Rating: 
Summary: Great Video but not like a live production.
Review: I saw this live 4 times. Twice in LA and Twice in NY. Without question one of the great theatrical experiences of a life time! Better than " The Mahabarata". I love epic theatre. The video which I hunted for for years before Amazon came along, is an excellent adaption but sooooo much is lost begining with the cast audience interaction before the play begins and the interaction with the audience with the Muffin sellers. These two "little " actions suck you into the action so fast that you are suddenly a part of the action on stage. My father who is not a " theatre person", sat through the entire 8+ hours and could not stop talking about it when it was over. My only real complaint about the video is that at the begining of each video they run through the same opening. It would have felt better to just jump into where you left off on the last tape.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely the Best!!
Review: I saw this production in the 80's and tried to special order it at the video store, only to be told they couldn't find it. I'm so glad I found it here at Amazon! This play grabs you from the start and holds your attention throughout, even if you're not a Dickens fan (I wasn't at the time). I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly one of the greatest plays ever written
Review: I thought that I was going to have to wait until Christmas to view the very expensive DVD Set which I hear is somewhat shorter than the VHS Set (and that's a bad thing). Then I found this movie in the library along with other A&E Programs. Needless to say, A&E brings out some of the best TV movies even if they didn't make them. All of the actors were amazing. Roger Rees was simply amazing as Nicholas and very pleasant to look at compared to Smike. I was a little repulsed by his appearance at first. I wanted to watch this video particularly because Alun Armstrong was in it. I wanted to hear him in a none singing role. He was the original Thenardier in Les Miserables (produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company). When I first heard his last lines in the first video, I was moved. I thought of showing the show to my mom since my dad doesn't have any patience but sadly that wasn't to be. We only got past the first video when Mom told me that she couldn't understand what they were saying. Naturally, because it was filmed in 1981 and everyone was British. I was shocked by the fact that no one laughed at the funny parts. The Crummles provided a lot of laughter. I noticed a lot of things that reminded me of Les Miserables: The Musical. For one thing, both shows had a unit set, the same director, were both hits, had songs in them, and were both award winners. I had to give this video four stars because the sound was a bit too clear. You could hear the footsteps and you could hear the units being moved off Watch this play anyway. When you're done with it, buy the script at the Dramatist's Play Service Website. It's two volumes long. You might want to buy the television cast recording. If you have to, buy the video set as well.
Rating:
Summary: One of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE productions!!
Review: I was lucky enough to see this on PBS in the 80's and desperate to find it on video afterwards. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but I cried when I finally DID locate this set. Even if you aren't a fan of Dickens -- this production will enchant you....... Well worth EVERY penny!! Buy it! Buy it!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Edited, inept DVD of a masterwork.
Review: I'm not hard to please when it comes to DVD's. All I really expect is the complete film, in its proper format, with decent audio/video quality. I love the extras when they're there, but I don't feel that I'm owed them; just the film, that's really all I ask. It is with considerable anger that I report that this pricey, elaborate DVD set of the finest Dickens dramatization ever done fails utterly to provide even that.Several earlier reviewers have gone into considerable detail about the mess that A&E Video has released in place of a decent version of this epic production, and there's no point in my repeating what they've written. I direct you to their reviews for the specifics. Let me emphasize three things;1: The program is edited, cut, shortened from its original form, and to have released it on DVD like this is a disgrace. The cuts are (relatively) minor, but the length and complexity is much of the point of this long production, and it ought to be complete, not whittled down like a TV episode. 2:The hacking of the original four parts into an arbitrary, artificial nine(!) parts completely demolishes the momentum and flow of an extremely plot-intensive story.3: It seems to have been released in this fashion out of sheer sloppiness; even cheap exploitation B-movies get more respect and attention from the studios that release them than A&E has shown this classic. As it so happens, I own the original VHS four-tape set that CBS Home Video released back in the mid-1980's; the video quality is pretty bad, the color washed out and the audio mediocre, and it's still preferable to this botch. NICHOLAS NICKELBY was one of the most anticipated DVD releases on my list. Disappointment doesn't begin to convey my feeling about the debased version that's actually been released. For crying out loud A&E, stop production on this set and DO IT RIGHT!
Rating:
Summary: The Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby-VHS
Review: I'm not sure how good the production was because the audio was so terrible on 5 of the 9 VHS versions( a loud hum through the whole episode) I couldn't understand it. I am in the process of returning the set.
Rating:
Summary: The Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby-VHS
Review: I'm not sure how good the production was because the audio was so terrible on 5 of the 9 VHS versions( a loud hum through the whole episode) I couldn't understand it. I am in the process of returning the set.
Rating:
Summary: Loved It
Review: I've seen Roger Rees in a number of other TV shows and movies, and he's always cast as the bad guy. I'll always remember him in this role. This story has everything: rags to riches, romance, redemption, humor, great villains -- three hankies, at least -- and a mini performance of Romeo and Juliet, revamped for Victorian sensibilities. Beautifully done, deeply memorable, and a lot of fun because of the staging and all of the folks playing multiple parts. In spite of the nine hour length I managed to see this show twice in 1982 when it first aired.
Rating:
Summary: What the Dickens - We have a Show!!!
Review: If you buy no other videotape this century...Buy this one! The Royal Shakespeare Company gives you a theatrical experience like no other. Forget Dickens the Writer, instead simply concentrate on one of his most exciting works in all the colour and sound of total theatre. Actors' bodies become part of the scenery... totally different parts are played by a small troupe of professionals...There is drama...laughter...tears, and a wonderful feelgood factor in this production that will make you play it over and over again . Someone Tell Me - why is it not on DVD? The producers would clean up if it were! Trust me. BUY THIS VIDEO AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest West End shows of the early 1980s
Review: In 1980, 48 members of Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company got together to develop a stage version of Charles Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby". The result was an astounding 8 hours of absolutely riveting, often downright hilarious theater.Patrons were given the option of watching the show either over two nights, or in one day, starting at 1 in the afternoon, with a 2-hour intermission. I was a teenager when I saw this show, and no fan of Charles Dickens, but not once did I find myself noticing the passage of time or looking anywhere but at the stage (and I saw it all in one day). You may think that by buying the DVD, you'll be able to split the show over 4 nights. Maybe you'll even have the willpower to do it. If I were you, though, I'd settle in for the long haul, because you won't want to get up. Even if for some incomprehensible reason you don't want to watch the entire show, there is one segment of the play which alone nearly justifies the price of the DVD. At the end of the first part (i.e., probably around the end of DVD 2), you get to see some of the world's finest Shakespearean actors perform their version of a sappy Victorian production of Romeo and Juliet, complete with a happy ending and a rousing "Patriotic Chorus" (a musical ode to England). Interestingly, the song was also featured on an episode of "West Wing" last year.
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