The Woman in White

For years I have been longing to get hold of a video or DVD of this, and I share the disappointment that the BBC haven't re-released it. I agree that Alan Badel as Count Fosco was brilliant, but I also remember feeling with Walter Hartright in his astonishment at the beauty of Laura the first time he saw her, while Marian was superb as well. The casting was just right. I bought the book after watching the first episode and read it along with the series, totally absorbed by both book and TV version.

Please, please, please, BBC - let us see it again! It is one of the best things you have done that you haven't made available for watching again.

As an adaptation The Woman in White(1982) is very faithful to the book(which is a masterpiece)- not that that is essential when it comes to adapting source material- without too faithful or bogged down, it is also the only adaptation of the book that does that. As a dramatisation it is outstanding and one of the better period dramatisations of the 80s, with the slightly rushed final episode being its own detriment and even that is not enough to mar everything else that is so brilliant here. The script is thoughtful and tightly compressed, often sounding like the writing being lifted out straight from the pages of the book, it develops the characters very well too, Count Fosco is every bit the immoral man as he should be(while appearing to others as the opposite). The story takes its time to develop, but considering as it's a lengthy book and how far from easy to adapt it is that is beneficial. It is a good length, with all the themes and most situations intact and with all the emotional resonance, and is not too tedious at all despite the deliberate pacing. Visually it is an evocative adaptation with everything looking beautiful and in a way that you feel that you have been transported back in time to the time and place, a great atmosphere and fluid photography. It has been criticised on Amazon for being dated and poorly lit, that was not the case with me who thinks that it has held up well. The music is appropriate and lovely to hear, though sometimes the sound is on the hollow side. The direction makes the drama compelling and is sympathetic to the emotions that fill each scene. The acting is superb, especially from a strong-willed Diana Quick, Alan Badel's creepy and sinister(without forgetting the subtlety) Count Fosco and Ian Richardson's memorably languid and authoritative Mr Fairlie, every bit a nervous wreck. Jenny Seagrove is simply enchanting, Georgine Anderson has the right degree of iciness as Madame Fosco and Daniel Geroll is good too. Overall, outstanding and the best version of the book by some considerable margin. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Its 28 years since I watched this excellent BBC serialisation, and its memory is still fresh in my mind, from Alan Badel's wonderfully sinister Count Fosco, Georgine Anderson's icy Madame Fosco to Ian Richardson as the languid valetudinarian Mr Fairlie.. and all the other excellent characterisations from the rest of the cast. My first reaction on viewing it was to regret not possessing a video recorder, my second was to purchase the book, which I still re-read with pleasure. Please, please BBC release this on DVD or, failing that, has anyone a VHS copy made at the time of screening? This otherwise rather stingy Scotsman (!) would happily part with his money to obtain a copy...that's how good I think it is.

PS Today, July 5, I have just discovered that a DVD of this series is now available on Amazon..I've already ordered my copy!!

I remember watching this series twice and being utterly entranced each time that I saw it.

The series was beautifully made with great acting and a real feeling of pace and suspense. The version made in the 90s falls far short of it. The character of Fosco was just wrong and the book was left way behind in favour of a sexed-up script. The 1982 version is much more accurate and feels less modern. It stays very close to the original story. I just wish the BBC would release this on DVD - or at least show it again and give people a chance to record it.

I recommend this version! If it ever makes it onto video tape or DVD get yourself a copy you will not be disappointed! 10/10.

Let me endorse the other positive reviews of this program. The telling of the story is genuinely suspenseful, and just when other dramas of this ilk typically start to loose vigour or founder on their accumulated implausibilities, 'The Woman in White' steps up to a higher tempo and becomes even more intriguing. The cast are outstanding, all the way down, and the production values excellent. The only drawback is that the images in this DVD, of a program first aired in 1982, appear a bit soft and the colours a little muddy. During the first few minutes, I feared this would detract from my enjoyment, but I found the acting so strong and the story so well told that the technical shortcoming paled into insignificance. The series will repay repeated viewings because the plot is intricate, and you may not get all the connections on the first run through.