Rating: 
Summary: Henry Fielding's immortality
Review: "It is a pity he was not immortal, he was so formed for happiness." -- Mary Wortley Montagu on the death of her cousin, Henry Fielding. This dramatization of this most wonderful book is nearly perfect. I say nearly perfect because that are one or two little problems with the sound (no, Honour doesn't mean she wouldn't say a word if Sophia were to go to bed with Mr. BLIFIL instead of Mr. Jones, nor does Miss Western mean to say, "Brother, if you would only leave your NIECE to my care...") but never mind that. It doesn't matter because the director, Metin Huseyin, has his fingers on the pulse of 18th century England. It's not a "bawdy romp." It was really like this. Straight, nonintoxicated Englishmen hugged and kissed each other in public (a show of feeling was considered a mark of a gentleman). People talked more openly about sex than they did for another 175 years, the fact that women liked it too, and the fact that sex is, every once in a while, a motive for human behaviour. Women talked back and demanded respect. Hypocrisy was everywhere (and just like now, you could sometimes say so). About 140 crimes carried the death sentence. Money and property sometimes mattered more than people. Young people sometimes had to marry the person they were told to marry whether they hated them or not, and being kind, generous and amiable could get you in worse trouble than being greedy, grabby and nasty. Fielding wrote it all down and Huseyin delivers it wonderfully well here. Tony Richardson's Tom Jones was splendid, to be sure, and is full of brilliant acting, but in many ways it was, to quote a friend of mine, rather like, "Austen Powers does the 18th Century." This is Tom Jones as Fielding conceived him. A pretty, sweet fellow, probably based on Fielding's youthful self, who makes a few very human mistakes and, with the help of his enemies, nearly gets himself hanged. The casting in this production is marvellous and the director has, probably through his obvious great love for this story, allowed each actor to be infused with a faithful sense of character. Fantastic as Joyce Grenfell was, to the heavily Freudianized audiences of 1964, a character like Lady Bellaston could only be portrayed as a clinging nyphomaniac. Lindsay Duncan, on the other hand, is perfect as the mature, sexy, selfish, independently wealthy female who does exactly as she likes, a type of woman not unknown today and not unknown in the 18th century, either. (It was the Victorians and people in the first three quarters of the 20th century who claimed women like this were aberrations.) Peter Capaldi is great as the horribly funny Lord Fellamar. Partridge is rumpled, wronged and tender-hearted. The household parasites ARE odious, Brian Blessed IS Squire Western (complete with dog slobber and misguided parenting), Samantha Morton is perfect as Sophia, who in turn was based on Fielding's beloved wife, Charlotte; lovely, hot-tempered, brave and honest. As is true of all the casting, her long-suffering, imperfect maid and friend, Honour, is great. The child actors well match their grownup counterparts. Beesley is a good Tom and also has a nice bottom. John Sessions, who plays Fielding himself, our wry narrator, is a delight. This production is much closer to the original, including the dialogue, already in place by Fielding, who wrote dialogue for his novels like the dramatist that he was; so in a way it was already a screenplay. Some of the longer narrative passages had to be pared out, of course, but why both directors (Richardson and Huseyin) leave out the fact that Squire Allworthy sends his precious but disgraced Tom off, well provided for, with 500 pounds in his pocket, I don't know, but I'm sure they had their reasons. The sets may not be brilliant, but the costumes, make-up, acting and directing are. This is a wonderful production in the old BBC tradition. Get it and love it, because they aren't making them anymore. And if you think we won't suffer for this loss, then listen (as if you could avoid it) to the deafening whine that passes for so much of modern dramatic art. We need Henry Fielding as much now as they did then.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!!!!!!!!!
Review: A&E is excellent when it comes to making mini-series, and Tom Jones is a prime example. The characters were very well cast and the screenplay was very well written. It was a joy to watch. I enjoyed every minute. Max Beesley was amazing as Tom and Samantha Morton did a wonderful job of portraying Sophie. There is nothing more to say other than, it was one of A&E's finest.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!!!!!!!!!
Review: A&E is excellent when it comes to making mini-series, and Tom Jones is a prime example. The characters were very well cast and the screenplay was very well written. It was a joy to watch. I enjoyed every minute. Max Beesley was amazing as Tom and Samantha Morton did a wonderful job of portraying Sophie. There is nothing more to say other than, it was one of A&E's finest.
Rating: 
Summary: a morally deprived movie
Review: After watching other A&E movies and being very impressed, I was severely disappointed to find that Tom Jones, while having good movie quality, is very repulsive to people of high moral standards. Do not be deceived by the other reviews--they were more than likely written by those who care nothing for modesty and decency of living. The whole movie revolves around the characters having sex with other characters and it does not merely suggest such actions, it shows as much as possible with out being X rated. Nudity and sexual acts fill this film to make the whole story line sickening. Shame on you A&E!!
Rating:
Summary: Romance, comedy and suspense!
Review: Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones" is a great mini-series with beautiful costumes, romance, comedy and a whole lot of good acting! Although I have to confess to have been shocked by the moral of this piece and admit that it is nothing like A&E's "Pride and Prejudice"; the two mini-series are of two different leagues altogether. (Those who enjoy A&E's P&P may have to think twice.) However, if you like period pieces and are in for a good bawdy fun, you'll very much enjoy "Tom Jones".
Rating:
Summary: Romance, comedy and suspense!
Review: Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones" is a great mini-series with beautiful costumes, romance, comedy and a whole lot of good acting! Although I have to confess to have been shocked by the moral of this piece and admit that it is nothing like A&E's "Pride and Prejudice"; the two mini-series are of two different leagues altogether. (Those who enjoy A&E's P&P may have to think twice.) However, if you like period pieces and are in for a good bawdy fun, you'll very much enjoy "Tom Jones".
Rating:
Summary: Outrageous!
Review: Here's a story filled with dastardly plotting and prevarication, true love and tawdry sex, wild drunkenness, chases, disguises, near-misses, and utterly improbable (but hilarious) meetings. Wonderful acting by British stage and film stars--fans of BBC literary adaptations will recognize many favorites--bring this wild, picaresque tale to life with charm and boundless verve. Perhaps best of all is the screenplay, which manages to make sense of everything in Fielding's convoluted tale while also making the most of 18th-century English, when the language was at its graceful, urbane peak. Just try to watch this one with a straight face!
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for my favorite movie, I love it!
Review: I can easily recommend this video to anyone because it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Even if you haven't read the book or didn't catch it on A&E, it is definitely worth your while because you won't be sorry. The entire movie is beautifuly done and stays to the original story line. It is very humorous and the shocking end adds even more to Fielding's masterpiece. (This review refers to the A&E version of Tom Jones with Max Beesley and Samantha Morton)
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for my favorite movie, I love it!
Review: I can easily recommend this video to anyone because it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Even if you haven't read the book or didn't catch it on A&E, it is definitely worth your while because you won't be sorry. The entire movie is beautifuly done and stays to the original story line. It is very humorous and the shocking end adds even more to Fielding's masterpiece. (This review refers to the A&E version of Tom Jones with Max Beesley and Samantha Morton)
Rating:
Summary: An incredible series
Review: I extremely enjoyed this TV series when it first aired on the BBC many years ago. Althought it might have been 4 years ago I still hold fresh memories of it. The story, actors, costume and it's fine detail to it's time was right on. I highly recommend this series to anyone, unless you're one of the black sheeps who reviewed this with a 1 star. That's just an insult to all the hard work they put into this series. Compared to others they actually did their homework and from the other reviews and from my own opinion I really enjoyed this, which is why I'm purchasing the cheaper English version. Nicely put together on 2 tapes.
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