Product Details

• Actors: Derek Jacobi, Toby Jones, Sophie Vavasseur, Gina McKee, Adam Godley
• Directors: Brian Percival
• Writers: Charles Dickens, Martyn Hesford
• Producers: Andrew Benson, Andrew Lowe, Gareth Neame, Noëlette Buckley, Rebecca Eaton
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: May 5, 2009
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PU8MZO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,467 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Old Curiosity Shop" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Arriving in the wake of the BBC's sweeping Little Dorrit, ITV's The Old Curiosity Shop feels like Dickens lite (in the U.S., both productions aired as part of PBS's Masterpiece Classic). Fourteen-year-old Nell Trent (Becoming Jane's Sophie Vavasseur), one of the author's best-loved creations, lives with Grandfather (Derek Jacobi), a compulsive gambler. When he fails to make good on his debts to the gluttonous Daniel Quilp (Toby Jones), the moneylender takes over his shop and threatens to make Nell his servant, so she and Grandfather flee to the Midlands. Back in London, Quilp conspires with Dick Swiveller (Geoff Breton), a naive associate of Nell's brother, who also hopes to benefit from their return. With a price on their heads, the duo accepts help from kind strangers, like Mrs. Jarley (a delightful Zoë Wanamaker), and dodges predatory characters, like puppeteer Mr. Codlin (The Office's Martin Freeman). With the entrance of the mysterious Jacob (Adrian Rawlins), the story shifts into procedural territory. Jacob has the means to help the fugitives, but he'll have to catch up with them before poverty takes its toll. If Jacobi and Jones bring the requisite intensity to their parts, Vavasseur struggles to make Nell sufficiently empathetic, and a narrative that tries to do too much in too little time robs the ending of its intended impact. Filmed on location in atmospheric Ireland, this downbeat version of The Old Curiosity Shop is hardly a waste of time, but a more expansive interpretation would've served this material better. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An insult, May 11, 2009

By 

Charles R. Baker (Southern Methodist University) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Old Curiosity Shop (DVD)

The product description above should read, "VERY, VERY LOOSELY based on Dickens' classic novel." Almost everything about this production is wrong and the screenwriter and director should be ashamed of themselves; they have done a terrible disservice to those of us who love the novel and to those who have not yet read it and will mistakenly believe that this DVD tells its story. The worst crime commited by those involved in this travesty is the creation of a "happy ending" to make our hearts ache a little less. What idiotic rubbish! Please, spend your money on a copy of the book, read it, and cry your eyes out; as Dickens intended you to do.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great cast, not so great editing..., June 13, 2009

By 

Veepeeple - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Old Curiosity Shop (DVD)

I loved the new version -- except I feel that they cut way too much material. I'm guessing BBC concentrates on one major period drama in a given year, and remakes several other "short" versions of other works. Case in point: Jane Austen's works done in 2008: 1 substantial (Sense & Sensibility) and other very lacking works (Mansfield Park, etc.). That's too bad.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful film, depressing story., September 12, 2009

By 

T. Turner (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Old Curiosity Shop (DVD)

I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens, but this is not one of my favorite novels of his. This adaptation is beautifully filmed and the acting is good; however, this is one of Dickens' darker tales with an honest look at human frailties and an unhappy ending.