Bleak House 

A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.

Stars:

Anna Maxwell Martin, Denis Lawson, Carey Mulligan

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 24 wins & 40 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
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
Phil 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
Louise 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
Natalie Press	...	Caddy Turveydrop / ... 7 episodes, 2005

Storyline

A suspenseful tale about the injustices of the 19th Century English legal system.

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Plot Keywords:

london england | will | smallpox | secret | murder | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK] PBS [United States]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bleak House

Filming Locations:

Balls Park, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH, Deep Indigo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Dance (Mr. Tulkinghorn), Burn Gorman (Guppy) and Robert Pugh (Mr. Chadband) have taken part in Game of Thrones (2011). They respectively portrayed Tywin Lannister, Karl Tanner and Craster.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Version of Bleak House (1920)

User Reviews

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.