Dombey and Son (Charles Dickens) (DVD)

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!

Loved the musical score, mixing light, dark and the whimsical exactly as Dickens does. But what impressed me most about this production of a Dickens adaptation was the sense of humor throughout. Too many times film producers, and yes, the BBC, seem to be so impressed that they're filming a literary classic that they make it all high drama with none of the sense of the absurd, the irony and satire that made these books so appealing--what, in fact, made them classics, read and enjoyed down to this day. (See, for instance, the BBC's Jane Austen film adaptations in the Seventies and Eighties.)This story of a man obsessed with his status and the narcissistic need to have a son and heir to carry on his name, at the expense of his daughter's happiness (which he is utterly indifferent to), is a quieter story, less manic and less slightly-fantastic than Dickens' usual stories. The eccentric characters remain, the manipulative characters, the ambiguous characters, and the simple and innocent characters are all there just as in all Dickens' stories, but they're all more subtly drawn and all the more convincing and real because of it. This felt almost more like an Elizabeth Gaskell tale, than Dickens. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be missed by any Dickens fan. Excellent acting throughout--and I defy anyone not to fall in love with Dombey's son. In fact, once he's gone so are the best parts of the movie.The ending, as others have mentioned, was lacklustre, rushed and disappointing. You have no particular sense, if you haven't already read the book, that Dombey's repentence isn't anything more than momentary. There's nothing to indicate he wouldn't go back to his prideful, dominant ways as soon as he got a good meal under his belt and was once more being reverentially fawned over by Miss Tox and lovingly worshiped by his daughter. Human nature being what it is, odds are good his humility lasted only as long as his sense of having lost all and been abandoned. The producers therefore did a disservice to the viewers and the film by not showing us his real and deep turnaround.This is a quieter, more contemplative Dickens than we are used to; it also felt more mature, though still with its irrepressible, childishly endearing moments. A winner, best watched when you have an extended period of quiet time.

This movie is a well-acted tragedy set in the 18th/19th century. If you like BBC movies of this era, you will enjoy this movie with its twists and turns. Amazon sells for a great price and delivers quickly!

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

DVD was in excellent condition and arrived in good time. Thanks for the good service and will watch for your ads in the future.

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.