Château de cartes

This is no doubt one of the best TV drama serials I've ever seen. I got it on DVD and it was so well-done that I saw the first installment (House of Cards) during one night, and the following two installments (To Play the King and The Final Cut) the following two nights. I just could not stop watching it until it was finished. It is very suspenseful, in addition to being intelligent, revealing, and I must say quite cynical. It is based on the book of the same title by Michael Dobbs, who has been a political insider and was at one point Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. He clearly knows the kinds of things that can happen in the highest echelons of power.

If one is to choose the single best thing in the serial, it is no doubt the performance by Ian Richardson. He is a highly capable and versatile actor and this may well be his best performance. It is really priceless to hear him saying "You might very well say that, I couldn't possibly comment" throughout the series. All the other actors are excellent, the screenplay is of the highest quality, and the whole production is exceptional.

One night I happened to be channel surfing looking for the next sci-fi, action, horror thriller when I happened upon PBS's broadcast of the BBC's "House of Cards." I put down the remote for a good 4 hours because what I was experiencing was something truly special. "House of Cards", of course, does not have aliens or chainsaw wielding maniacs. "HOC"'s monster is instead someone frightfully believable. Thanks to Ian Richardson's amazing performance, one can believe such a monster exists and can become PM or President. I won't beat the Shakespeare comparison horse (other users have done so and you can read their comments) but Mrs. Urquhart could easily hold her own in a series focused solely on her. Indeed, all of the characters are well-written and not dumbed-down to the viewer. If only American TV had the guts to produce something like "House of Cards" and let it end instead of dragging it on forever like the American version of "Queer as Folk." That aside, Dobbs and Davis have written a nice tidy political thriller which made me hunt down the DVD years after I saw the TV showing and made me recommend the trilogy to all my friends. I say give "House of Cards" and the sequels a try. Your remote and your intellect will thank you for it.

"The House of Cards", based on a novel by Michael Dobbs, is a television series that is based upon one character's use, abuse and manipulation of the political system to achieve his own political goals.

Ian Richardson's performance as the malevolent Francis Urquaht is outstanding and the standards of acting in this series are upheld by Susannah Harker and Diane Fletcher.

This series of political intrigue and deception is an excellent one and I wouldn't recommend missing an episode.

That is one of the many great quotes from this film. Ian Richardson plays the character of Francis Urquhart for all it's worth, and the rest of the supporting cast is quite stellar. Paul Seed does a competent job of the direction, and has a good talent for photographing faces.

The way the Francis frequently comments (breaking the 3rd wall so to speak) encourages viewer participation, and I found myself agreeing with him, or even yelling at him during the course of the film.

If it ever comes on television, do yourself a favor and watch this one. It is long (clocks in at about 4 hours, 1 hour per episode), but it's certainly worth your while. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next part in the series, "To Play the King", which I've heard is just as good.

I found the series at Best Buy (House of Cards, To Play the King and The Final Cut) all packaged together. I was really excited, because I think this is one of the best to come from the BBC. Ian Richardson was superb. Wicked and cunning. I watched the first installment the other night and was glued to my chair for 4 hours. I highly recommend this series.