The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby [DVD]

As we have yet to receive this DVD I cannot answer this question.

Very disappointed as no subtitles and I am hearing impaired and this was not made clear on the outside package of item.

I am very happy with this adaptation of this Dickens book - the characters were well cast and played out. The lovely Lee Ingleby brings me to tears as Smike, he did a fantastic job. A sad and happy story, but worth owning in the period drama collection of your home..

Having read the book, this is an excellent version on DVD.

I am afraid that I did not warm to this production but I admit that this is my first Nicholas Nicleby and I have not read the book - so perhaps I would not warm to the book either. Charles Dance is excellent at being nasty as he was in the recent superb BBC adaption of Bleak House.

Some have viewed yet as brought as presents

One of my favourite dickens films and all the actors do it justice and highlight hardship, dilemma, compassion, love, and inspiration. DVD picture is good quality and arrived well packaged. Wonderful film!

There have been a number of different versions of Nicholas Nickelby that I've seen now - the epic RSC version (which is over 7 hours long and thus the most comprehensive), the 1970s BBC version (which features Nigel Havers and does a good job of mixing the unpleasant aspects), the competent 1947 version and the lively, imaginatively-cast 2002 film. This is by far the least enjoyable one I've seen.It focuses far too much on trying to portray the Squeers as unpleasantly as possible (something that is already evident enough through how they talk and the way they treat the boys - Mr and Mrs Squeers groping each other in as repulsive a fashion as possible in front of Nicholas strikes me as unnecessary and over the top). The 2002 film does this so much better by using Nicholas' reactions and through wonderful set design.Everything is heavy-handed here. Not only do we have a scene where an "admirer" of Kate Nickleby threatens her honour but we have a fully-fledged rape attempt on a billiards table. Not only is a repulsive old man disgusting in his attitudes and how he dresses, he wiggles his tongue in a snake-like fashion.Sophia Myles and James D'Arcy are both excellent in key roles but given the overwhelmingly oppressive tone of the production I cannot recommend this. The other adaptations listed at the start of this review are just better balanced and more enjoyable.

Ich empfehle jedem Dickens -Fan diese Verfilmung, da sie gegenüber dem Buch die Handlung getrafft und pregnant darstellt, gefallen haben mir auch die Darsteller, Nikolaus (fein und gutmütig, seine Schwester schön und unschuldig und inteligent, der böse Onkel einfach hassenswert, beeindruckt haben mich die Szenen in diser schrecklichen Schule, diesr fiese Direktor, der müsste noch viel härter betraft werden , auch seine widerliche Ehefrau samt Tochter......nicht zu fassen, dass es damals so etwas existiern konnte......Tipp einfach reinschauen, mit Schulenglisch gut zu verstehen...

the best version of this dickens classic, all the actors fit the parts exactly as i would imagine them to be, top quality dvd.

There seem to be a lot of competing screen/TV versions of this Dickens classic around, and the general consensus suggests that this is one of the best. I have not read the novel, and my familiarity with the competition is limited to the brief and jaded 1947 film of 88 minutes directed by Cavalcanti, and the stunning Trevor Nunn stage production for the Royal Shakespeare Company ( telecast over eight 1-hour episodes by the BBC ) that is one of the crowning glories of the British theatre, alas no longer available. As an adult experience, this present adaptation worked well for me. Clocking in at 180 minutes, the action moved quickly ---- at times too quickly --- and the skeleton of the plot was clearly displayed. As to the flesh, well it seems that some reviewers were upset that there was too much of it. I cannot refute the charges of "sexual innuendo" in this version that distorts Dickens' treatment of his characters, and it certainly comes at a price. One of my missions in life is to wean my grandchildren aged 11 to 16 away from the awful North American culture that is all around them ( too much sex and violence, etc) and expose them to the inspiring British literature and art with which I grew up at their age. The emphasis on children and childhood is central to most of Dickens' greatest novels. Oliver Twist and David Copperfield enthralled them, and taught them that there was a cultural world beyond Batman and Superman. But this version of Nicholas had to be aborted, sad to report. British children simply do not "do" rape! A further technical problem for juniors is the rapid editing and cutting back and forth between different scenes, making it difficult for them to follow the sequence of the plot. Perhaps in another decade............. But this directorial device made for taught adult viewng, and the flesh that the various actors brought to their wildly idiosyncratic characters was little short of breathtaking. Smikes (Lee Ingleby); the entire Squeers family led by that wonderfully disgusting role model, Gregor Fisher; the genial Cheeryble twins who actually looked and behaved like twins; the lecherously parasitical aristocracy, down to the tiniest bit-role ---- all treated the viewer to a feast of virtuoso acting that only the Brits can provide. As the two major protagonists, James D'Arcy as Nicholas and Charles Dance as Uncle Ralph were well matched, slugging it out for round after round and twist after turn until only one of the two was left standing. For the rest, the picture quality was excellent and the musical score an unwelcome distraction. But there is another twist to the tail: the version I originally bought was the PAL version that is a fraction the price of the regular N American edition. My system has played PAL after PAL without fail, but not this time. My enquiry to importcds from whom I bought the product on the Amazon.com website has gone unanswered for several weeks, but I was lucky enough to borrow a regular DVD from a friend, making this review possible.