"Crime and Punishment" (1979) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

28 September 1980 (USA)

Plot Keywords:

TV Mini-Series | Remake | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Francesca Gerrard	...	Lida (3 episodes, 1979)
Fiona Glassbrook	...	Polenka (3 episodes, 1979)
John Hurt	...	Raskolnikov (3 episodes, 1979)
Anne Orwin	...	Nastasya (3 episodes, 1979)
Christine Ozanne	...	St. Petersburg citizen (3 episodes, 1979)
Siân Phillips	...	Katerina Ivanovna (3 episodes, 1979)
Nicky Stoter	...	Kolya (3 episodes, 1979)
Anthony Bate	...	Svidrigailov (2 episodes, 1979)
Yvonne Coulette	...	Raskoinikov's Mother (2 episodes, 1979)
Gordon Gostelow	...	Accuser (2 episodes, 1979)
Colin Higgins	...	Nicolay (2 episodes, 1979)
Gertan Klauber	...	Porter at Pawnbroker's Flat (2 episodes, 1979)
Beatrix Lehmann	...	Pawnbroker (2 episodes, 1979)
Julie May	...	St. Petersburg citizen (2 episodes, 1979)
Frank Middlemass	...	Marmeladov (2 episodes, 1979)
Yolande Palfrey	...	Sonia Marmeladovna (2 episodes, 1979)
Frederick Radley	...	St. Petersburg citizen (2 episodes, 1979)
Prunella Ransome	...	Dounia (2 episodes, 1979)
Malcolm Tierney	...	Zametov (2 episodes, 1979)
David Troughton	...	Razumihin (2 episodes, 1979)
Carinthia West	...	Lizaveta (2 episodes, 1979)
Timothy West	...	Porfiry Petrovich (2 episodes, 1979)
Barbara Young	...	Mme. Lippevechsel (2 episodes, 1979)

Runtime:

UK:225 min (3 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Remade as Rikos ja rangaistus (1983)

The best version for those who love the book...

Nowadays, many would find this mini-series overly talky, even for a TV drama. For example, in a scene of part one, actor Frank Middlemas grouses and weeps in self-pity for ten whole minutes! However, the sequence is straight out of chapter two of the novel, with most of the dialog included, and all in all, the whole mini-series is a very faithful adaptation. Yes, it may be talky, but the talk is good; few novelists were more philosophically ruminative than Dostoyevsky...

Some of the casting is first-rate. The other versions I've seen portray Raskolnikov as a somewhat demonic though poetical intellect--completely overlooking that, although a murderer, he can be often sensitive, sentimental, and even generous. John Hurt believably portrays all these qualities and he's a exemplary Raskolnikov, even if he is a little too old for the part. Timothy West is a brilliant Porfiry and his three scenes with John Hurt are model examples of nuanced and subtle acting and interacting.

This is a production for those who either love the book, or who want to love it.