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Dickensian (DVD)
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
February 29, 2016 "Please retry" | — | 4 | $14.40 | $9.21 |
Watch Instantly with | Per Episode | Buy Season |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Drama |
Format | NTSC, DVD |
Contributor | Various |
Initial release date | 2017-12-05 |
Language | English |
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Product Description
A bold reinvention of Charles Dickens' timeless novels, Dickensian takes familiar characters on new journeys as their stories intersect in the same world. Discover the events that lead up to Miss Havisham's wedding day (Great Expectations), the true sacrifices made by a young Lady Dedlock (Bleak House), what happens to ruthless moneylender Jacob Marley (A Christmas Carol), and more! You don't need to know Dickens' novels to fall in love with these stories - packed with romance, scandal and intrigue, they deliver a ride of twists and turns to the final episode.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 0.56 ounces
- Director : Various
- Media Format : NTSC, DVD
- Run time : 10 hours and 15 minutes
- Release date : December 5, 2017
- Actors : Various
- Dubbed: : English
- Studio : BBC
- ASIN : B071J3VTLT
- Number of discs : 3
- Best Sellers Rank: #29,309 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #5,070 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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"Dickensian" is a 20-episode British television series (30 minutes per episode) based on the characters of nineteenth century English writer Charles Dickens. These teleplays are not dramatizations of Dickens' stories; instead, they present us with backstories of characters from many of Dickens' novels, placing them all in the same London neighborhood at the same moment in time. Most of the characters seem to from the following works by Dickens: Great Expectations; A Christmas Carol; Bleak House; Oliver Twist; The Old Curiosity Shop; Our Mutual Friend. A few minor characters are drawn from other works. I was disappointed that Little Dorrit was not included. I am very impressed with the loving care that went into creating this series. Fortunately, I had recently re-read most of these novels. If you are a fan of Dickens, I think you will love this series.
While this series accurately pays homage to Dickens' characters, it failed to match the spell-binding plotting of Dickens. Also, if you remember the novels, then you will already know what is going to happen to most of the characters. For example, we all know what is going to happen to Miss Havisham and the future Lady Dedlock. If you have not read the novels, then you will probably be confused much of the time. Also, there is too much repetition in the series. For example, how many times can one enjoy a scene in which Mrs. Bumble is nagging Mr. Bumble with the same complaint?
Top reviews from other countries
Diese eigentlich recht auffällige Leerstelle im Werk des weltberühmten Schriftsteller wird mit „Dickensian“ gefüllt, einer auf zwanzig Episoden angelegten Miniserie, die die BBC zum Jahreswechsel 2015/16 ausstrahlte, denn hier finden wir den unangenehmen Wucherer Marley am Ende der ersten Folge erschlagen in der Gosse, und niemand geringeres als Inspector Bucket aus „Bleak House“, der wohl erste Detektiv der Literaturgeschichte, macht sich, immer wieder unterstützt durch den Tierpräperator Mr. Venus (aus „Our Mutual Friend“) daran, den Mörder zu finden. Dies tut er nicht ganz uneigennützig, denn Gedeih und Verderb einer neuzugründenden Einheit der Polizei, der er vorstehen soll, stehen dabei auf dem Spiel. Verdächtige findet der umtriebige Polizist zunächst einmal genug, denn Marley war alles andere als beliebt, und eine lange Reihe von Figuren aus Dickens-Romanen gibt sich hier ein Stelldichein.
So erfahren wir beispielsweise, wie Amelia Havisham durch das Ränkespiel ihres eifersüchtigen Bruders und des Psychopathen Compeyson zu der verbitterten Frau geworden ist, die Pip Pirrip in „Great Extpectations“ treffen sollte, und auch die tragische Liebesgeschichte von Honoria Barbary, der späteren Lady Dedlock aus „Bleak House“ wird hier erzählt. Wir erleben die Sorgen und Freuden der Cratchits und erfahren auch, wie Bill Sikes zu seiner Nancy kam, wir folgen mit einer gewissen Belustigung den Bemühungen des Pantoffelhelden Mr. Bumble um sozialen Aufstieg, und wir erleben zudem, wie sich eine groteske Romanze zwischen der wundervollen Mrs. Gamp („Martin Chuzzlewit“) und Silas Wegg („Our Mutual Friend“) anbahnt. Dies sind die wichtigsten der Geschichten, die hier erzählt werden.
