Dombey and Son (Charles Dickens) (DVD)

Maybe it's a nostalgia trip but I've been waiting for these series to be released on DVD for a long time. In the 70's and 80's these multi-part adaptations used to be shown on TV here in the UK on a Sunday afternoon, around tea-time as we say, and as soon as VCR's became affordable I would record these and watch them again and again. For some reason I can't remember, I didn't manage to get all of Dombey & Son so this DVD release is a special moment for me - indeed 20 years since I've seen the whole series. No big budget, no CGI, just the pinnacle of quality for acting, screenplay and production values; don't hesitate to buy if you like Victorian literature. PS, also recommended, Bleak House, Jane Eyre, Pickwick Papers, The Brontes of Haworth, Tennant of Wildfell Hall, etc.

In some ways, "Dombey and Son" is Dickens' saddest novel. It's a story about a father who, through his infatuation with his own image, irrevocably loses both his children, and then realizes too late the value of what he has lost.Around such a wrenching theme Dickens wrote a remarkably buoyant and lively story, with sharp contrasts of darkness and brightness, piquant characterizations (and caricatures) and humor. I'd been wishing and hoping that there was a dramatization of this novel out there, and was delighted to find this version.**SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW**In 10 episodes, this production unfurls the story with great faithfulness to the book. When one has read the novel beforehand, one pictures characters and scenes, and it sometimes is tough for a production to live up to one's expectations. However, as I waited for favorite characters to appear, I was again and again exclaiming, "He's wonderful!" (of Captain Cuttle) or "She's marvelous!" (of Mrs. Pipchin.) It was like opening a Christmas present and finding something you wished for. They looked exactly as I'd pictured them, both in looks and manner--not a bit watered-down, nor smoothed out as Hollywood productions often make them.It's difficult to warm to Mr. Dombey as a character, so I can't hold it against Julian Glover that he comes across as stiff and dry. He does an excellent job of conveying a sort of dormant animosity toward his hapless daughter, Florence, which makes its occasional expression all the more jarring (as when he refers to his son Paul as his "only child".) Lysette Anthony is sweet and warm as Florence, the daughter whom he cannot love but instead regards as a rival for his son's affection. One of the challenges of the story (as in many of Dickens' stories) is how to handle mawkish Victorian sentimentality. This dramatization treats these risky scenes sparely and believably--without at all injecting anachronistic attitudes or behavior. For instance, a modern reader often gets impatient with how much mistreatment Florence puts up with before she finally turns her back on her father and leaves home. Here, her devotion and longing for affection is always felt, but she doesn't act like a doormat--and when the final blow comes, she is out of there.Most of the color comes from the sideline characters: Captain Cuttle, Miss Tox (a deliciously & delicately eccentric portrayal), the blue-faced Major Bagstock, Mrs. "Cleopatra" Skewton, the sweetly vacant Mr. Toots, and gravelly Mr. Toodles.My favorite was Zelah Clarke's aptly-named Susan Nipper, the short-tempered but good-hearted nurse/companion of Florence. I think this production is worth seeing on the strength of her performance alone.And of course, Walter Gay. Too bad he's offstage for most of this story.If the 10th episode had been equal to the other 9, I would have given this DVD 5 stars. However, at the very end, everything so carefully built up is hastily and anticlimactically ended. I was disappointed. It was so abrupt that if it hadn't been followed by the credits, I could not have believed that it was over. It has the appearance of a desperate hurry to wrap things up. They probably needed an 11th episode to allow the viewer to adjust to the new overturned state of things, and develop Dombey in his humbled state. This is the crux of the novel, and it was just dashed through. It would not be so disturbing if the preceding 9 episodes hadn't been so good.Another disappointment is the absence of the whole sidestory of James Carker/John Carker/Harriet Carker/Alice Brown, which gives depth and explanation to James Carker's villainy. There is a theme of doubles and mirror images in "Dombey and Son" which was lost by the omission of these characters--John Carker, the repentant embezzler vs. James Carker, the arrogant self-righteous manager, who is ruining the company in a much worse way; the artificial old lady Mrs. Skewton vs. the witch-like Mrs. Brown, both mothers; and their exploited daughters, the proud, well-bred purchased bride, Edith vs. the bitter prostitute, Alice. And Alice's role in the final downfall of James Carker contributes one of the most icy and memorable scenes in the book. This might have taken a few more episodes to include, but it would have been worth it, to make this grand production an absolute masterpiece.Nevertheless, if you love Dickens, you must see this production. It is rewarding in many ways. You will find jewels of enjoyment here.

