Bleak House [videorecording] / by Charles Dickens ; BBC ; screenplay by Andrew Davies ; produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark ; directed by Justin Chadwick, Susanna White ; a BBC/WGBH Boston co-production in association with Deep Indigo.
Material type:
FilmPublisher number: 1000093209 | BBC Video3000021141 | BBC VideoPublication details: [United States] : BBC Video ; 2 Entertain ; Burbank, CA : Distributed by Warner Home Video, [2009]Edition: Special edDescription: 3 videodiscs (ca. 465 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 inISBN: - 1419880861
- 9781419880865
- Bleak House (Television program : 2005)
- Ep. 1-7, 9 directed by Justin Chadwick; ep. 8, 10-15 directed by Susannah White.
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult DVD
|
Main Library | DVD | DRAMA Bleak ho | Checked out | 05/10/2024 | 33111008646594 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A trio of orphans becomes embroiled in a mysterious and long-running lawsuit in this sprawling BBC adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. A legend in the legal circles of Victorian London, the messy inheritance case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has been trickling through the courts for years with no end in sight. Nobleman John Jarndyce (Denis Lawson) has seen the case destroy more than one life, so when he becomes guardian to three young people -- beautiful Ada Clare (Carey Mulligan), Ada's cousin Richard Carstone (Patrick Kennedy), and her devoted companion, Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin) -- he vows to shield them from its pernicious effects by bringing them to the safety of his estate, the eponymous Bleak House. Richard, however, becomes obsessed with the unattainable Jarndyce inheritance, to the detriment of his career and mental health. Esther, meanwhile, remains haunted by her origins; the product of a scandalous pregnancy, she was raised by her aunt and knows nothing about her dead mother's identity. Meanwhile, imperious noblewoman Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson) plots to hide the evidence of her own mysterious past -- a quest that leads her to the intrigue surrounding Jarndyce and Jarndyce. She is but one of dozens of characters who find themselves drawn into the lawsuit's web of corruption, blackmail, and murder. Bleak House debuted October 27, 2005, on BBC One. It received its U.S. premiere on January 22, 2006, on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, where the 15 British episodes were combined into six longer blocks. Britain's Royal Television Society named the series Best Drama Serial of 2005. A previous adaptation of Dickens' novel ran on Masterpiece Theatre in 1985. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
DVD ; region 1, NTSC ; widescreen (16:9 enhanced) ; Dolby Digital stereo. ; DVD-9.
In english with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Gillian Anderson, Alun Armstrong, Charlie Brooks, Warren Clarke, Pauline Collins, Charles Dance, Phil Davis, Burn Gorman, Richard Harrington, Matthew Kelly, Patrick Kennedy, Denis Lawson, John Lynch, Anna Maxwell Martin, Alistair McGowan, Carey Mulligan, Nathaniel Parker, Natalie Press, Anne Reid, Ian Richardson, Hugo Speer, Liza Tarbuck, Johnny Vegas, Timothy West, Tom Georgeson, Lilo Baur, Katie Angelou, Loo Brealey, Michael Smiley, Emma Williams, Harry Eden.
Ep. 1-7, 9 directed by Justin Chadwick; ep. 8, 10-15 directed by Susannah White.
Based on the novel by Charles Dickens.
Special features: Interviews with Gillian Anderson, Denis Lawson and Charles Dance; commentaries with writer Andrew Davies, producer Nigel Stafford-Clark and directors Justin Chadwick and Susanna White; photo gallery.
Originally broadcast on BBC television in 2005.
Two innocent young orphans are the potential heirs to a fortune. Their fates are snarled in a monumental legal battle known as Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Another orphan, Esther Summerson, whose mysterious parentage proves to be intertwined with the fate of the Jarndyce wards and the aloof Lady Dedlock. Lady Dedlock faces the revelation of her dark past once Mr. Tulkinghorn catches wind of it. The icily beautiful Esther's background also comes to light after the murder of a strange man. Twines through the legal system to heartbreaking domestic drama to a murder investigation to near-Gothic horror.
[Disc 1] Episodes 1 -- 5 -- Gillian Anderson interview. [Disc 2] Episodes 6-10 -- Denis Lawson interview. [Disc 3] Episodes 11-15 -- Charles Dance interview