KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Wordiezett So much average

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

PWNYCNY The bleak, depressing atmosphere of a factory town in mid-nineteenth century England is caught and conveyed in this excellent adaptation of the Charles Dickens' novel. Episodes one and two capture the drabness of the town and the how the factory owner combines with the politicians to maintain control of the situation. Far from doing anything to try to ameliorate and improve the lot of the workers, the program shows how those who do not tow the line and demonstrate any independence of thought are ridiculed, ostracized and rejected. The most dramatic and sympathetic character is Stephen Blackpool, who struggles to maintain his integrity in a corrupt environment. Having lived in a poorhouse himself, Charles Dickens was uniquely qualified to write about the abuses inherent in an economic system that systematically sought to keep people in their place and stifle anything that even remotely resembled independence of thought. What is surprising is not that the factory town was inherently a nasty place, but that anyone would go out of their way to defend it.

screenman 'Hard Times' is one of Dickens' lesser known novels, but is extremely worthy for all that.It is short and set in the north of England at a time when the industrial revolution has brought sudden wealth to the nouveu-riche of common but fortunate entrepreneurs. These people have no family precedent or history and must make a reputation for themselves. Which they often do with a contemptuous ruthlessness for those of equal birth but far less good fortune.Aptly named Mr Bounderby is just such a man. 'The bully of humility', you can't tell him anything. He got where he is today by sheer exertion and determination. There has never been a hardship to which he was never a stranger. He's rich, a humbug, and a consummate liar.Stephen Blackpool is his alter-ego. Working-class like him, but going nowhere. He's an employee who falls foul of his alcoholic wife, his nascent trade-union, and eventually Bounderby himself. 'It aw' a muddle', is his summation of life.Thomas Gradgrind is very much of Bounderby's way of thinking. They are friends insofar as two people devoid of any human sympathy can be. He's a man of facts. FACTS - and nothing else.It's a simpler and more severe indictment of social-climbing than his much more popular Great Expectations. Comical individuals are few and far between. Heroes are non-existent.Patrick Allen and Timothy West have the leads to perfection. At the same time, every other role is played to a tee by a sprinkling of worthy character actors.This drama is wonderfully realised with an excellent mix of studio and location shooting. The original script is a perfect adaptation. All of the relevant social and personal issues raised by Dickens are included. This is as good as it gets.Modern dramatisations of Dickens are more lavish, expensive and utterly devoid of that essential magic of the Master. This 4-piece work dates from a time when realizing Dickens' ideas was just as important as creating a detailed drama.

michael-1012 This is the best film adaptation of Dickens' best novel. You can't go wrong with this one.The production is low budget, but that actually works in its favor. The film has a grittiness that is entirely appropriate.The script is first-rate and the actors are virtuosos across the board. There is not a note in it anywhere that rings false.If you're tired of the sentimentalism and cartoonish characters usually associated with Dickens, you will be pleasantly surprised. There is none of that here. This is a story about real people. There are no saints, except for Rachel and she's a minor character, and no devils. Even the ostensible villain, Bounderby, is humanized.Dickens on film doesn't get better than this.

valleycats Unlike Charles Dickens's better known works like David Copperfield, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist which mainly deal with social ills such as poverty and / or the hardships faced by orphans or children displaced from their parents, Hard Times deals with the effects of upper middle class affluence, force-fed "Facts" based education and authoritarian - almost dictatorial- parenting on the development of children. Mr. Gradgrind's misplaced but well meaning and relentless "education" of his children ultimately yield tragic consequences. Repeated readings of this book have convinced me that this is Dickens's indictment of the loss of human values and the growing emphasis on material interests and accumulation of scientific knowledge (the "Facts" that Mr. Gradgrind places so much emphasis on) which were ushered in by the Industrial Revolution. Gone is the bloom, the blush and the romance of 'The Arts' as the cold, grey, grimy new self-conscious affluence is ushered in. This aspect of the book is extremely well captured by the screenplay and cinematography. Great moving performances by everyone involved in this production - especially from Edward Fox (a long time favourite actor of mine) who plays the slick, opportunistic Mr. Harthouse, a symbol of the times. Rosalie Crutchley turns in another stellar performance. It is a shame that neither the book nor this production have received the attention so richly deserved.