La Noble maison

As I said in the beginning, I think this mini-series is actually quite okay. But pitched against the novel, it doesn't stand a chance since I think the book was Clavell's greatest and I really loved it. But how could a TV-mini-series ever compete with a book that is so complex and has so many important story lines?

The producers decided to half-sacrifice the espionage plot, but I thought that's acceptable. The only thing I didn't like was the fact Casey doesn't seem to be in love with Linc (she seems rather concerned about his friendship and the business matters) but goes for Ian instead. This is a huge deviation from the book since that complicated love story between Casey and Linc is just brilliant and explains their characters. Also Ian is being made a widower in order to accommodate Casey without adultery. And why's Peter Marlowe out?

Put that aside, you have a really entertaining TV-Mini-Series that's able to go almost the same pace as the book, and actually captures quite well the basic essence of the novel. Shouldn't probably be too surprised at the good outcome since Clavell himself worked closely on the series. I rated it 8 / 10 and think that it's impossible to do any better with a novel like this.

The novel of Noble House is one of the most detailed and riveting books you could ever want to read......which is a problem when you want to distill a 1000+ page novel into a movie or mini-series. These guys pulled it off though, using a very truncated version of the story.......and while this was made before War and Remembrance killed off the epic network mini-series, it was probably too expensive to make it much longer.

The cast is letter perfect though, especially if you're a fan of the books. Once you see them on screen you can't imagine anyone else in these roles, even if you re-read the books after viewing the series. Pierce Brosnan, by and large one of the few recognizable names to most American viewers, just inhales Ian Dunross, and John Rhys-Davies (who is now much more famous than he was then) is one of the great villains of all time as Quillan Gornt. Deborah Raffin and Ben Masters, who play the Americans Casey Tcholak and Linc Bartlett, are names I wasn't familiar with, but they give such true performances that I'm disappointed that they didn't get more of a bounce off of this. The other supporting parts were done very well, and added to the atmosphere.

The only thing that I don't like about the mini-series is that its not out on DVD yet, even with Pierce being so much more famous now than then. It'll come though, and I'll be first in line when it does.

Oh yeah, it's worth noting that in a way the mini-series on network TV has come back, they just call them regular series such as 24 and Lost.

They say you've never been to Hong Kong if you haven't read James Clavell's classic page turner Noble House, and this reviewer tends to agree.

Often derided for its bombastic plot and over the topness, Noble House remains none the less a gripping read and true statement of love for the city and culture comprising Hong Kong, even though ask most locals and they won't know what you're talking about. Indeed, Noble House is more for those transplanting to the city, but not for those reading from afar – most of the nuances and cool factor are lost on people who don't actually live there.

Now, Noble House was made into a TV mini series twenty years ago, and that one has recently appeared on DVD, and at long last, we say. The short and quick of it is that if you have any feelings about Hong Kong and any degree of familiarity with the place, you'll enjoy this version. However, if you've never been and don't really care, it'll probably be wasted on you.

Clavell's work, which includes likewise grandiose Shogun and Tai Pan (all occur in the same universe), is always a joy to behold, whether in writing or on the screen, and Noble House is no exception. The main draw here is the sheer addictive nature of the man's writing – it's like Dynasty or Dallas only with a good dollop of mostly credible history thrown in. Well, at least credible in the sense that it fits in very well with the multitude of characters and story arcs.

This was more of a mean feat, of course, in the huge novel – Noble House came in at over 1000 pages and was action packed to the hilt. In that respect, the Gary Nelson-led TV production deserves respect, since they succeeded in cramming most of that into just six hours.

They also did something interesting with the setting. While Clavell's original story was set in early 60's HK, the show takes place in the late 80's, and does a good job with the update. Characters frequently refer to the looming 1997 handover, ponder its consequences and make predictions. A complete subplot involving Soviet spies was taken out, I guess because they decided it was no longer relevant – although disappointing from a cold war nostalgia standpoint, it was a clever choice.

