Daniel Deronda

"Daniel Deronda" (1996)is based, course, on the novel be George Eliot (who, one might argue, looks better on the screen than on the page), and the inimitable Andrew Davies--known for his adaptations of Jane Austen and other classic English novels--did it again with a compelling narrative script. Tom Hooper directed, and fresh faces were in the 2007 DVD edition of a BBC 1996 production. Time flies, for I could remember the face of Romola Garai from her more recent appearance in "Vanity Fair," where Reese Witherspoon took the honors. Garai also appeared in a latter-day version of "Dirty Dancing," but, overall, she seemed an ignored actress in the big screen despite her enchanting--and a bit exotic--looks and her air of an innocent sensuality.Here, of course, she plays Gwendolen Harleth, daughter of an impoverished family, who marries the tyrannical aristocrat Henleigh Grandcourt, played by Hugh Boneville, whom you might remember from his role as Rushworth, the idiotic rich man who marries the disloyal Maria Bertram in "Mansfield Park" (1998). Bonneville is brilliant as the monstrous villain whose aristocratic manners and sneering sangfroid are a mask which hides a vicious psychopath whose insane jealousy prompts him to marry a beautiful, impoverished woman, out of vengeance and hostility to the fair sex, a cad who needs to assure himself that he can "master" a beautiful wife, or anyone else who stands on his path. Bonneville is an electrifying presence of the screen, evil incarnate, wearing the mask of nobility without being noble, elegant and vicious, caressing his wife's cheek with calculated menace of gesture, assured of victory and inglorious in defeat.But the lengthy movie (a TV mini-series of three and a half hours) is supposed to be about Daniel Deronda himself, a troubled character in search of identity and commendable wish to explore life before he settles into marriage or a profession, as his aristocratic father desires. Deronda is given sensitively and with quiet intensity by Hugh Dancy, an actor who is at home with both costume dramas and action movies ("Black Hawk Down"). The plot follows the fortunes of these two major characters--Gwendolen and Deronda--who are evidently attracted to each but who fall in love but head in different directions and cannot unite. Deronda is an ambiguous character, worthy of being in a Henry James novel, or even in a late twentieth century one: he is is the illegitimate son of an aristocrat (played by Edward Fox), who had an affair with a Jewish singer many years before, and thence, as Deronda becomes conscious of his past, he decides to track his mother down. In the mean time he has saved the life of a young Jewish woman when she attempts to drown, and gradually falls in love with her. He ends up discovering his origins, and, eventually leaving Gwendolyn, who, in a boating accident stops short of helping her hated husband from drowning.George Eliot is known for her tragic endings and complex characterizations. This splendidly made movie is worthy of any made today, in Hollywood or out. And BBC knows much about literary adaptations--but most if its early productions lacked production values or superior acting (in most cases), mostly due to budgetary limitations, one would imagine. This is an exceptional movie, and one can see in one sitting, because it is so compelling one would not want to leave off watching. Go for it, even if you have to do in installments.

With no subtitles I spent all my energy attempting to hear/understand the dialog, which meant less attention to detail of everything else.

This miniseries is a masterpiece and is definitely the best period piece I've seen. I picked it up for Hugh Dancy and ended up adoring him and everything else about the series. The entire cast shines, the music is unforgettable, and even the sets and costumes are magnificent. Not to mention the story itself is spellbinding. I've watched this half a dozen times because I can't get enough of it.

