Rating: 
Summary: This version is NOT edited.
Review: The statement from a previous reviewer is incorrect. I'd purchased the UK DVD that Contender released after seeing the heavily edited BBC America showing, and I now have the US DVD as well. The UK version is 175 minutes long, though the packaging says that it's 178 minutes. The US version runs a couple of minutes longer, because it also contains two minute-long prologues that show highlights of earlier events before the second and third episode. Other than the presence of these prologues, I can't spot any differences.
Rating: 
Summary: Can Nan the oyster girl find love and happiness in London?
Review: The title of "Tipping the Velvet" is a euphemism, and given that this 2002 BBC production is about lesbians in Victorian England you can connect the dots on that one on your own. The story begins with Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling) wishing that Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes), a male impersonator at the local music hall, would toss her the rose she always gives to one member of the audience at the end of her song. Nan has to keep going back until that finally happens, but that moment is the real start of "Tipping the Velvet." The ending comes when it is Nan who has to decide which lucky lady in the audience gets the rose.
When we first meet her, Nan is an oyster girl, working in her family's oyster bar in a coastal town. Watching Kitty dressed as a man stirs feelings in Nan and the two becomes friends, although it takes a while for those feelings to ignite. First Nan is Kitty's assistant, and when Kitty goes off to London to be a success Nan not only goes along but eventually becomes her partner, both on and off stage. But then Nan has the first of several rude awakenings that turns her story into pretty much the lesbian equivalent of Moll Flanders. If you have been looking for something different, then this three-part series would certainly fit the bill. It is certainly a captivating tale, although sometimes it veers too much towards camp or melodrama. Yet we have an affection for our heroine and certainly want her to find happiness on her own terms.
One advantage of the series is that the three parts constitute such distinct periods in the story of Nan's life. Just as we have the symmetry of receiving and giving of the symbolic rose there is a similar correspondence between the end of the first two parts, as Nan gets to be the person who walks in and then one of the people who is walked in upon. The first part focuses on Kitty and life on the music hall stage. The second has Nan starting off continuing to dress as a boy picking up older men and then becoming the plaything of the rich and decadent Diana Lethaby (Anna Chancellor), who throws revelries for her friends that includes at least one object that stands out as an example of why British television is closer to American cable than American network television. The third part brings Nan to the lower class home of Florence Banner (Jodhi May) and her Socialist brother Ralph (Hugh Bonneville). With the Banners, Nan enjoys a simple life until the prospect of returning to the stage brings up new opportunities and old memories.
It does seem strange that there was such a thriving lesbian community, both among the upper and lower classes of Victorian society, but then "Tipping the Velvet" is about Nan looking for love and trying to survive in the real world, and not about finding acceptance for her Sapphic love life. Indeed, although she expects to be rejected because of her lesbianism, Nan is really attacked only once, although of course this turns out to be by the one person whose love and acceptance she thought she could count on. The three-part series is based on Sarah Waters' novel, adapted by Andrew Davies ("Bridget Jones's Diary"), and directed by Geoffrey Sax, who is a bit too enamored of cutting back and forth between a pair of reaction shots as a different sort of cinematic double-take. Overall the tone tends to be cute, more than bawdy, although there are some unpleasant moments that help define the dark points in Nan's life before the requisite happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutley Superb!!!
Review: The TTV book was so overwhelmingly interesting and the mini series is just the same. You can feel every emotion of all the characters. Absolutley brilliant!!! The best I've ever seen and read.
Rating:
Summary: Fair explicit, well acted, and attractive actress to boot!
Review: This adaption or adaptation of Sarah Walters novel was fairly explicit, for BBC standards, and features two very attractive actresses in Ms. Hawes and Ms. Stirling, who, in particular, was a figure to be pitied at times. Additional features, including filmography for each of the actors were helpful. This was a well acted production, dealing with a fairly "adult", and probably rarely discussed topic of the times. It's not that "lesbianism" didn't go on, as this movie proves, but it was (as it is to this day) not a topic that "polite society", even and especially then, wanted to deal with, as many felt (as an example, the Nan character's sister) disgusted by the fact that two women could have these feelings for (much less explicit relations) with each other. Good movie, attractive actress, and well written.
