The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby VHS

I love, love, LOVE this stage production. I used to have it on VHS but don't have either the tapes or the machine now. The only upsetting thing is that a chunk of the play that I vividly remember (the aborted wedding of Madeline Bray and the death of Smike) is mysteriously missing. but 9-ish hours of DVD is still here and still glorious.

I saw 'Nicholas Nickleby' about 20 years ago and have never been able to forget it. It is the best theatre I've ever seen or will ever see again. The sheer facts are astounding: nine hours long, 39 actors playing 150 parts. Only Roger Rees has one part as Nicholas Nickleby, and it's easy to see he could have hardly taken more, being so much on stage. He is a bit old for Nicholas, but creates a very convincing, somewhat naive but - when needed - passionate young man. And his part is heavy for the mere fact that he has to carry Smike and fall down on the floor with Fanny Squeers around his neck - twice, because they do it again on one of the 'what has happened so far' -scenes in the beginning of acts. Edward Petherbridge has only two parts, but makes such a wonderful work as Newman Noggs, that he is one of the most memorable actors. His droopy, worried face is absolutely priceless!There is a lot to listen in this version, it starts with the whole cast telling, what happened before Nicholas, Kate and their mother came to London to seek help from Uncle Ralph, in the beginning of other acts there are 'what has happened' -scenes (which are wonderful!) - and at times the actors comment or fill in the facts - and then again become clouds, walls, poor people watching in from behind the windows or rich people eating well inside the same windows. This is smooth working, flawless, yet clearly something that they love to do and have fun doing it. Everybody's been telling, how much they love John Woodvine as uncle Ralph, but I still want to praise him - and wonder about how effortlessly he becomes an opera singer and a few moments later appears again as Uncle Ralph. David Threlfall is a heart-breaking Smike, twisted from head to toe, o-u-t-cast whose only home is Nicholas. And Alun Armstrong deserves his place in the closing credits for more than alphabetical reasons, his Squeers is wonderful, horrible, hilarious as the whole Squeers family. He later appears as a drunken actor, who saves the day as king in 'Romeo and Juliet', the Crummles' production with happy endings for everyone. Men who play Cheeryble brothers looked so much alike that I had to check they weren't twins, but had completely different family names. And their fury was something to see: when they decide to take ultimate measures to lighten to work of their clerk, they threaten him with making him a partner.I would still like to mention other Squeers: Lila Kaye, Mrs. Squeers and later Mrs. Crummles, both wonderful performances which I still remembered well after all these years, and Suzanne Bertish, who has to be admired and envied for such delicious, different parts as Fanny Squeers, Miss Snevellici and Peg Sliderskew, the old hag who has a big part in the happy ending.And yes: the technical transfer to DVD could have been much better done. As wonderful as these actors are, we don't need to see their names so many times. But even if I had to skip and fast forward, this was still a delight. Dickens is one of my favourites and this is one of those very, very rare occasions, when one can say: the movie (or play) was as good as the original book.

We've been fans of this epic theatre production since it first appeared on PBS in the early '80s. I was lucky to pick up these 4 DVDs a few years ago for just $20. It seems that that was a good investment, with used copies going now for $200. What's a mystery, though, is why this incredible show hasn't been reissued on DVD. Granted its visual quality is poor—probably the result of being shot on low res video back in the day, and poorly mastered to boot. Sadly, there can never be a Blu Ray of this, because it wasn't shot on film; even Super 16 would have been much better, let alone 35mm. I bet a lot of TV producers of that era now regret cheaping out by not shooting film. Oh, to see this in HD!As for the show, it's one of those rare productions that give one of Dickens's sprawling tales the room it needs. It's dazzlingly acted by England's best theater actors. Fans of British TV will see literally dozens of familiar faces.I wish there were some way to folks to see this for a reasonable cost, but it appears we'll have to wait for a reissue—hopefully recut in the manner of the original RSC production.P.S. (Several years later) It seems that this wonderful production can now be streamed on Amazon (and perhaps other places). And used copies of the DVD set are going for under $40. So no you have no excuse for not enjoying this peerless theatrical adventure. Seriously, if you love live theater, you'll go ga-ga for this.

In 1980, 48 members of Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company got together to develop a stage version of Charles Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby". The result was an astounding 8 hours of absolutely riveting, often downright hilarious theater.Patrons were given the option of watching the show either over two nights, or in one day, starting at 1 in the afternoon, with a 2-hour intermission. I was a teenager when I saw this show, and no fan of Charles Dickens, but not once did I find myself noticing the passage of time or looking anywhere but at the stage (and I saw it all in one day).You may think that by buying the DVD, you'll be able to split the show over 4 nights. Maybe you'll even have the willpower to do it. If I were you, though, I'd settle in for the long haul, because you won't want to get up.Even if for some incomprehensible reason you don't want to watch the entire show, there is one segment of the play which alone nearly justifies the price of the DVD. At the end of the first part (i.e., probably around the end of DVD 2), you get to see some of the world's finest Shakespearean actors perform their version of a sappy Victorian production of Romeo and Juliet, complete with a happy ending and a rousing "Patriotic Chorus" (a musical ode to England). Interestingly, the song was also featured on an episode of "West Wing" last year.

