Product Details

• Actors: Paul McGann, Keeley Hawes, Steven Mackintosh, Anna Friel, David Morrissey
• Format: Box set, Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 339 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WGBO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,802 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BBC does it again, May 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Mutual Friend [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Having begun to watch the start of this production (as a 4 part series on Australian public TV), I was almost inclined to give up after the first episode as it all got too confusing. But after seeing the preview for the next episode, I was captivated. I have never looked forward to a weekly series more. The video was released a few weeks later, by public demand, and I bought it straight away. I did,however, resist the temptation to watch it all at once as I wanted to saviour the anticipation of each new episode(as Dickens readers waited for each weekly installment of his books). I have always enjoyed BBC dramas e.g. Martin Chuzzlewit, Middlemarch, Pride and Prejudice, but this one surpassed every previous one. I could not fault it. Every character was superb and wonderfully captured the essence of 19th Century Dickens London. My favourite actor was David Morrissey as the obsessed school teacher, Bradley Headstone. His descent into near madness was played to perfection. I also particularly enjoyed the performances of the other two actors in this particular love triangle - Keely Hawes and Paul McGann. Having since read the book, I think that the BBC wisely excluded some of the more boring characters. As a huge fan of Dickens from childhood, I cannot recommend this screen adaption enough. I could not fault one of the performances. If you like QUALITY drama, see this. You will not be disappointed.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the spirit of the book visually & emotionally, October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Mutual Friend [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sumptuously cast and sumptuously shot, this series, along with Martin Chuzzlewit, provides aninsight into what the BBC can do when it's given a chance.

All the performances are masterful and the emotional journeys of the characters are beautifully presented.

Excisions are inevitable - Fascination Fledgeby is no more - and a tiny bit of the subtext relating to him is missing but the background of the river, the muck and the money, all tumbled together, make a wonderful setting for the florid behaviour of these Victorian arrivistes.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling, October 15, 1999

By 

Leslie Norton (Louisville, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Mutual Friend [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I watched this production on Masterpiece Theater and the only bad thing about it was that it was divided into three parts, with the result that I was on the edge of my seat for three weeks. At that time I had not read the novel, but did read it after watching this production. This film was beautifully produced, well-written, well-acted and just purely exciting. It is the best movie I have seen in a long time, on TV or in the theater. These characters are some of the most marvelous Dickens ever created, ranging from eccentric (Silas Wegg) to just plain odd (Mr. Venus) and from very good (Lizzie) to terrifying (Bradley Headstone). This movie has it all: greed, lust, madness, evil, innate goodness, love, romance, and mystery.