Rating:
Summary: If you love a Vita+Virginia feeling sexy story, this is it!
Review: This film is fantastic. Such beautiful imagery and seductive, sensual actors really put this film up there with Portrait of a Marriage. Any 1920's lover can see this is destined to be a classic.
I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal
Review: This is probably one of the best lesbian films (series) I've ever seen. It is beautifully filmed and acted. I watch it over and over and each time it only gets better. I highly recommend this film for those looking for great acting, great cinematography, and a compelling story that will have you hooked until the very end.
Rating: 
Summary: Sexually frank but mostly a clumsy, silly mess
Review: Tipping the Velvet tries to be simultaneously low-brow and heartfelt, but fails on both: it's neither deliciously decadent nor truly affecting. The source material is too rich and the talent involved too great for the film to be truly terrible, yet one can't help but be sorely disappointed by Tipping the Velvet's overall lackluster approach to Victorian underworld bawdiness and highbrow BBC melodrama. I think the film erred immediately in the casting of Rachel Stirling as Nan Astley, the heroine. This is a demanding role as Nan is in virtually every scene of the 3-hour miniseries and runs a huge gamut of emotions and identity crises. She must be simultaneously contemptible, lovable, confused, take-charge, fearless, naive, and always grounded in an innate charisma. However, Rachel Stirling is simply not up to the challenge. She distractingly shouts her lines, is tough when she should be vulnerable, vulnerable when she should be tough, and has horribly histrionic mannerisms that attempt to evoke a more masculine personality. In any given scene, she seems completely disengaged from the action around her, so that we're not watching an interaction, but an actress pretending to interact. The moments that feature less of Nan are instantly more engaging, as great actors take charge and create sympathetic portrayals. Keeley Hawes is exceptional as Nan's lover and music hall co-star, Kitty Butler. Her character isn't given as much to do, but she brings an intelligence and angelic allure to the part. Jodhi May is also wonderful as Florence, another lover. Her stern gaze gradually softens to reveal a kindly, generous nature that is at once affecting and sexy. Hugh Bonneville shines as Florence's brother. You may remember him as the nefarious Grandcourt in Daniel Deronda (which May also starred in). Here, in a vastly different role, he emanates a snugglness and warmth that is quite engaging. Tipping the Velvet is perhaps notorious for its frank portrayal of lesbian sexuality. The sex however is too over-the-top to be really sexy. The much-heralded "dildo" scenes (accompanied by symphonic bombast) are obviously, mechanically choreographed, and closeups of the actresses reveal cakes of makeup. Additionally, the constant employment of film school gimmicks like wipe outs, fade outs, and dissolves generate about as much heat as an overproduced MTV music video. That said, there are a few anamolous moments. Keeley Hawes's breathy, matter-of-fact assertion during sex "oh, Nan, please do" contains the kind of natural simple erotic charge that you keep hoping Tipping the Velvet will contain more of. But it won't.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better lesbian-themed films
Review: Tipping the Velvet was amazing in its treatment of sex and gender issues -- these include prostitution, female to male cross dressing, a queer hedonistic elite underworld, lesbian relationships and concomitant family issues. The film also sticks a bit in at the end about the more general politics of the day (probably early 20th century in England). In the third episode, Nan seeks out Florence, a woman she had once had an incipient attraction for, when she's living in dire poverty on the streets, and has nobody else to turn to. Florence's brother is a a socialist, and along with Nan, gives a stirring speech at the end about how capitalism causes great poverty and inequality (it's said the average age of a poor person is 29, while a wealthy person on average lives till 70). As a socialist, a lesbian, and a student of history I found this, as well as the whole movie, very engrossing.
