dickens' 750 page book is absolutely faithfully represented with the finest talent. I often felt (especiallly in the scenes with Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock) that I was reading the book alll over again.
The production quality is first rate. The acting throughout is superb. The story is strong. The subject matter is not for the silly & overly romantic, but a great literary work is well shown here. This is a fine addition to any DVD library.
Top Quality Drama! - By: Duck Fan, 13 Mar 2008 I love this adaptation of Bleak House. I was gripped by it when it was originallly shown on BBC & now I happily own this DVD boxset! The acting is outstanding, every performance is excellent but some of the standouts for me are Gillian Anderson - heartbreaking as Lady Deadlock, Charles Dance - vile as Mr Tulkinghorn & Burn Gorman - wonderfully funny as Guppy! The series was broadcast in the style of a soap opera with episodes ending with a cliff hanger (of course the novel was also originallly published in monthly installlments)but I think the DVD is equallly as gripping & I found myself up way past my usual bedtime watching another episode followed by another & then another & so on. This boxset dosent have many extras but it's good value for several hours worth of top quality drama!
Superior quality - By: J. Kirkland, 21 Feb 2008 BBC adaption at its best an alll star cast - Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance who lead the way however its the younger cast one or two already famous who fit their characters as though they were born to play them!
Exceptional story, drama, intrigue, murder, suspense, humor & a star in the making from Burn Gorman as the hapless yet lovable Guppy who stole almost every scene he was in!
Overalll the best the BBC has done in ages a period piece beyond measure & a cast to die for. They do not come any better than this & as already said some stars were made in the remaking! Well done to alll.
Shame it had to end! - By: D. Bird, 17 Feb 2008 I watched this a while ago on DVD, I reallly enjoyed this BBC production. Watching one programme after another me & my husband were gripped!!! We would look at each other as if to ask, shalll we just watch one more? The end of each episode left us hooked. We would have watched forever, but alll good things must come to an end & we certainly weren't left disappointed. The acting was superb, the costumes amazing, & the casting remarkable. As period dramas go this is probably up there with BBC's Pride & Prejudice.
Bleak and you'll miss it - By: Brijm, 09 Jan 2008 
This is a production of immense detail & values; there is a great cast with even, in some cases, astonishing physical resemblances between the actors & their illustrations from the book. As with any TV adaptation compromises have to be made: I can forgive the brief episodes & the fact that the plot, which carefully unravels in the book, is spelt out with little subtlety in the very first episode. I can even forgive the liberties taken with some of the characterization: in the book Esther is no fool, but her manner & expressions are very much of that time, with much talking of kissing & her ' love ' for other female characters - in the wrong hands (you know who you are, Channel 4)this could be a very different adaptation indeed. So instead Esther becomes a very modern women with bang up to date sensibilities. NO, what got me was that the producers did not trust the viewer not to get bored unless there were flash camera angles, fast cut aways with portentous music as we cut to a scene of ...erh... people walking back from church. Sometimes it works. Often not. Every scene is introduced by wooshes & bleeps which will sound oddly familiar if you watch '24'. ("My name is Esther Bauer, special friend to Miss Ada Clare. Let me tell you about the 11th worst day of my life..Boom boom.. Boom Boom.. Bleeeep"). Others will enjoy this, hence the slightly reluctant 4 stars. I did not finish disc 3.