But above all else, anyone who's read the book will be impressed at how the locales look like what you imagined before – no doubt helped by the fact that they shot almost everything on the ground in HK. And the effects are pretty impressive, this must have been a big deal on TV back then, but honestly I can't remember! Just behold the floating restaurant scene – very well done! What's the story about? Got a few hours? Well, you get Pierce Brosnan back in his Remington Steel days as tai pan Ian Dunross of House Struan, or the titular Noble House (Jardines in real life). He's struggling to keep the company ahead of the ravenous HK pack against the usual backdrop of intrigue, conniving and greed. Besetting him is rival Quinlan Gornt (John Rhys-Davies) of Rothwell-Gornt (aka Swire), who's trying to depose the Noble House and take over. This character is infinitely nastier on TV than he was in the book, one alteration we don't really understand. Two Americans also enter the fray, upstart tycoon Linc Bartlett (Ben Masters) and his VP Casey Tcholok (Deborah Raffin). Both are in town scouting for opportunity, but there's a lot more than meets the eye.

A whole range of supporting characters are on hand, including police, triads, bankers and a couple of lovelies like a very young Tia Carrere and Suzie Wong - OK, Nancy Kwan. Most do an adequate job, but Pierce Brosnan is just too stiff and appears lacking in range. Additionally, for something so obviously set in Hong Kong, the production has a surprisingly small number of local talent on show – actually, I'd say none. Maybe they were trying to send a message? They also toned down the very prominent theme of racism that was readily found in the novel, likely to appease primetime TV censors. There's almost no swearing, several characters from the book didn't make it or were drastically altered, and the backstory was indeed trimmed down.

But if you've read the novel, you must watch this and I guarantee you'll at least like it. It's one of those enjoyable romps you won't easily put down, and being familiar makes it even easier since it doesn't feel as goofy. Plus, anyone living in HK owes it to themselves to indulge in Noble House – Nelson and crew did good capturing both the feel of the place and the mood of the period. This really does feel and act like what I imagine Hong Kong to have been like in the 80's.

Don't listen to the doubter and haters – Clavell, who personally supervised the production's screen writing, was a scribbling machine and did the writing profession proud, outrageously cheesy names or not. It's too bad he passed away young – I'm sure today's Hong Kong would have provided him with ample inspiration.

If you can forgive the occasional soap opera super-tack assault and the awkward soundtrack, Noble House is a pretty enjoyable marathon, the main drawbacks being the DVD edition's mediocre appearance and dearth of special features.

I still remember looking forward anxiously to seeing this miniseries when it first aired -- I had considered "Noble House" James Clavell's masterpiece, even greater than "Shogun." I had come away from reading the book with the sense of knowing the characters as if they were real people, and missing them when the book was finished.

In some cases, the characterizations in the miniseries hit the mark. Pierce Brosnan does an excellent job as the supremely self-confident Ian Dunross, John Rhys-Davies gives a truly inspired performance of charming villainy as Quillan Gornt, Burt Kwouk is very convincing as the compradore of the Noble House, and Gordon Jackson did a fine turn as the committed, conflicted Superintendent Armstrong. I also thought Julia Nickson Soul really heated up the screen; she was much better than a young Tia Carrere (in her pre-"Wayne's World" days).

Unfortunately, I thought the American performances were weak. Deborah Raffin was OK as K.C. Tcholok, but I would have preferred it if they had stuck to the story and not had her wind up romantically involved with Ian Dunross. The weakest in my opinion, though, was Ben Masters as Linc Bartlett. While Mr. Masters may be a good actor, I didn't think he carried this role off very well. In the book, Bartlett is a cool, calculating, and yet personable man who comes across as opportunistic but respectful of Hong Kong business and cultural traditions. Clavell wrote him as a friendly, likable man who moves easily into the circles of power in the Colony but who is an unknown, unpredictable quantity to all of the vying factions. I thought that Mr. Masters overplayed the part as too cocky, too brash, and too shallow to be a likable or sympathetic figure. In the novel, I thought Bartlett was an intriguing character on a par with Dunross. In the miniseries, I generally thought he was just a jerk.

