Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Stella Gonet, Romola Garai, Christopher Plummer, Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson, Jamie Bell, Nathan Lane, Barry Humphries, Edward Fox, Timothy Spall, Gerard Horan, Anne Hathaway, Tom Courtenay, Alan Cumming

Director: Douglas McGrath

Summary: NICHOLAS NICKLEBY tells the tale of a young man's heroic attempt to protect his fatherless family from their abusive and money-obsessed uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer). An all-star cast brings this Dickens' classic of intrigue and revenge to sparkling life. Beautifully produced and wonderfully acted, with particularly brilliant appearances by Alan Cumming, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Barry Humphries (in two roles) and in the starring role QUEER AS FOLK's Charlie Hunnam.

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This Nicholas Nicklebyis not one of Hollywood's condensed versions, it's the Royal Shakespeare Company's epic eight-and-a-half-hour adaptation of the life and times of the eponymous school-teacher. The 1982 production (originally staged in two parts) won worldwide acclaim and was such a success that Britain's then-newest TV station, Channel 4, launched a joint venture with independent production company Primetime to bring Nicholas Nicklebyto a television audience. The result is this wonderfully theatrical version, filmed at the Old Vic and starring much of the original stage cast. It manages to stay true to Trevor Nunn's original artistic vision of Dickens's damning incitement of England's educational system.

The ensemble cast are superb: Roger Rees as Nicholas is a bright-eyed idealist, every inch the young romantic hero whose principles are often his downfall, but ultimately his salvation; Fulton Mackay's twisted, embittered Squeers is every inch the Dickensian villain; and David Threlfall is transformed as Smike, Squeers' piteously subjugated, crippled servant and gives the most moving performances of his career.

This enthralling TV adaptation recreates the magic of the stage version for all those who were unable to catch it on its pitifully short run. It doesn't pull any punches as the humour and inspiring storyline are tempered with real dark and tragic episodes. Forget the Hollywood fluff, this is the version you should watch if you want a faithful retelling of Dickens's story. --Kristen Bowditch

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	2002
Release Date:	February 6, 2006
Runtime:	129 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	24714 D V D
Keywords:	Classic, Book, Comedy, General, Nicholas, Nickleby, Charles, Drama, Based, Dickens'
Genre:	Drama