"Bleak House" (2005)TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

27 October 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th-century English legal system

Plot Keywords:

Court Battle | Lawyer | Marriage Proposal | Smallpox | Will

Awards:

15 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House (USA) (series title)

Runtime:

510 min | 30 min (14 episodes) | 60 min (1 episode)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (DVD) (2006) | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Balls Park, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Lady Dedlock's green and white vertical-striped dress with white lace cuffs is the same costume worn by Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret Hale in the final scenes of North & South (2004) (TV).

Quotes:

[repeated line, to his grand-daughter]
Smallweed: Shake me up, Judy!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2006) (TV)

Wonderful acting

This is a great achievement by the BBC -- at last their costume dramas are back on track, with a great cast, all acting their socks off. It is invidious to pick some of them out, but Esther is particularly good (it is not easy to portray a young Dickensian heroine, as sickly sweetness always lurks at hand). Many have rightly praised Mr Guppy, too. Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock is maybe a bit too icy (frozen solid?), but that's what the role calls for, I suppose.

Another excellent feature is the period atmosphere. There is a richness here, running right through the production. The costumes and hair are also very convincing, unlike in some recent period dramas. Here the hair actually flops around as it should, and the costumes look like real clothes.

Some people hate the gimmicky camera work and 'whooshing' noises. These will make the production date. (They'll look ridiculous in a few years' time, I fear), but I didn't find them too distracting.

This must be the BBC's best since the 1995 Pride and Prejudice.