Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

emuir-1 The distillation of James Clavell's rich and intricate book into a six hours mini series meant that much of the detail and some minor characters had to be cut, along with at least one major thread, that of the espionage network, which was only touched upon by the exposure of one spy, and the unresolved gun running. The mini series could have used another two hours to fully develop the espionage network involving Britain, Mainland China and Russia planting sleepers, and double agents. Watering down the espionage plot resulted in the intelligence official Crosse being a one-note character. I guess we can be thankful that it was not a two hour movie! The TV version differed from the book in that Ian Dunross was a widower, rather than a happily married man, which allowed him an unnecessary affair with Casey. and it was moved forward from pre-Vietnam 1963 to the 80's, when the cold war was not quite so cold and the fear of what would happen when Hong Kong was returned to China was not quite so acute. I will admit that Deborah Raffin was well cast as the tall loud and brash American woman trying to make it in a man's world, but I could not resist the urge to fast forward her scenes. What became of Philip Chen, last seen threatening to deal with the theft of the half coin in a Chinese Way? We never saw him again. Other than the truncated storyline, my only problem was with the insipid art design. I found the bleached out look of the European homes, hotels, and any scene in which Deborah Raffin appeared very disconcerting. When a blonde woman wearing white or cream is in a room with white or cream furniture, neutral carpets and very pale green walls, with men in cream colored clothing, the whole scene has an anemic look as well as making her merge into the couch. At the first party, Casey Tcholok is described in the book as wearing a deep emerald green dress, not white silk as shown. The emerald dress would have made her stand out, which is what she was meant to do. I have watched both the VHS tape and the vastly superior DVD, and even on the low quality tape found the art design poor.The DVD was brilliantly sharp, to the point where you could see the hair dye and artificial grey streaks. Overall, the sumptuous look, other than the aforementioned, was a feat for the eyes, especially the views of Hong Kong, the race course and the beautiful gardens, and the crowded harbor life.

pchdream Noble House based on James Clavells novel was a hit mini series way back in the eighties and it still retains all the magic that made it compulsive viewing then. A first rate plot, the fabulous Hong Kong location, a brilliant production team and a cast headed by Pierce Brosnan and John Rhys- Davies. The newly released Blu Ray version is stunning and adds a new dimension altogether to the hugely impressive visual quality, with its vibrant colours and crystal clear focus. I have waited for years for this to be released on DVD and had almost given up hope it would ever happen. I believe that it would attract a whole new generation of fans if re-released and I strongly recommend it.

les_raynor The film (mini-series) ia very creditable attempt to capture the essence of Clavell's masterful book. John Rhys-Davies is the epitomy of Quillan Gornt and Pierce Brosnan doesn't do too badly either, but I can't imagine why he would fall for Deborah Raffin as K C Cholok who is bland, colourless and does not come across as a tough-negotiating business woman. The film sticks closely to the book and only omits non-central to the story items - russian spies etc. Nancy Kwan is still gorgeous and Julia Nickson is lovely (pity her acting lets her down though). The film is well worth a look even with a few failings.

arumbold I still remember looking forward anxiously to seeing this miniseries when it first aired -- I had considered "Noble House" James Clavell's masterpiece, even greater than "Shogun." I had come away from reading the book with the sense of knowing the characters as if they were real people, and missing them when the book was finished.In some cases, the characterizations in the miniseries hit the mark. Pierce Brosnan does an excellent job as the supremely self-confident Ian Dunross, John Rhys-Davies gives a truly inspired performance of charming villainy as Quillan Gornt, Burt Kwouk is very convincing as the compradore of the Noble House, and Gordon Jackson did a fine turn as the committed, conflicted Superintendent Armstrong. I also thought Julia Nickson Soul really heated up the screen; she was much better than a young Tia Carrere (in her pre-"Wayne's World" days).Unfortunately, I thought the American performances were weak. Deborah Raffin was OK as K.C. Tcholok, but I would have preferred it if they had stuck to the story and not had her wind up romantically involved with Ian Dunross. The weakest in my opinion, though, was Ben Masters as Linc Bartlett. While Mr. Masters may be a good actor, I didn't think he carried this role off very well. In the book, Bartlett is a cool, calculating, and yet personable man who comes across as opportunistic but respectful of Hong Kong business and cultural traditions. Clavell wrote him as a friendly, likable man who moves easily into the circles of power in the Colony but who is an unknown, unpredictable quantity to all of the vying factions. I thought that Mr. Masters overplayed the part as too cocky, too brash, and too shallow to be a likable or sympathetic figure. In the novel, I thought Bartlett was an intriguing character on a par with Dunross. In the miniseries, I generally thought he was just a jerk.That aside, while the miniseries has to trim a lot of the interesting sub-plots in the interest of time, it does a good job of remaining true to the spirit of Clavell's novel. I'd agree with the observation that you should watch the miniseries, then read the novel to see what the story was REALLY about.