Wow....If the ratings could go higher than 5 stars, I'd sure give it at least a 7!. The actor who plays Daniel Deronda couldn't have been chosen any better and the selection of Romola Garai to portray the beautiful but selfish Mrs. Grandcourt was equally rich. What makes this movie so memorable and endearing is the theme. You have two beautiful, very beautiful and talented girls vying for the heart of one man (of course, this is every man's dream). But where it gets really good, is the humbling process that Mrs Grandcourt must go through, in order to see what kind of woman she was. At the end, through great pain and self discovery of her inner selfishness, she is finally fit to become someone's excellent wife. She pines away the hours and for days on end for the chance to become Daniel's wife, but during this humbing and transformation of the most beautiful Romola Garai, Daniel is falling in love with another girl, whom he rescued from a watery grave. Daniel was an English Gentleman, with manners, courtesy, love and caring for those he knew. As Daniel was slowly discovering his Jewish roots through the girl whose life he saved, he began to fall in love with her, not only for her beauty, but her commitment to God through Judaism and her angelic voice. She was very talented and nice to look at, but it was her singing voice and dedication to God is what attracted Daniel to her. Towards the end, Daniel became more involved is his new found Jewish family and began identifing with them. The scenery of the film switched back and forth from England to Italy, and the twist at the end with Daniel's mother emerging from a life long silence added to the excitment and plot. As Daniel finally proposed to this beautiful Jewess, it was followed by a Jewish wedding ceremony with Jewish wedding music. It was so good to see a film that included the richness of the Jewish traditions and religion without apology. And now, at the end of the story, where both beauties wanted Daniel Deronda, only one of them won the prize. On the one hand, this story is every guys dream; a well mannered rich guy, who is handsome and desired by all the ladies, and on the other hand, they both can't have him, and it leaves your heart broken for the beautiful Mrs Grandcourt. The picture on the cover of the DVD is really a prophetic look at the whole thing. It's a wonderful show, and real treat for guys!

I knew absolutely nothing about this novel and went into watching it's adaptation with an open mind. The scenery, settings and costumes were first class and get full marks. However I can't help but feel the three main characters could have been cast much better cast. I found them wooden, unconvincing and totally lacking in chemistry. Most of the other characters were very good but this certainly didn't make up for the poor performance of the main three, who were a huge disappointment. Despite this the series is still worth watching and quite enjoyable but is by no means one of the BBCs best. Watch it by all means but put it nowhere near the top of your list.

George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda does not offer the same deep satisfaction that her masterpiece Middlemarch does. Whereas the latter weaves a richly-textured tapestry of mid-Victorian urban and rural life, the former is cut from more conventional cloth - at least in one of its two parallel narratives. This concerns the beautiful but selfish and headstrong Gwendolen Harleth, who, to escape the - to her - ignominy of having to work as a governess, marries an older man, the wealthy but domineering and coldly-calculating Henleigh Grandcourt. That she lives to regret it soon becomes all too evident. The other narrative is more interesting and compelling : young and personable Daniel Deronda, the apparently illegitimate son of an aristocrat, Sir Hugh Mallinger, searches for both his true identity and a real purpose in life. He finds it through a chance encounter when he saves a young Jewish singer, Mirah Lapidoth, from drowning in an attempted suicide. In what follows the authoress is both mature and uncannily prophetic in her treatment of Jewishness. This is another of those classic, beautifully-made BBC co-productions with WGBH Boston that seem to belong to a golden era, now well and truly past. Directed by Tom Hooper, since lauded as the Director of The King's Speech and Les Miserables and adapted by the ubiquitous Andrew Davies, it affords a constant pleasure. The production is distinguished by some exquisite photography and excellent performances by a cast which includes Hugh Dancy in the name part, Romola Garai as Gwendolen, Jodhi May as Mirah and, in typically fruity style, Edward Fox as Sir Hugh Mallinger. Highly recommended.

A worthwhile purchase of a George Eliot classic. It is excellently cast with Hugh Dancy as Daniel and Romola Garai as Gwendoline who marries for wealth and position rather than love. Hugh Bonneville as Gwendoline's brutish husband does chew the scenery a bit, while James Fox as Sir Hugo, Daniel's benefactor plays his usual self. (Be a General or a Butler or an English gent, he plays them all the same. Having said that he always plays well.) David Bamber as always steals every scene he is in as usual. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

I bought this for my husband and he absolutely loved this historical drama, beautifully produced story of Daniel Deronda. He suggested I watch it in the three separate episodes rather than watch the full DVD which is over three hours.

This review is only for the Blu Ray release of Daniel Deronda.One star for the product, which is a standard definition version of this series on a Blu Ray disc. This is not high definition. Why it has been released on Blu Ray is anyone's guess.The mini-series itself, however, is wonderful and this is an Andrew Davies adaptation, the same person responsible for the excellent BBC  Pride And Prejudice  adaptation. But seeing as I own the DVD version, there really was no reason for me to buy it on Blu Ray.Amazon should stop selling such products as this is clearly a violation of the trades descriptions act. Get the DVD version and save yourself a heap of cash. Pride And Prejudice