Bleak House (2005) ( Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House ) ( Bleakhouse )

Bleak House (2005) (DVD) (*)

$26.99

Original Title: Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House
Alternate Title: Bleakhouse
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
465 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
3-DVD Set
Box Set
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Collectors Edition
Commentary
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Special Edition

Movie filmed in 2005 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Written By:
Andrew Davies
Charles Dickens

Actors:
Anna Maxwell Martin ..... Esther Summerson (15 episodes, 2005)
Denis Lawson ..... John Jarndyce (15 episodes, 2005)
Carey Mulligan ..... Ada Clare / ... (15 episodes, 2005)
Gillian Anderson ..... Lady Dedlock (14 episodes, 2005)
Tom Georgeson ..... Clamb (14 episodes, 2005)
Charles Dance ..... Mr. Tulkinghorn (12 episodes, 2005)
Patrick Kennedy ..... Richard Carstone (12 episodes, 2005)
Timothy West ..... Sir Leicester Dedlock (12 episodes, 2005)
Burn Gorman ..... Guppy (11 episodes, 2005)
Hugo Speer ..... Sergeant George (10 episodes, 2005)
Pauline Collins ..... Miss Flite (10 episodes, 2005)
Philip Davis ..... Smallweed (10 episodes, 2005)
Nathaniel Parker ..... Harold Skimpole (10 episodes, 2005)
Alun Armstrong ..... Bucket (9 episodes, 2005)
Anne Reid ..... Mrs. Rouncewell (9 episodes, 2005)
Lilo Baur ..... Hortense (9 episodes, 2005)
Katie Angelou ..... Charley Neckett (9 episodes, 2005)
Loo Brealey ..... Judy (8 episodes, 2005)
Michael Smiley ..... Phil Squod (8 episodes, 2005)
Emma Williams ..... Rosa (7 episodes, 2005)
Harry Eden ..... Jo (7 episodes, 2005)
Richard Harrington ..... Allan Woodcourt (7 episodes, 2005)
Nathalie Press ..... Caddy Turveydrop / ... (7 episodes, 2005)

Synopsis:

This 1985 television production faithfully adapts Charles Dickens' Bleak House, an indictment of Victorian England's corrupt legal and class systems that prey on the weak and the innocent. Esther Summerson (Suzanne Burden), a kind and level-headed young woman introduced as an orphan, is the link who knits several storylines together as a witness to injustice. She and two other young people -- the naïve and vulnerable Richard Carstone (Philip Franks) and Ada Clare (Lucy Hornack) -- are wards in an estate case before the High Court of Chancery. They stay at the home of John Jarndyce (Denholm Elliott), a relative. Like so many other lawsuits, the case drags on indefinitely, depleting the estate while garnishing lawyers' bank accounts. Richard and Ada fall in love and marry in secret, but his health declines as legal fees and delays consume his expected fortune. Eventually, he dies. Meanwhile, in the upper reaches of society, Lady Dedlock (Diana Rigg) harbors a secret that would ruin her and her doting husband if it became known. Years before, while in love with a Captain Rawdon, she gave birth to his child after she received news that Rawdon had been lost at sea. Upon discovering that the report was false, she attempts to track him down with the help of a guttersnipe named Jo, a friendless little boy who later dies, and finds him -- buried in a pauper's field. Lady Dedlock's attorney, the grasping and devious Tulkinghorn (Peter Vaughan), learns of Lady Dedlock's secret and threatens to disclose it, but a mysterious intruder murders him before he can do so. Miss Summerson, who has been a good friend to Richard and Ada, attracts the attentions of her benevolent but much older host John Jarndyce, and he proposes to her. However, she has already fallen in love with Dr. Allan Woodcourt (Brian Deacon), who was with little Jo when he died. As the various storylines merge, Esther Summerson discovers that she is Lady Dedlock's daughter, Lady Dedlock's husband learns his wife's secret, and Lady Dedlock runs off in deep despair. The conclusion reveals the fate of Lady Dedlock, the murderer of Tulkinghorn, and the future of Esther Summerson.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 13 July, 2023.

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