In the early 1980's the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a mammoth production of "Nicholas Nickleby" over multiple nights, nearly 9 hours of performance altogether. As a student of theatre, I have always been amazed at the complexity and overall excellence of the performances. It was recorded and available on VHS tapes when aired on A&E, and these DVDs appear to be an exact copy of the VHS recordings. It would have been nice if they'd made the DVD version more seamless, more like the original stage production instead of broken up over 9 segments as it was aired, but that's a small quibble. I'm very happy to have this production in a more permanent form than my old worn VHS tapes. The one thing that would make it better--these elderly ears would have appreciated closed captioning!

This is, quite simply, one of the very best things ever put on a stage, never mind on television. The Royal Shakespeare Company do a Charles Dickens story, over 8 1/2 hours (that's as long as a good BBC adaptation) with a cast of 39.In 'Year of the King' Antony Sher refers back to this as one of the things that the RSC was already nostalgic about - one of the greats - and this is a company that is emphatically about good acting, and here we see it doing very good acting indeed. As far as I recall directors John Caird and Trevor Nunn sat down with writer David Edgar and asked 'How much of the novel ought we to cut' and came up with the answer, 'None of it - it's all too good', and that's why this show includes Arthur Gride, Peg Sliderskew, Sir Mullberry's duel with Lord Frederick, Tim Linkinwater, Mr Lillyvick, Miss Petowker (of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), all the Kenwigses, and the Crumpet and Muffin Company, as well as all the more familiar stuff about Nicholas, Smike, and the Squeerses and Crummleses - two opposing sides of the 'Dysfunctional Family' coin - with Nila Kaye (she went on to be the barmaid in American Werewolf!) doubling as Mater Familias to both!And even though the scenes Chez Kenwigs aren't as exciting as some of the others, they're still fun, and there isn't ever any sense of the show grinding to a crawl - which over eight and a half hours is really some feat. The stuff with Crummles' Theatre Company is especially enjoyable - because no-one can send actors up nearly as effectively as other actors. Christopher Benjamin is wonderful as the proprietorial Vincent Crummles, and I have to wonder if Nunn or Caird had previously seen him in similar role as Jago in Dr Who (see also Nathan Lane in the 2002 version!), and the final scene of their Romeo and Juliet, with everyone except Tybalt coming back to life - and Benvolio turning out to be a girl - is a delight to watch, mostly, I suspect, because it was just the sort of naughtiness that most of them had been wanting to do the Shakespeare for a long time.All the rolls except Nicholas are doubled, which might give every actor a good share of the limelight, but it's not quite that equitable - a few have more than one big role, while just as many do not have one at all. Bob Peck does wonderful work as John Browdie and Sir Mulberry Hawk, while Suzanne Bertish is awful (in the right way) but still vulnerable as Fanny Squeers, and she's Miss Snevelllici, and bent almost into a circle as Peg Sliderskew, but who are Janet Dale, Ian East and Alan Gill playing? I'd no idea that there were so many spears being carried in Victorian London.John (always good) Woodvine is the glacial Ralph Nickleby, while Alun (Dickensian nose) Armstrong is a repulsive Squeers, and Edward Petherbridge is lovely as Newman Noggs - but this really is to cherry-pick because the whole cast is so damned good.Ian McNeice is suitably porcine as Wackford jnr (and I can't but wonder if he inspired the enormous orphans in the Dickensian Blackadder), and Hubert Rees and David Lloyd Meredith are lyrically Welsh as the Cheerybles (Christopher Ravenscroft as their nephew effects an accent to match!). Part of the fun for those that know the book is guessing who, from the often impressively whiskered cast, is going to end up playing who. Jeffrey Dench (did you know that Dame Judi had an elder brother?) is greasy, decrepit and vile as Arthur Gride.The wonderful thing of all this is that the magic is that of theatre not television; there is no muddy gaslit location work in the backstreets of Limehouse or Luton Hoo to lend period tone; all of this is done in a playhouse, with one fairly simple set, actors, costumes, smoke and lighting; admittedly the catwalk along the front of the dress circle is a big plus, and the trapdoor downstage-centre does good service, but the most elaborate scene changes are trucked on from upstage or stage left, while the rest are done with lighting. Ralph's collapse, with the cast's backs as the unforgiving walls of London, is brilliantly achieved, and his eventual suicide is a compelling piece of theatrical legerdemain.What a momentous voice Clyde Pollit has got - that'll be why he was such an effective Time Lord on Dr Who.The last scene in Dotheboys Hall, where the inmates turn on Little Wackford and then on Mrs Squeers - who gets dosed with her own brimstone and treacle - provides most welcome catharsis, and we are left with the image of a `new Smike' centre stage, reminding us that the scouring of the school does not solve all the poverty created by men like Ralph. This is an unashamedly Lefty telling of the story.Perhaps a melancholy irony is that this production didn't make stars of Roger Rees (Nicholas) or David Threlfall (Smike); I've not seen Mr Rees since he was Sheriff in Men in Tights (and, following the example of Alan Rickman, he was the funniest thing in it), and though Mr Threlfall starred as Frank Gallagher in Shameless for ten years (with John Woodvine playing his father again!), he still describes himself as a `jobbing actor'. Nor did this very left-wing production change many hearts against the monetarism of the 1980s; I can just imagine the rich suits watching it on Broadway, and saying to each other `He said *what* about money? Surely that's not what he means - this is too successful for that...'

