A Velha Loja de Curiosidades

Peter Ustinov is badly miscast as the grandfather - he seems neither frail nor senile, so his gambling, which is given a lot of attention in the film, makes a villain of him. Sally Walsh as Nell is spiritless. The film is carried by Tom Courtenay's excellent performance as Quilp - but again the casting is off, because Quilp should be dwarfish and ugly, with his misanthropy stemming from being constantly reminded of that. (And in the novel the diminutive Marchioness is clearly his child with Sally Brass - Dickens often left the adult reader to work things like that out from hints.)

The treatment is kitschy. For instance, the grandfather and Nell don't undergo any deterioration in their appearance as they struggle to live on the road - their clothes remain clean and intact. Ustinov of course looks well fed.

As other reviewers have noted, the whole subplot with the Marchioness has been dropped, depriving Swiveller of his character development.

This compares very poorly with the 1934 black and white film.

Everything about this Movie version is superb! Actors, Scenics, Dialogue, Costumes and sets is is of top quality. While all the characters are excellent, Tom Courtenay's Quilp is the show stopper! This has got to be the very pinnacle of Dickens Film productions.

An owner of a curiosity shop loses it by gambling away money borrowed from an evil being, Daniel Quilp. The Made for T. V. movie starts up after this fact at the time Quilp (knowing the owner is old and senile can be put into an asylum) is hunting the grandfather for the fun of torturing him and giving false hope of riches to his acquaintances.

You cannot properly distill a serial that was made into a book and now into a quick 135-minute movie (screenplay by John Goldsmith.) So, I cannot blame them completely for cutting out the purpose of the story, but they did not have to make it all sugary and sweet. John Goldsmith

A few new things have been added or corrupted to be sure that it plays well on the screen. However, doing so has distracted again from the essence of the original story that has kept people spellbound through the years. The original was more of a serial and the Harry Potter of its time.

While Peter Ustinov made a good stab at the original grandfather, most of the other actors were a pale reflection of the originals in the book.

Well, Jonathan Coy as Rev. Pratchett makes a good speech about "Don't you see, there is nothing innocent or good that dies and is forgotten. We must hold to that faith or none'" It is close to the book where on that occasion the schoolmaster persuades her that "There is nothing, no, nothing innocent or good, that dies, and is forgotten;" its "blessed work" persists.

I wonder what is missing from this presentation as there is a version 3 hr. 4 min (184 min) (2 parts). A little further investigation leads me to believe the DVD is only the second half of the movie. And if you have not read the book, you can get lost.

The case says Eco Bridge home entertainment (2013) 188 minutes.

It lies.

The Aspect Ratio 1.33: 1 Filming location Ardmore Studios Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland 1994.

This is one of the most charming and family-friendly Dickens adaptations I have ever seen, and I have seen almost all of them over many years of effort. The only other Dickens which have this family movie type atmosphere are versions of Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol, most of his others don't get such a treatment. But I think Old Curiosity Shop works so well in a family oriented version. It has the lovely young girl (Nell) and her grandfather for young people to get behind, and an abject and characitaured villain in Quilp who everyone loves to see the downfall of. In reality though the novel ends quite tragically, showing the audience the harsh realities of the times in which the story is set. This version does partially romanticise the ending and cuts a little out. This is fine for what else it has achieved.

As a big Dickens-fan I find "The Old Curiosity Shop" one of his best novels: a road-movie-like coming-of-age story that gives us some of the finest (and most hilarious) of Dickens-characters, like the notorious Quilp, his mother-in-law, Dick Swiveller and the Brass-siblings, and a beautiful description of the English countryside. Although there is a fair amount of (melo)drama involved, Dickens succeeds in keeping a light tone and an fine calculated balance between the laughs, the tears and the fast-paced intrigue. I was glad to find that this adaptation is very true to the book, almost all the characters have kept there place and there own special charms, and the tone of the movie has exactly the right balance of lightness and seriousness.

The acting is overall great and by some of the cast superb. Peter Ustinov is very convincing as the grandfather who is full of love for Nell as well as full of sinister secrets and he plays his role with a kind of modest dignity. Sally Walsh is excellent too, of course she had the burden of a Dickens-heroine and has to be throughout the whole of the movie this endearing spotless angel. This can easily result in an irritating goody-two-shoes, but Sally Walsh succeeds in keeping up a strong and sympathetic character with just the right mixture of half-child, half grown-up person. To me the undisputed star of this version is Tom Courtenay as the infamous Quilp: the sinister face, the spasmodic movements, the lisped voice and the sardonic humor are brought with just the right amount of restraint to make him totally believable. A special mention should go to William Mannering, the young actor who plays Kit. He didn't have much screen-experience at that time, judging from the information on IMDb, but he gave a great performance an moved me to tears at the dramatic ending.

The direction by Kevin Connor was very good, as were the beautiful photography and settings. An absolute 10!!