Es ist eine originelle Idee, verschiedene Figuren aus unterschiedlichen Romanen von Dickens aufeinandertreffen zu lassen, ihre Geschichten zu erzählen und ihre Schicksale miteinander zu verweben, wenngleich natürlich trotz aller Originalität und jenseits der Mordgeschichte wenig Raum für Überraschungen bleibt. Denn wir wissen ja, daß Miss Havisham am Ende als enttäuschte Braut zurückbleiben wird und daß Honoria Barbarys Liebe zu Captain Hawdon keine Zukunft hat. Allerdings wurden die Freiräume, die die von Dickens gewebten Schicksale bieten, sehr überzeugend ausgenutzt, und so manche Figur gewinnt eine Dimension, die ihr in den Romanen nicht unbedingt eignet. So kann man Frances‘ Barbarys verbittertes Verhalten zwar verurteilen, wird es aber wohl auch bis zu einem gewissen Grade verstehen können, bedenkt man, wie sie von Schwester und Vater behandelt wird. Fagin überrascht in manchen Situationen bei aller Gewissenlosigkeit doch durch eine gewisse Sentimentalität, und auch Mr. Bumble ist nicht ausschließlich das Schreckgespenst, als das ihn der Roman „Oliver Twist“ zeichnen wird. Überhaupt überzeugt die Geschichte durch viele Details, die den Dickensliebhabern sofort auffallen dürften, wie beispielsweise Mr. Buckets (Stephen Rea ist einfach hinreißend in dieser Rolle!) immer aktiver Zeigefinger, Mrs. Gamps Aussprache von „disposed“ oder Bob Cratchits langer Schal, so sehr, daß andere Ungereimtheiten – Satis House in London, Mr. Bumble dürfte zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch gar nicht verheiratet sein, Mrs. Gamp kommt gänzlich ohne Mrs. Harris aus – gern verziehen werden.
Eigentlich war noch eine zweite Staffel geplant, doch diese Idee wurde fallengelassen, weil „Dickensian“ nicht ganz den Zuspruch beim britischen Fernsehpublikum genoß, wie man ihn sich erhofft hatte. Darüber hinaus glaube ich auch, daß es schwierig gewesen wäre, Stoff für weitere Ideen mit denselben Figuren zu gewinnen.
Fazit: „Dickensian“ ist eine mit viel Liebe zum Detail gemachte, opulent ausgestattete, von sehr guten Schauspielern getragene Hommage an Charles Dickens und fußt auf einer sehr originellen Idee, die bei einer zweiten Staffel wohl unweigerlich an Charme und Plausibilität eingebüßt hätte. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, daß es „Dickensian“ jemals in deutscher Sprache geben wird, aber für den Dickens-Fan dürfte dies ohne Belang sein: Denn die unterschiedlichen Soziolekte und sprachlichen Eigenheiten der Figuren machen ja einen großen Teil des Reizes eines jeden Dickens-Erlebnisses aus.
Old friends from numerous stories appear here: Scrooge and Fagin, Bill Sikes and Nancy, Jacob Marley, Mr. Bumble and Mr. Venus, Bob Cratchit and family, the Artful Dodger and Oliver Twist, Little Nell, even Mr. Gradgrind from “Hard Times”, the harshest and most realistic of novels by Dickens, the book in which the words ‘dark’ and ‘satanic’ became synonymous for the revolution he despised for its inhumanity and pitilessness. Dickens was a moral writer, and thank goodness for that. He had what the world always needs more of — heart. You want his downtrodden characters to find some redemption and love, some happiness of the sort you yourself have experienced. If not, you could not find their lives interesting and relevant to your own. We love Dickens because he holds the mirror up to life. He exaggerates and caricaturises, but he never lies. We understand the world he sees. He was an honest man.
Other characters are talked about, even if we don’t meet them in the series. The names Uriah Heep and Mr. Pickwick are overheard in conversation. Well-known places also appear. Young Nell sells trinkets in the Old Curiosity Shop. The Three Cripples ale house is the local here, the same pub where Fagin and Bill Sikes famously drank and conspired in “Oliver Twist”. Satis House is where the young heiress Amelia Havisham lives, which of course is where old Miss Havisham lived in “Great Expectations”, and where Pip used to steal kisses from beautiful young Estella.
The jumble is a nonsense of course, and yet it works rather seamlessly. After the first few episodes (20 of them, 30 minutes each) we start to believe this world could be true. One important character is Inspector Bucket (from “Bleak House”), an investigative peeler who works for a new branch of the police called The Detective. Mr. Venus is confused and asks Bucket exactly what he does. He investigates crimes, he says, as opposed to arresting and charging those who merely look guilty. It’s a new science, a new way of getting at the truth, he explains. The forensics and deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes were not yet in practice in 1850. Inspector Bucket (Stephen Rea) marks their beginning. Clues and leads are the keys to solving crimes, he thinks, and, like a bloodhound, he has a nose for them. He even calls himself a detective, not a copper. Mr. Venus thereafter invents a new word, and tells others that Inspector Bucket is “detectiving”.