That aside, while the miniseries has to trim a lot of the interesting sub-plots in the interest of time, it does a good job of remaining true to the spirit of Clavell's novel. I'd agree with the observation that you should watch the miniseries, then read the novel to see what the story was REALLY about.

Produced and aired at the end of the 1980s, Noble House would be one of the last in a line of lengthy and epic miniseries. Based on James Clavell's thousand plus page novel (and move forward two decades in time to the then present day), Noble House features a wealth of location filming, dozens of characters and multiple plot lines across four parts and more than six hours of screen time. So how does it hold up a quarter of a century later?

The performances hold up well. Pierce Brosnan is fascinating as Ian Dunross, Tai-Pan of the Hong Kong company Struan's, the Noble House of the title. Brosnan is convincing as the man in charge of a 150 year old company who struggles to deal not just with the crises of today but with the weight of legacy of the Noble House upon his shoulders as well. While Dunross is not above perhaps less than savory at times, Brosnan nevertheless makes clear that is a likable man with a strong sense of honor and duty no matter the cost. It is Brosnan as Dunross that ultimately ties in the various diverse plots together and, if his performance was anything less than what it is, I'm not sure Noble House would work as well as it does.

Moving on from Brosnan, there's a strong cast behind him. There's John Rhys-Davies as Quillan Gornt, the head of Struan's biggest rival and a man who seems to live for nothing but bringing it down. There's Deborah Raffin and Ben Masters as the heads of the American company Par-Con whose motives and actions are questionable throughout the entire miniseries. From there the cast of characters ranges from police Superintendent Robert Armstrong (Gordon Jackson) to Struan employees such as John Van Dreelen as Jacques DeVille, Michael Siberry as Linbar Struan and fellow Hong Kong businessmen such as Damien Thomas as Lando Mata. Rounding off the cast in two cameo roles are Denholm Elliott as outgoing Tai-Pan Alastair Struan in the first part and John Houseman as Hong Kong governor Sir Geoffrey Allison in the last part.

Where the cast, and indeed both the writing and the miniseries as a whole, runs into trouble is with its native characters. The writing (and as a result the performances) mean that they are often walking and talking clichés, especially Khigh Dhiegh as Four Finger Wu and Tia Carrere as Venus Poon as well as the less savory characters who figure in its first half. Even characters such as Burt Kwouk's Phillip Chen, the compradore of Struan's, fall into moments of cringe worthy dialogue that undermine them considerably. Somehow it seems a shame that the script couldn't treat these characters with the same respect, though how much of that is down to the original source material I'm not sure.

Despite that problem, Noble House otherwise makes excellent use of Hong Kong itself throughout. In fact the city and its surrounding areas (including Macao) are as much as a player in events as Brosnan's Dunross or anyone else. The large amount of location filming gives the various story lines a strong sense of verisimilitude.

The miniseries is also blessed both with a large amount of screen time and a script that makes the most use of it. Based on the massive novel by James Clavell, Noble House makes the most use of its six plus hours and four parts. There's everything from business dealings ranging from a deal between the Noble House and Par-Con to Gornt's trying bankrupt the Noble House, kidnapping, murder, romances, concerns over Hong Kong's return to China (which was still a few years off when the miniseries was made) and international intrigues as well. Behind all that is the characters and how they change and develop (or don't) as they face not just those events but disasters natural and man-made. As a result there's much going on as there are not only multiple plot lines but ones that intersect, often in the most unexpected ways. Whatever else can be said then, this miniseries is definitely not lacking in incident.

Across more than six hours, Noble House lays out a tale filled with business dealings, murder, romance, intrigues and much more. It is carried by its performances and a fascinating portrait of late 1980s Hong Kong and the people who inhabit it (despite some clichéd writing and performances). If nothing else, Noble House is a sprawling epic that makes for fascinating viewing a quarter century on.