This version of Dombey & Son is excellent. Even though a few important elements of the story were not addressed, I think someone who is viewing the video without having read the book could pick up the most important points in the story and enjoy it. The actors chosen for most of the characters were very well suited, especially Dombey, Florence and Captain Cuttle. Dickens creates characters like no other author. I recommend this to people who enjoy stories of the old days and who just enjoy a great story!

The disc is totally blank and doesn't play. Unfortunately I missed the return date so I am stuck with it.

I think Lysette Anthony is a superb actress and I love her work. I also love Julian Glover (I'm hoping that someone will some day release the two series of By the Sword Divided!). Couple them with Charles Dickens and you cannot really go wrong. Dickens remains a great story-teller and I never hesitate to buy a series based on one of his books!

The film depicts Dickens' wrenching story of a man so proud and so obsessed with establishing a male heir that he overlooks and ultimately abuses his magnificent daughter, losing much else in the process. Redemption arises from the ashes. Although slow to start and bedeviled by excessively long transitional moments, for instance in the extended time the camera follows people coming through doors or walking down hallways, the drama is well played and the film well preserved. As others have noted, the film, in omitting some secondary characters, loses some of the texture and interest of the book. More disappointing, in my view, is the crash denouement. Even with the plot restricted to just those characters the film included, the film omits (SPOILERS coming): the delicate and glowing scene Dickens wrote showing Florence and Walter reaching their final understanding of one another; Florence's real motive for seeking a rapprochement with her estranged father; and the way the united family finally reaches its peace and happiness at the end, through the offices of the grandchildren. The story really can bear these further developments after Walter's climactic return, developments that, indeed, extend the enjoyment and provide closure. I agree with the other reviewers who have said the story merits a new adaptation, and I hope the BBC takes up the cause.

This is a fine, well-acted and beautifully costumed version of one of Dickens' lesser-known works. The main character is not really Mr. Dombey, or even his son, but his daughter, Florence. There is the usual cast of fascinating characters and vivid depictions of life in lower-class London as well as in Mr. Dombey's wealthier world. Julian Glover is a little stiff in the title role, but that suits the character and his final state is the more moving because of it. The film itself, from 1983, shows its age in having slower pace and less fluid camera work than we see in more recent adaptations of Dickens, but it slowly grips the viewer and draws him or her into the lives of sea captains and businessmen and women whose options in life are cruelly limited. A fine film to watch over a few winter's evenings.

1983年の作品で、原作はディケンズの同名小説です。DVDのメニューに字幕はありませんが、パソコンで再生し、再生ソフトの方から字幕を出すことが出来ました。ただ文字の後ろに黒い線があり、画面が少し見にくくなります。1983年の作品だが、70年代ぐらいの映像に見えるくらい画面はやや暗めです。音楽や音声も場面転換時に途切れることがあります。悪いところも書きましたが、ディケンズの原作であり物語には起伏があり引き込まれます。日本ではドンビー父子と訳されていますが、ミスタードンビーが父親で、息子、娘を含めた家族関係が描かれています。約30分のドラマが10回分で約6時間にわたり物語は展開されています。一部の人を除き英語は聞きやすく、話自体はわかりやすいのであらかじめ、あらすじを読んでおくと字幕なしでもいけると思います。ドンビー父子の映像化作品は少ないのでおすすめです。最新の映像でリメイクもして欲しいです。

'Dombey & Son' ist einer der Romane Charles Dickens, die in Deutschland längst nicht so bekannt sind wie 'David Copperfield', 'Oliver Twist' oder 'GroßeErwartungen'. Es ist ein sehr tragischer und moralischer Roman, als Leser ärgert man sich oft über die seltsamen Charakterzüge der Personen.Es ght um den reichen Londoner Geschäftsmann Paul Dombey (Julian Glover), der weder an seiner Frau noch an seiner Tochter Florence (Lysette Anthony) inte-ressiert ist. Selbst als seine Frau kurz nach der Geburt des langersehnten Sohnes stirbt, bewegt ihn das nicht sehr. Paul jr. liebt seine Schwester Flo-rence abgöttisch und daher duldet Dombey sie in seiner Nähe. Große Rollen im Haushalt spielen noch Louisa Chick, Dombeys Schwester, (Rhoda Lewis) und de-ren Freundin Lucretia Tox (Shirley Caine), die sich Hoffnung auf den Witwer macht. Paul jr. stirbt sehr jung.Dombey heiratet in zweiter Ehe aber die von ihrer Mutter Mrs Skewton / Cleopatra (Diana King) immer wieder an reiche Männer verschacherte wunderschöneEdith (Susan Maughan). Edith liebt Dombey nicht, fasst aber eine tiefe Zuneigung zu Florence. Sowohl im Buch, als auch im Film gibt es Hinweise auf etwas,das mehr als mütterliche Zuneigung ist. Nachdem Edith widerwillig mit James Carker (Paul Darrow) durchgebrannt ist, wirft Dombey Florence aus dem Haus.Florence findet Unterschlupf bei Solomon Gills (Roger Milner), einem Geschäftsmann, und heiratet später ihre große Liebe Walter Gay (Max Gold). Es kommtzu einem sehr melodramatischen, positiven Ende.Es gibt noch eine Unzahl von anderen Charakteren in dem Buch, BBC hat es geschafft, all die verschiedenen Handlungsstränge zu bündeln und eine spannendeSerie daraus zu machen. Leider gibt es nur die englische Tonspur. Trotzdem sehr zu empfehlen für Dickensliebhaber.Der Bonusfilm 'The Signalman' ist eine von Dickens erstaunlichen Geistergeschichten. Der Erzähler und ein Weichensteller oder Signalwärter unterhaltensich darüber, dass der zweite häufig unwirkliche Gestalten vor einem Tunnel sieht und sich dann jedes Mal tödliche Unfälle ereignen. Später erfährtder Erzähler, dass auch der Weichensteller einem solchen Unglück zum Opfer gefallen ist.