Two main threads run through the story. The first concerns the estate of Amelia Havisham and her brother Arthur. The second follows Inspector Bucket and his attempt to solve a most serious crime — that of murder.
The death of old Mr. Havisham occurs just before the story begins. All is black at the beginning of Episode One: the hearse carrying the coffin to the cemetery; the clothes of the mourners, including the tall black stovepipe hats of the men; the dark candlelit interiors; the sky which has no sun, only heavy snow which turns brown and muddy when it touches the dirty, slushy roads. The world looks and feels grim. Although it’s the day before Christmas, many people are grumpy, cold, weary, miserable. Scrooge’s famous “humbug” resounds in the frosty air. Only the Cratchit family is bright and cheery. Why? Because it is immersed in love. Bob and Emily are poor, but they love each other deeply, as well as their sizeable brood of children, of which Martha and Peter are the eldest, and Tiny Tim among the youngest. Peter has a crush on Nell and Martha is betrothed to John Bagnet, a local lad. They marry in a touchingly simple ceremony in Episode Five. Joy radiates throughout the household. The Cratchits are Dickens at his most sentimental, the personification of the power of love to overcome and solve all troubles. Of course we don’t condemn Dickens for this. On the contrary, we love him for suggesting it.
Mr. Havisham has died. He was a large estate and brewery owner. Mr. Jaggers, the family lawyer, is asked to read the will on Christmas Day. All the brewery and 90% of the estate are left to Amelia, not Arthur, who receives only 10% of the estate. Arthur is outraged, beside himself with bitterness. Why has his father disowned him? What did he do to the old man to be so unloved by him? He takes his rage out on his sister and plots to undermine and ruin her. Where once they were close and loving, now the inheritance has divided them. Amelia does what she can to try to reconcile with him, but Arthur is aggrieved, stubborn, victimised. All he can think of is revenge, getting what he feels is rightfully his. But he doesn’t plot alone. He has a co-conspirator in Meriwether Compeyson (from “Great Expectations”). His job is to steal the heart of Amelia, thereby weakening her and allowing Arthur greater leverage.
Inspector Bucket meanwhile attempts to solve a crime most foul and dastardly. A local resident who shall go unnamed has been murdered. Yes, murdered, and several well-known persons will fall under suspicion and be subject to Bucket’s detectiving. He examines diaries, dusts pieces of potential evidence, asks many probing questions that induce those suspected to produce alibis. Like Holmes himself, Bucket is determined. He is a man of science equipped with a brain that can deductively reason. We feel sure he will find the murderer. He feels sure too.
Stephen Rea is marvellous as Bucket. He is serious, deliberate, methodical, humourless. He speaks slowly, weighing every word. Murder most afoul has been committed. It shall not go unpunished. But many of Bucket’s leads halt at hard dead ends. Even so, he continues.
Other important characters are the Barbarys from “Bleak House”. Edward, the father, is a respectable businessman. But his business has fallen onto hard financial times. He demeans himself by taking a high-interest loan from Scrooge, using his house as collateral, to keep his creditors at bay. This is madness, the cycle of debt he has fallen into. He is mortified and conceals the truth from his family. Or he tries to. Frances, his eldest adult daughter discovers his predicament. Both then conspire to conceal the truth from Honoria, the younger daughter, aged about 21. She is charming, beautiful and much attended to by Captain James Hawdon, a dashing young officer who wishes to marry her. But his problem is financial too. The Army does not pay him well enough for the couple to marry just yet. So, their engagement must be a long one.
Some critics have called the series a messy hodgepodge. Yes, I get it. I have some sympathy with the view. But I think that’s only true because we know Dickens, the characters, and their stories within the novels. So a good trick may be the one I’ve used. Who is Dickens? Never heard of him. This ruse allowed me to watch the characters afresh, as if this series was their only home. There are no novels and backstories. There is no Dickens. Once the decision was made the series opened up and felt fresh. I loved it. A terrible pity, then, that the BBC have failed to renew it for a second season. The acting and writing are superlative, as are the costumes and sets. The opening scenes with the snow falling on the bleak city streets is so Dickens, so atmospheric, so redolent of his times. We are immediately plunged into his London, and, quite frankly, it wasn’t one I was ready to leave. When the last episode ended I started again, watching the whole series nearly straight through a second time.
It’s a fun guessing game as well if you know the characters and novels. It’s a lark and laugh to see characters who never could have met in Dickens meet here now on these streets and in these shops. Small world indeed!
So, to repeat: really clever idea. Once you get used to it, all will seem normal.