Customer Reviews

Hard Times

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disc came with the BBC Dickens set. It is probably the weakest entry. Alan Bates is good as always, but some of the other actors are rather weak. But they don't have much of a script to work with, as the adaptation is poor. It is difficult to make Dickens work with such a short length; the characters and situations never seem to get fleshed out. The production values were poor as well. It makes you realize how much money and effort has gone into other Dickens adaptations.

This story is prime for a remake -- much more than the version of Bleak House that came in the same set (which was quite good).

My family and I are fans of BBC/ Masterpiece Theater series and after watching the BBC Our Mutual Friend, were looking forward to another wonderful adaptation of one of Dickens' novels. However, we were disappointed with this production. The acting is good but there are two major problems: 1)it dragged tremendously; it seemed like it went on forever and nothing ever happened in it; and 2)it was a very low-budget production. It looked as if it had been filmed on two stages and the quality of the film was extremely poor.

This adaptation of the novel was done by the BBC for schools. What you get is essentially something like a filmed version of a stage play. The cast is excellent. The production made incredibly creative use of a very mimimal budget. But if your expecting a first-class production with a huge budget, look elsewhere.

Given the length of the work, the writers had to be very creative as far as how to fit the story together. The work has an almost dreamlike quality to it. Traditionalists will hate it but on every watching after the first I came to appreciate more what the people behind the production were trying to do.

There are low budget productions were people don't try. And then there are low budget productions where those involved go all out and surpass what they should have been able to deliver. This is definately in the second catagory.

Its not for everyone, but some will appreciate it.

Charles Dickens was almost always "on the money" for me, in his writings, and this is no exception. A glimpse into the lifestyles, trials and tribulations, of his times. I felt this was more than adequate in terms of acting and costumes. I would say that sets at times left something to be desired, which is why I give it 4 stars instead of 5. If you like other Dickens period pieces, you will most likely like this as well.

I bought this to use in my classroom. My students read the book, then, after a reasonably good discussion, watched the dramatization and this in its turn generates a great deal of discussion. Once I get them past the cheesie cinematography they really tune in to this video and gain greatly from the display. Good stuff here.