Middlemarch

Middlemarch

Overview

This adaptation of George Eliot's Middlemarch aired originally in the United States on PBS stations around the country. This DVD release contains the entire six-hour production presented in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Supplemental materials include a making-of featurette.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/19/2005
UPC:	0794051219022
Original Release:	2005
Source:	Bbc Warner
Language:	English
Time:	7:00:00
Sales rank:	60,584

Special Features

Closed Caption; Middlemarch - A Reader's Guide: 40 minute featurette on the book

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Visions of the Future [6:00]
2. Hospital Plans [6:39]
3. Leisurely Endeavors [6:06]
4. A Gentleman's Game [5:11]
5. The Vincys [7:02]
6. Talented Courtship [10:04]
7. Generosity of Kindness [7:35]
8. One Foot in the Grave [6:24]
9. Higher Standards [8:58]
10. Warming the Heart [4:51]
11. Troubled Conscience [9:30]
12. Credits [1:38]
1. Blossoming Love [9:02]
2. Welfare of the People [9:09]
3. Suffering for Others [1:45]
4. Romantic Ideas [11:22]
5. The Town's Talk [8:57]
6. Credits [16:07]
1. Will & Testament [11:48]
2. Deep Pockets [9:49]
3. Offensive Proposals [8:01]
4. Uncommonly at Ease [14:17]
5. Diminished Over Time [14:39]
6. Credits [1:07]
Side #2 --
1. Talk of Revolution [11:40]
2. Medical Malpractice [10:40]
3. All Men of Goodwill [12:17]
4. Taking the Highroad [12:39]
5. Above the Law [9:45]
6. Credits [1:07]
1. Trials of Marriage [14:07]
2. Ensuing Scandal [8:56]
3. God's Creatures [8:26]
4. A Better Return [9:51]
5. Hope and Despair [3:47]
6. Credits [7:25]
1. Disgraced Existence [11:33]
2. Slanderous Words [9:24]
3. Hanging on a Thread [13:03]
4. An End to Posterity [10:09]
5. The Courage to Carry On [12:25]
6. Credits [1:30]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play All
   Episode 1
      Play Episode 1
   Episode 2
      Play Episode 2
   Episode 3
      Play Episode 3
   Episode 4: Turn Disc to Side B
   Episode 5: Turn Disc to Side B
   Episode 6: Turn Disc to Side B
   Middlemarch - A Reader's Guide: Turn Disc to Side B
Side #2 --
   Play All
   Episode 1: Turn Disc to Side A
   Episode 2: Turn Disc to Side A
   Episode 3: Turn Disc to Side A
   Episode 4
      Play Episode 4
   Episode 5
      Play Episode 5
   Episode 6
      Play Episode 6
   Middle March - A Reader's Guide

Editorial Reviews

Impressive acting undergirds this three-cassette, six-hour BBC adaptation of George Eliot's great 19th century novel Middlemarch. Heading the cast is Juliet Aubrey, a dark-haired beauty who brings intelligence, sensitivity, and vulnerability to her portrayal of the idealistic Dorothea Brooke. As the plot intertwines the fortunes of her character with those of other characters, her convincing performance anchors the film and sets high standards. Her co-star, Douglas Hodge, meets those standards in his portrayal of Tertius Lydgate, a reform-minded physician in a town of square-toed traditionalists. While presenting Lydgate as a man of integrity and compassion, Hodge projects enough weakness to make his character fully human, capable of wronging a friend and failing to perceive the flaws in others. Another actor who performs with distinction is Robert Hardy as Arthur Brooke. Playing Brooke must have been a challenge for him, for he had to convey a mixture of competing qualities. Outwardly, Brooke is benevolent and upstanding; inwardly, he is coldly indifferent to the plight of the poor and hostile to efforts to bring about social and political reform. Hardy's performance captures the whole of Brooke, giving viewers a chilling glimpse of the kind of "civic- minded" citizen who populates the Middlemarches of every age. As one would expect with a BBC production, cast members in supporting and minor roles also perform competently as they recite dialogue that is often taken verbatim from the novel. Although most of the action in the film takes place in parlors, gardens, libraries, law offices, and sick rooms, the drama nevertheless moves briskly, thanks to good writing and film editing and to the scheming and intrigue that build suspense.

All Movie Guide - Mike Cummings