----spoilers-----I saw this adaptation when it first came out and was impressed by the story (which I hadn't read up to then but it's now one of my favourite Dickens) and the acting and general quality of adaptation. This is excellent viewing in the typical Beeb Classic Series style, ten half-hour episodes covering the story well.Dombey is the typical harsh Victorian martinet who's incapable of showing any emotion except towards his son and heir. Running a successful City business, he's rich and used to having his own way, considering the head of the household must be obeyed at all times at all costs without argument. His wife dies in childbirth leaving him with two children, a nice girl he regards as a useless nuisance and the longed-for son and heir. Unfortunately the boy is sickly and his death a few years later causes various problems. Later, Dombey is foolish enough to get in with some fortune-seekers and is foolish enough to marry a woman who obviously loathes him, but he isn't bothered about that - he wants her and buys her and she should get on with it. However, she's not conscienceless and she rebels after he drives her too far with his gripes against her including her attempt to give some affection to his neglected daughter and his attempt to control her by involving his Office Manager as go-between in their arguments!Other characters who interact with the leads are delightful Cap'n Cuttle, his friend Sol and Sol's nephew Walter who works for Dombey and falls for Dombey's daughter but is sent off by Dombey to the West Indies office (of course the ship sinks), also Mr Toots who had befriended little Paul years before, and dear Miss Tox who adores Dombey uselessly from afar. There's also a respectable but poor family which includes Biler and his mother "Richards" who nurses young Paul.My favourite characters in the TV version as in the book are the slimy, nasty, creepy Mr Carker, Dombey's Office Manager, and his young henchman Biler who is the spitting image of Mick Jagger.Carker is a completely over the top character in the novel - hard to take seriously that anyone could be quite so awful as the Dickens' description. I was very impressed with how Paul Darrow humanises him, avoiding the novel's worst excesses regarding this character and showing him as capable of emotions even if so self-centred and at times vicious. It's Carker who manages Dombey's business to his own advantage when Dombey is absent grieving over his son and later 2nd-wife-chasing with a very unsuitable companion who's out to trick him. Clever though Dombey is with money (so it seems), he's easily enough gulled into this marriage and neglecting his business. Carker falls for the new wife and eventually they run off together with his ill-gotten gains when she's had enough of Dombey's harsh ways. Sadly, as Mr Darrow is so attractive even as this none-too-nice Mr Carker, the wife doesn't like him either and quickly abandons him. Mr Carker's end inadvertently falling under a train is as unconvincing on screen as in the book although Paul Darrow does his best with it.Of course Dombey eventually repents his cruel ways when he's gone as low as he can, in penury and abandoned by all others except Miss Tox and his daughter, happily reunited with her admirer and turning up to comfort her father.

Wer anders könnte diesen Dickens Roman verfilmen als BBC. Nur in England findet man die geeigneten Schauspieler für den Reigen skurriler Gestalten, wie sie Dickens erfunden hat. Ein perfektes Casting, viel Dickens - Amosphäre lassen uns Anteil nehmen an der komplizierten Handlung, an dem steifen Mr. Dombey, an der lieben Florence, dem skurrilen Capt. Cuttle, an Biler, Polly Toodle und den vielen Gestalten die diese Miniserie 340 Minuten lang beleben. Leider ist der Film erst in engl. mit holl. Subtiteln zu haben.