Tess Of The D’Ubervilles (2008/BBC DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C+
Thomas
Hardy’s Tess Of The D’Ubervilles has
been adapted several times, especially famously by Roman Polanski in Tess which was eventually haunted by
his own legal troubles. The 2008 BBC
version runs much longer at 212 minutes, giving it this version by Director
David Blair more time to develop. It is
not as dark as the Polanski version, but it still dark and also is maybe too
much of a Jane Austen-styled romance to be totally faithful to the book.
So yes,
it qualifies just enough as stuffy British television to be wary of it, but
Gemma Arterton is very good here as Tess, Eddie Redmayne is equally effective
as Angel Claire and Hans Matheson formidable as Alec D’Ubervilles so they save
the series from being a bore. That is
not easy, but they are well cast and supported by a fine cast that includes no
less than Anna Massey. If you are
interested, try it.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is slightly fuzzy
throughout including motion blur, but the color and locations are a plus,
though depth can be a problem at times. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is also well recorded and clean. The only extra is a making of featurette.
- Nicholas Sheffo
