The Woman in White

Why, oh why, has the BBC not released this version on DVD? Judging by reviews I have seen of other versions of the Wilkie Collins classic, they are pretty poor.

This version provided unmissable viewing on Wednesday evenings back in 1982, with Alan Badel as the ominous Fosco, plus the delectable Jenny Seagrove, and a frightening woman with a hairy upper lip.

This version was also memorable for the innovative camera work and visual effects -- all non-computerised.

I hope this version has not been subject to the same BBC videotape re-use programme that has lost other classics for good, such as Michael Wood's IN SEARCH OF THE DARK AGES.

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.

This version of The Woman In White is so good. I wish it was available on DVD. The casting is great, the pacing exciting, the mystery will truly hold your interest. If you get a chance to see this one take it. The part of Count Fosco is so well cast. He is truly sinister. The two women that are supposed to look alike really do, and the part of the sister is played to perfection. The invalid uncle is played exactly like he is written so obviously a hypochondriac who only cares about himself. The other characters are equally well acted.

There is no comparison between this version and the later 1997 version. I watched the 1997 version when it was first broadcast on Master Piece Theater, thinking that it was a repeated showing of this one, but was greatly disappointed when I found that not only was it not the version I loved, but that it was a very poor retelling of the story.

Because I agree with most of the reviewers' comments already submitted, I have very little to say except that Wilkie Collins' book is beautifully constructed, well written and very re- readable. It is a tremendous challenge to adapt to a 3-4 hour format, but Ray Jenkins has met the task with minimal damage to the characterizations and intricate plot lines. Kudos to him, and to the producer & director, as well as actors. And appropriately moody music.

I did find Daniel Gerroll insipid at first as Walter, but he grows on you, and by about the third time I viewed this 1978/82 version (first broadcast in '78, rebroadcast in '82), I began to appreciate his performance very much. Seagrove, the marvelous Anna Wing (Mrs. Clements (and Pauline Jameson (Mrs. Catherick) are also excellent.

Yes, it's available as a Region 2 DVD, and because I bought a Region 2 player for $30, well worth it, to play "The Green Man," which is also on Region 2 only, I can play this one, too, but not all my classic-loving American/Canadian neighbors can, without making the player purchase or complicated adjustments to their Region 1 player.

The UK continues to create superior adaptations of classics, keeping its rich literary traditions alive in so doing, although later remakes of most classics are generally inferior to the ones created in the '70s and '80s, if you're interested in seeing a film remotely in line with what the authors intended..