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| Our Mutual Friend | 
 enlarge | Director: Julian Farino
Actors: Paul Mcgann, Keeley Hawes, Steven Mackintosh, Anna Friel, David Morrissey
Studio: BBC Warner
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $8.84
You Save: $6.14 (41%)
New (36) Used (14) from $8.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 3516
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 351
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: DE2338D
ISBN: 1419814524
UPC: 794051233820
EAN: 9781419814525
ASIN: B0009PVZM8
Theatrical Release Date: January 3, 1999
Release Date: September 6, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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Product Description
Critically acclaimed as Dickens' crowning achievement this sweeping tale of two turbulent love affairs plays out amidst a tangled web of wealth corruption passion and betrayal in 1860s London.Running Time: 354 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794051233820
Amazon.com
One of Charles Dickens' darkest yet also most romantic novels gets a lavish treatment in this BBC mini-series of Our Mutual Friend. The heir to a great fortune made from the garbage business is drowned--and his death affects everyone. His father's manager, Noddy Boffin (Peter Vaughan, Brazil), gets the money, to the alarm of snooty society. The man who pulled the heir's body out of the Thames is accused of his murder; his daughter, Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes, Tipping the Velvet), finds herself pursued by both an idle gentleman (Paul McGann, Withnail & I) and an obsessed, violent schoolteacher (David Morrissey, Basic Instinct 2). The heir's intended bride, Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel, Me Without You, gets socially adopted by the Boffins, where she succumbs to the lure of money above all and spurns the interest of a mysterious stranger (Steven Mackintosh, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels). The plot creeps up and down London society like a tenacious plant, twining around a pair of golddiggers who mistakenly married each other and a heartsick bone merchant named Mr. Venus (Timothy Spall, Secrets & Lies). This excellent adaptation moves with aggressive speed, drawing the viewer into the grimy worlds of the riverside and the dust heaps and the glittering, gossiping parties of the rich. Our Mutual Friend balances one of Dickens' most entrancing love stories with his creepiest gothic turns--it's a rich stew of characters both earnest and vile, made with sumptuous production values and movie-quality cinematography. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 64 more reviews...
 Great BBC adaptation of a great Dickens novel - but unusual December 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This has all of the qualities of excellent BBC adaptations of classics with one very strange exception: Jenny Wren. One of Dickens' most memorable characters from Our Mutual Friend is certainly Jenny Wren. She is the disabled child of an alcoholic who manages to take care of herself and her father by doing doll dress-making. She does some mischevious things in the novel and you really root for her, as well as sympathizing for her condition. But in this adaptation they chose to have a woman play the part of Jenny who becomes an adult character. So instead of a child who is street-wise and deals with her difficulties using play-acting like a child (who cannot play with children), she becomes a woman who appears a little like a simpleton. It is the strangest thing I've seen in a Dickens adaptation. Certainly this is very enjoyable production and I encourage anyone who likes this movie to read the book. But this is a very curious way to handle this character.
Jenny Wren has been considered in various articles concerning children of alcoholic parents as well as the subject of a Paul McCartney song.
Aside from this one weird thing the production is true to the novel. Regardless of this, it is very enjoyable.
IF YOU LIKE DICKEN'S CHRISTMAS CAROL, THEN YOU'LL LIKE THIS DICKENS MURDER MYSTERY DOUBLE ROMANCE October 22, 2008
This is Charles Dickens's last novel into TV series form. A very excellent portrayal of the classic book. Dickens is a treat for anyone who enjoys early Victorian British life. This "river" story shows the poor and the rich side of life in London. It is a double romance and at the same time multiple murder mysteries are woven into one story. Only Dickens can make such a complicated plot and make it work so delightfully.
I've always like the Christmas story of Scrooge but I do believe this is better. It is disappointing at the end of the 4 episode story (nearly 6 hours) only because you have become so familiar with many fun and quirky characters that you will not want for it to end.
This is one DVD worth much more than the retail cost. 5 stars and highly recommended. Extras on the DVD provide additional information about Dickens--an interesting plus. Make this one a Christmas or Birthday gift as well--they will thank you.
 Another great production from BBC October 17, 2008
Enjoyed this Charles Dickens adaptation. A very talented cast that kept the story moving along seamlessly. Never a dull moment. Recommend it to fans of Victorian Literature.
Well Executed Performances August 24, 2008
I purchased these items on DVD to replace items taped of PBS years previously. They were excellent then and are equally interesting now.
Awesome August 20, 2008
If you want to save yourself about 20 hours or so of reading, I highly recommend the movie. You do lose the story lines of a few characters such as Fledgby, Riah, the Veneerings, and the Podsnaps. And the Lammles, and Twemlow stories are greatly reduced but the flavor of the story is done very, very well in the movie.
In addition, there is a great amount of believable passion in the four main characters of two of the story lines. The actors made their characters tangible and relatable.
I think it is rare to see a movie follow the book so closely and come out great.
And might I add, may we all be like the Boffins.
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