Customer Reviews

Charles Dickens - featuring BBC Television's David Copperfield

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The following is the item description found on the back of the box..

"This comprehensive three DVD boxed set explores the life, times, and works of Charles Dickens, the great Victorian author. Dickens is undoubtedly one of the great literary geniuses of all time, yet there is much about his incredible life that remains unknown. His is a fascinating story - from rags to riches - complete with bankruptcy, prison, forced child labour, fame and fortune, overshadowed by guilt and secrecy.

The full content of this box set demonstrates how much Dickens drew upon his own experiences when writing fiction.

DVD 1 - UNCOVERING THE REAL DICKENS

The great author's fascinating biography, presented by Peter Ackroyd is an innovative mix of documentary and dramatic reconstruction which vividly protrays his extrodinary life. Resembling the plot of one of his novels, this lavish literary production sets out to blur the lines between Dickens' fiction and his own life. The cast includes Anton Lesser, Prunella Scales and Timothy West (176 mins)

DVD 2 - DAVID COPPERFIELD

The classic 1999 BBC version of the most autobiographical of Dickens novels staring Bos Hoskins, Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Ian McKellan, Zoe Wanamaker and Nicolas Lyndurst. Three hours of classic BBC drama. (186 minutes)

DVD 3 - A CHIRSTMAS CAROL

At his house, a group of friends and relatives listen to Dickens as he tells his Christmas story. Anton Lesser as Dickens, brings this classic gost story to life in a masterly and haunting way. (97 minutes)

SONGS FROM GRAPE LANE

The 12-year-old Dickens escapes his miserable daily life and the blacking facotry to enjoy an brief spell of raucous tavern entertainment. Lucy Skeaping's ensemble performs deliciously seedy pub songs from Dicksian London in the mid-19th century. (25 mins)

THE MAKING OF 'UNCOVERING THE REAL DICKENS'

A surprising look behind the scenes of this evocative production (27 mins)"

- Opus Arts 2003

i found it very disappointing to discover there were no subtitles for the hearing impaired. its difficult enough to catch the vagaries of cockney, seaside and lower class accents when you can hear perfectly but almost impossible with any actual hearing loss. for a series released so recently this seems a grevious oversight. the narration was clear enough with the volume raised to the point of disturbing the neighbors but "David Copperfield" did not have that advantage. i would not purchase this edition knowing that in advance.

With the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth coming in 2012, this set is an excellent introduction to the life and times of the great British writer. The main items included are: a dramatization of David Copperfield--probably the most autobiographical of his novels--featuring a very young Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Ian McKellen, and Bob Hoskins; a recreation of Dickens reading his own work, in this case A Christmas Carol; and a full-length documentary, narrated by Dickens expert Peter Ackroyd. (There were as many secrets and mysteries in this author's life as in one of his books.) Anton Lesser portrays the author in both the reading and the documentary. I think the dialogue in the Copperfield is mostly comprehensible to the American ear, and the absence of subtitles is not an issue, but a selection of songs from the period really could have used them. It's all BBC television stuff, well-cast and lavishly produced, and in this packaging (over eight hours), a good deal.