Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

stephenrtod Any intelligent viewer who loves good movies and finds intricate 19th century novels enjoyable - will find this rendition of Dickens' greatest novel enjoyable.I have always enjoyed reading Dickens. Of his 18 novels, I have read 9 of them and taught 8 of those. I've read "Bleak House" many times and taught it twice to an advanced high school class. I've also seen the earlier adaptation of "Bleak House" starring Diana Rigg and Denholm Elliott. This one is very good.This adaptation is like a kaleidoscope. Action swirls and patterns keep changing and deepening. Once Dickens introduces a character - or any detail - it sticks and builds - like a snowball rolling downhill and looming to boulder size.This is a mystery wrapped up in a love story wrapped up in a portrait of England circa 1820's.Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Lady Dedlock is minimalist and very effective; she displays a surgeon's skill with words, timing, pauses, emphasis, gestures, letting a glance, the crumble of her shoulders, and the shadows of her past tell the story.I bought the boxed set and watch it every now and then. It's the kind of video that would make me want to read the book had I never read it. It still leads me back to re-read the classic.

canuckteach I managed to obtain the DVD Blu-ray collection - tremendous casting, brilliant set-design, wonderful extra features (particularly the interviews), fabulous make-up and costumes. Only the Brits can pull off a 'period' piece such as this one, with everyone in the acting crew contributing amazing performances, no matter how small. Worthy of special note is the work of 'Charles Dance' as the grim Mr Tulkinghorn, 'Denis Lawson' (caught our eye in the old 'Local Hero' flick) as the affable Mr Jarndyce, 'Gillian Anderson' as the tragic Lady Dedlock, and 'Philip Davis' as the grotesque, psychopathic moneylender, Mr Smallweed.In addition to the above, the sound-editing and camera angles help create the dark under-currents and suspense in this presentation of the brilliant Dickens novel, outlining the frustration of the old Chauncery court system which plagued the Brits for decades.'Alun Armstrong' (of 'New Tricks' fame) also shows his versatility as a detective from another era (I believe the first true 'detective' in English literature). enjoy.

marspeach I was wary about watching this because I find Dickens so hard to read. I'm still trying to make my way through this book but he is so wordy that it seems to take me forever and I usually end up giving up. Don't worry about any of that with this miniseries, though. It is EXCELLENT. It was long but it held my interest the entire time with suspense, drama, romance, and comedy. There's really something for everyone. The acting was also excellent. My one complaint, though it may just be due to my TV, was that some scenes were shot a bit too dark so it was hard for me to see what was going on.

TheLittleSongbird The book Bleak House I found rather complicated to be honest with you, and I didn't understand much of the law stuff. But that didn't deter me from watching this superb mini-series, which in every aspect was infinitely better than I expected.The series' main merit is the period detail. I thought the series captured the Victorian Era perfectly, with its issue of class and the generally dangerous living conditions, just like the 1995 mini-series of Pride and Prejusice did with the late 18th century. The mini-series visually looked splendid, with excellent costumes and well designed sets.The script was very intelligent, and the direction was slick. The pace was perfectly fine, and the characters were easy to relate to. Excellent music as well.Another high point was the acting, with outstanding performances from Gillian Anderson as Lady Deadlock, Charles Dance as Tulkinghorn as Dennis Lawson as Jarndyce. Anna Maxwell Martin while not as impressive as Lawson, Anderson and Dance still turned in a lovely performance. In more secondary roles were Hugo Speer,Nathaniel Parker, Johnny Vegas, Burn Gorman Matthew Kelly and my favourite Allun Armstrong as Inspector Bucket. I loved Phil Davis as Smallweed too.All in all, a hugely satisfying period drama series, that is possibly the best TV drama of 2005. 10/10 Bethany Cox.