The Royal Shakespeare Company's 'Nicholas Nickleby' is one of the things that have had the deepest effect on me. Almost 20 years ago I saw it on TV and finally decided to get this and see if it really was that great. It was. Better even.Of course, Dickens' book is wonderful, the story and characters are marvellous and Trevor Nunn's adaption is amazing. And the cast then - WOW! As the others said, only Roger Rees has one part, Nicholas Nickleby, and it's easy to see it would be rather impossible to give him other parts, Nicholas being on stage so much. Others have several parts from opera singers to clouds and walls. (Thank you for the leaflet that has the cast and their roles) Rees is a bit old for his part but still creates a very believable, innocent Nicholas. On the other hand: schoolboys are all adults and such is great acting, that you don't want to laugh when they claim to be 7 or 8 years old. Smike is - of course - the most heartbreaking of them, twisted from head to toe, pale and crippled, o-u-t-cast, as he himself says.The Squeers family stands out, with excellent performances by Alun Armstrong as Mr. Squeers, Lila Kaye as Mrs. Squeers and later as Mrs. Crummles, another kind of 'femme formidable', and Suzanne Bertish, who has to envied and admired for such diverse and delicious parts as Fanny Squeers, Miss Snevellici and Peg Sliderskew, the old hag. They are horrible and wonderful and hilarious! And you don't wonder a bit, why the audience roars, when they get what they so rightly deserve. Alun Armstrong is the first in the closing credits, but he really deserves that place for more than alphabetical reasons.Uncle Ralph, John Woodvine, is chilling - and it's worth seeing him as an opera singer and just a few moments later as Ralph Nickleby again. And Newman Noggs with his wonderful, droopy face is priceless! I also enjoyed so much the short 'what has happened so far' -scenes at the beginning of acts.This is theatre at its best, I've never seen anything like this and - I'm afraid - will not see again. My only complaints are technical ones. The picture and sound are good, but why do we have to see the closing credits more than ten times? The acts have been cut into 2-3 parts, so that if you need to stop watching, you don't have to watch the whole act when you can resume watching - but still some of the parts are over 50 minutes long and if you need to stop, you have to fast forward to where you were. And every part ends with those credits. Fortunately you can skip them. Technical flaws aside, this is immortal.

I bought this DVD for my brother as he had seen the 2002 film version on TV over Xmas and thought it was good. I had to get him this version to put him right.I first saw this on television when it was shown on Channel 4 in 1982 and I videoed it and watched it so often I know it by heart. I can still watch it and see new nuances and subtleties. It is the best drama production I have ever seen.It is NOT a crinoline and bonnet romp. You have to remember it was written by leading left-wing playwright David Edgar in tandem with the brilliant Trevor Nunn (and based on not a bad novel to boot) and a brilliant team of actors, designers and so on.It is a political satire but brilliantly human and humane. And hilarious too.Just spot the variety of relationships explored - parent/child, friendship, siblings, master and servant, husband and wife. And the commentary on the role of money in society. Not much different from today, eh?All the actors are uniformly excellent (Emily Richard is the only Kate I've seen who is as feisty as Nicholas and not at all simpering) in all their numerous roles but best of all is the wonderful David Threlfall. Watch and weep.

I've been looking for a copy of this ever since I saw the original Channel 4 transmission in 1982. A friend told me it was now available on DVD so I looked it up on the Amazon website, almost with trepidation in case it wasn't the same version. Happily it was, but would it live up to my recollection of something outstanding which I last saw almost 30 years ago? It did and more. It has to be the finest production of a work by Dickens ever. It is quite simply stunning. David Threlfall as Smike is unbelievably moving, though it's a little unfair just to single him out from the hugely talented cast. If you've never seen this production, treat yourself and buy it. I promise you that you'll be watching it long after you've forgotten about a lot of the stuff that's sold as 'entertainment' to-day.

I naturally agree with the other reviewers here about the ensemble acting, the theatrical invention, everything. The thing is BURSTING with life, by turns hilarious, outraging and heart-wrenching; an 8.5-hour celebration of Dickens, goodness and theatre itself.I saw it 3 times on TV and once in the theatre (what a day!). When it finally appeared on DVD I flew at the shelves! I've watched it 2 or 3 times since then, and I just now (Christmas Eve) watched the entire thing again at one sitting. It chokes me up every time.Special mention also for the magnificent, stirring and character-filled music by Stephen Oliver.