Softwing
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Matthew Kresal
Produced and aired at the end of the 1980s, Noble House would be one of the last in a line of lengthy and epic miniseries. Based on James Clavell's thousand plus page novel (and move forward two decades in time to the then present day), Noble House features a wealth of location filming, dozens of characters and multiple plot lines across four parts and more than six hours of screen time. So how does it hold up a quarter of a century later? The performances hold up well. Pierce Brosnan is fascinating as Ian Dunross, Tai-Pan of the Hong Kong company Struan's, the Noble House of the title. Brosnan is convincing as the man in charge of a 150 year old company who struggles to deal not just with the crises of today but with the weight of legacy of the Noble House upon his shoulders as well. While Dunross is not above perhaps less than savory at times, Brosnan nevertheless makes clear that is a likable man with a strong sense of honor and duty no matter the cost. It is Brosnan as Dunross that ultimately ties in the various diverse plots together and, if his performance was anything less than what it is, I'm not sure Noble House would work as well as it does.Moving on from Brosnan, there's a strong cast behind him. There's John Rhys-Davies as Quillan Gornt, the head of Struan's biggest rival and a man who seems to live for nothing but bringing it down. There's Deborah Raffin and Ben Masters as the heads of the American company Par-Con whose motives and actions are questionable throughout the entire miniseries. From there the cast of characters ranges from police Superintendent Robert Armstrong (Gordon Jackson) to Struan employees such as John Van Dreelen as Jacques DeVille, Michael Siberry as Linbar Struan and fellow Hong Kong businessmen such as Damien Thomas as Lando Mata. Rounding off the cast in two cameo roles are Denholm Elliott as outgoing Tai-Pan Alastair Struan in the first part and John Houseman as Hong Kong governor Sir Geoffrey Allison in the last part.Where the cast, and indeed both the writing and the miniseries as a whole, runs into trouble is with its native characters. The writing (and as a result the performances) mean that they are often walking and talking clichés, especially Khigh Dhiegh as Four Finger Wu and Tia Carrere as Venus Poon as well as the less savory characters who figure in its first half. Even characters such as Burt Kwouk's Phillip Chen, the compradore of Struan's, fall into moments of cringe worthy dialogue that undermine them considerably. Somehow it seems a shame that the script couldn't treat these characters with the same respect, though how much of that is down to the original source material I'm not sure.Despite that problem, Noble House otherwise makes excellent use of Hong Kong itself throughout. In fact the city and its surrounding areas (including Macao) are as much as a player in events as Brosnan's Dunross or anyone else. The large amount of location filming gives the various story lines a strong sense of verisimilitude.The miniseries is also blessed both with a large amount of screen time and a script that makes the most use of it. Based on the massive novel by James Clavell, Noble House makes the most use of its six plus hours and four parts. There's everything from business dealings ranging from a deal between the Noble House and Par-Con to Gornt's trying bankrupt the Noble House, kidnapping, murder, romances, concerns over Hong Kong's return to China (which was still a few years off when the miniseries was made) and international intrigues as well. Behind all that is the characters and how they change and develop (or don't) as they face not just those events but disasters natural and man-made. As a result there's much going on as there are not only multiple plot lines but ones that intersect, often in the most unexpected ways. Whatever else can be said then, this miniseries is definitely not lacking in incident.Across more than six hours, Noble House lays out a tale filled with business dealings, murder, romance, intrigues and much more. It is carried by its performances and a fascinating portrait of late 1980s Hong Kong and the people who inhabit it (despite some clichéd writing and performances). If nothing else, Noble House is a sprawling epic that makes for fascinating viewing a quarter century on.
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.
msulli2
I got the DVD from a place in Australia...off of E-Bay. It worked fine playing on my computer, and as a DVD movie in my X-Box 360. It does have a different format (PAL) and may not work in all players, but if you love this mini-series as much as I did, you'll get it and watch it on the computer or find a way to watch it! Check E-bay...I think I just searched for Noble House, and it came up. the shipping was pretty quick as well...Pierce Brosnan is great as Ian Dunross...I've also read the book, and find the changes they made in the miniseries not all that disappointing.
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.
