Product Details

• Actors: Paul McGann, Keeley Hawes, Steven Mackintosh, Peter Vaughan, Pam Ferris
• Format: Box set, Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 3
• Studio: BBC Warner
• VHS Release Date: July 19, 2000
• Run Time: 339 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004WGBO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,885 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #35 in	Video > Television > BBC > Genres > Gift Sets
  #36 in	Video > Television > BBC > Genres > Award Winners
  #42 in	Video > Television > BBC > Genres > Drama

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The body of John Harmon, a young man returning from South Africa to claim his inheritance, is pulled from the River Thames, setting in motion the plot of Charles Dickens's darkest and most complex novel. Harmon had been expected to marry Bella Wilfer, a young woman chosen by his father, but now the Harmon fortune will go to the poor but honest Mr. Boffin and his wife. The Boffins adopt Bella, and together they begin to climb the ladder of London society, under the watchful eye of Boffin's new secretary, who may not be what he seems. Meanwhile Eugene Wrayburn, an idle young lawyer, falls for Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the man who pulled Harmon's body from the river, but he must compete for her affections with the schoolmaster Bradley Headstone. As the fortunes of the characters rise and fall, the River Thames flows eternally on, the symbolic backbone of this remarkable story.

Dickens was the master of Victorian social satire, ruthlessly exposing the cruelty and absurdity that supported the strictly hierarchical class structure of the day. This superb production does his novel justice, fleshing out the satirical bones of the plot with performances that eschew caricature in favor of psychological depth. Anna Friel's Bella is wonderfully complex, her innate goodness struggling with her love of money and desire for advancement. Paul McGann, as the lawyer Wrayburn, is also superb, wrestling with the implications of his feelings for Lizzie. And of course, this being Dickens and the BBC, there's a terrific supporting cast, including Timothy Spall as the melancholy articulator of skeletons, Mr. Venus. At six hours, Our Mutual Friend is a long production, but not a moment too long. A mystery, a love story, a critique of the pursuit of wealth and status, this is perhaps the best adaptation of Dickens ever to be committed to film. --Simon Leake

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 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 (1998) (3pc) [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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the spirit of the book visually & emotionally, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Mutual Friend (1998) (3pc) [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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling, October 16, 1999

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

This review is from: Our Mutual Friend (1998) (3pc) [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.