All said, however, it perhaps tries to deal with too many complex issues without really examining them in enough depth. For instance, at one point Nan is walking around in men's clothing, and besides a few odd stares, we don't really grasp what a transgendered person must have had to deal with during that time period. At one point, Nan and her girlfriend are running away from bigoted men, but phew, they so strangely and easily escape a good beating (and perhaps raping). Life for somebody like Nan, and other queer people during the period must have been a lot more gruesome than depicted in the film.
Still, despite a lack of complexity, I found this to be one of the best queer-themed films out there. If people are looking for better films on issues such as being transgendered and lesbianism, I'd recommend 'My Life in Pink,' a French film about a young boy who's certain that he's a she, and 'Fire,' an Indian lesbian relationship film banned in India because it talks about homosexuality.
Rating:
Summary: Just get it!
Review: Very seldom do I find a book that is translated well into a movie. However, I will admit "Tipping the Velvet" was done extremely well. I couldn't put the book down when I started it and found the same intrigue with the dvd. Just enough sensuality without explotation and a story line that was interesting and the characters believeable.
Rating:
Summary: BBC and Victorian England at Their Best!
Review: We all know that a great book hardly ever translates well onto screen because no amount of screen time can compete with the magical words of a talented author and the wonders of your own imagination. And having yet to read the book, I was cautious about watching the mini-series first. Book or DVD first? I couldn't stand the suspense so the DVD won out. Right off the bat, and not a moment too soon, I was sucked into the fantabulous life and loves of Nan Astley (Rachel Stirling, daughter of 1960's 'Avengers' series star, Dianna Rigg). This marvelous tale begins on the calm shores of 1890's Victorian England and quickly moves to the theater-world of London. What is revealed, however, is bound to surprise you because no one's quite painted THIS picture of Victorian England--until now! The series is filled with unforgettable characters, unbelievably touching moments (which you'll watch over & over), sumptuous costumes, beautiful leads, great humor, terrific drama, and not a moment of boredom. And A+ on many levels for BBC, including their unabashed support of the subject matter. This is a single-DVD product with the following bonus features: 3 complete episodes (178 minutes, as originally aired on BBC-UK, different from the 'edited' version shown on BBC-America); an interview with author Sarah Waters & screenwriter Andrew Davies (of 'Bridget Jones' Diary'); a slide-show photo gallery; and, a cast list of selected works. Though lengthy for a BBC production and not long enough to satiate the most greedy of us, you'll no doubt watch the nearly 3-hours mini-series in one sitting. Word to the wise: don't pop this in on a week night or you'll face a very tired morning-after at work! It gets 5-stars for its subject matter, acting, costumes, script, music, and it's replay value. Buy this and enjoy. I'm off to finally read the book! **UPDATE!** February 17, 2004---I JUST finished reading the entire book last night and wanted to add info in comparing the book and this mini-series. One word: Bravo! While there certainly are differences in translation from book to screen, with some artistic license taken by Andrew Davies (screenwriter) to bring the movie full-circle towards the end, you will finish off the book with a little regret that it's all over, but gladly revisit it on-screen because the two mediums are happily alike! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read the book and watch the DVD! I cannot imagine that anyone pleased with the book will be unhappy with this mini-series, because the script stays true to nearly 95% of the entire text. How can you fault that? If you are disappointed with the movie after having read the book, however...then there is no way to completely please a person so demanding! In fact, some of the scenes in the book and movie (such as the dialogue) are so similar that you'll find your eyes racing across the pages of the book, knowing what you'll be reading next--and not being able to read fast enough to get there! What a wonderful combo the book and the movie make. Definitely, HIGHLY recommend this mini-series!! But DO read the book; it's a real pleasure to spend hours on end reading about Nan, Kitty, Diana, and the lot. You will NOT be disappointed with any of it--not one bit!
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