The Old Curiosity Shop is not one of Dickens' masterpieces, but is still whimsical, suspenseful, moving, sometimes funny and always involving. So if you are a fan of Dickens' writing, there is no real reason really to not read The Old Curiosity Shop. Of the four versions personally seen, this one fares the best. The others were the Peter Ustinov adaptation, which was really nicely done with a very creepy and vivid Quilp from Tom Courtenay; the Derek Jacobi adaptation(which I actually saw previous to reading the book) which was surprisingly good, again Quilp(from Toby Jones) is the most memorable thing about it, the ending was very moving and it's the second most evocative adaptation visually after this; and the 1984 animated version, unfortunately apart from the background art, this was pretty poor, too condensed, very plodding and none of the characterisations were interesting.
This version may not be 100% perfect, then again not many things are. There definitely could have been more suspense and uneasiness, we know that Quilp is sinister and not one to mess with but we could perhaps have seen a little more of that from other characters' perspectives(even from looking over one's shoulder). Quilp's make-up and hair are also somewhat on the obvious side, and his demise is a little rushed. The serial is often criticised for having too much of a comedic touch, not to this viewer it didn't. It is true that some of pathos is reduced, but some do forget sometimes that some of Dickens' best comic moments are in The Old Curiosity Shop and Quilp while also the most menacing Dickens villain(more so than Bleak House's Tulkinghorn) is also to some extent the funniest.
Even with the imperfections though, this 1979 is really impressive and as well as being the best version of the book is also one of the more faithful ones too. Not entirely faithful mind, the pathos is reduced and it's not as suspenseful as the book and the character of Frederick is omitted. The whimsical, funny and intense nature of the narrative is maintained though, with a poignant final scene with the grandfather at Little Nell's grave. And the atmosphere is unmistakably Dickens, the city scenes are wonderfully grim and seedy(they were too clean in the Ustinov version, from a personal opinion) and the countryside scenes are just lovely, of the live-action adaptations despite being the eldest it's also the most evocative. The photography moves from each frame without any major glitches and serves the period detail nicely. The music provides a good match for the tone of the story and each scene and also used fittingly.
It is very well adapted too. The writing is colourful and thoughtful, though also wordy, it has Dickens written all over it. It does wonderfully in conveying the heartbreak of the later scenes, comedy, melodrama and moments of genuine sense of dread(there could have been more though), and is the most successful adaptation in doing so. The storytelling here moves slowly and can feel lengthy. The Old Curiosity Shop's not quite Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Bleak House and Little Dorritt, which have more dense, longer(Bleak House is huge) and richer narratives and need a long length and deliberate pacing to tell the stories properly, however like them and most Dickens in general the story does need time to breathe and evolve and to give believability to the characters. The Old Curiosity Shop does that, and again more successfully than the other three adaptations.
Sebastian Shaw gives a charming, compassionate and affecting performance as the grandfather, and like Jacobi faithfully fits the role physically(Peter Ustinov was effective and more restrained than he usually was but like his Hercule Poirot he was physically the opposite of how the character is described in the book). Natalie Ogle is appropriately innocent sweet, and is so without being too bland like some performances of Dickens female characters can fall into the trap of being. Trevor Peacock's Quilp is wonderful, a little too obvious physically but that's not his fault, with how Quilp is described to make his appearance less of a villain look would be rather difficult. He is not only menacing and quite vivid in that respect(Courtenay in the Ustinov version is the creepiest as the character though) he is also quite comedic, the only one of the Quilps to do that actually.
Granville Saxton is a most memorable Mr Swiveller, one of the book's most interesting characters. He is fun to watch but later on he convincingly tones down for a more sympathetic approach. Colin Jeavons(best known to me as Inspector Lestrade in the Granada Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett) is spot on too as Samuel Brass, even better than the one in the Ustinov adaptation, while Annabelle Lanyon is fine as well. Overall, won't be for everybody but personally it was the best version. 9/10 Bethany Cox
This version may not be 100% perfect, then again not many things are. There definitely could have been more suspense and uneasiness, we know that Quilp is sinister and not one to mess with but we could perhaps have seen a little more of that from other characters' perspectives(even from looking over one's shoulder). Quilp's make-up and hair are also somewhat on the obvious side, and his demise is a little rushed. The serial is often criticised for having too much of a comedic touch, not to this viewer it didn't. It is true that some of pathos is reduced, but some do forget sometimes that some of Dickens' best comic moments are in The Old Curiosity Shop and Quilp while also the most menacing Dickens villain(more so than Bleak House's Tulkinghorn) is also to some extent the funniest.
Even with the imperfections though, this 1979 is really impressive and as well as being the best version of the book is also one of the more faithful ones too. Not entirely faithful mind, the pathos is reduced and it's not as suspenseful as the book and the character of Frederick is omitted. The whimsical, funny and intense nature of the narrative is maintained though, with a poignant final scene with the grandfather at Little Nell's grave. And the atmosphere is unmistakably Dickens, the city scenes are wonderfully grim and seedy(they were too clean in the Ustinov version, from a personal opinion) and the countryside scenes are just lovely, of the live-action adaptations despite being the eldest it's also the most evocative. The photography moves from each frame without any major glitches and serves the period detail nicely. The music provides a good match for the tone of the story and each scene and also used fittingly.
It is very well adapted too. The writing is colourful and thoughtful, though also wordy, it has Dickens written all over it. It does wonderfully in conveying the heartbreak of the later scenes, comedy, melodrama and moments of genuine sense of dread(there could have been more though), and is the most successful adaptation in doing so. The storytelling here moves slowly and can feel lengthy. The Old Curiosity Shop's not quite Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Bleak House and Little Dorritt, which have more dense, longer(Bleak House is huge) and richer narratives and need a long length and deliberate pacing to tell the stories properly, however like them and most Dickens in general the story does need time to breathe and evolve and to give believability to the characters. The Old Curiosity Shop does that, and again more successfully than the other three adaptations.
Sebastian Shaw gives a charming, compassionate and affecting performance as the grandfather, and like Jacobi faithfully fits the role physically(Peter Ustinov was effective and more restrained than he usually was but like his Hercule Poirot he was physically the opposite of how the character is described in the book). Natalie Ogle is appropriately innocent sweet, and is so without being too bland like some performances of Dickens female characters can fall into the trap of being. Trevor Peacock's Quilp is wonderful, a little too obvious physically but that's not his fault, with how Quilp is described to make his appearance less of a villain look would be rather difficult. He is not only menacing and quite vivid in that respect(Courtenay in the Ustinov version is the creepiest as the character though) he is also quite comedic, the only one of the Quilps to do that actually.
Granville Saxton is a most memorable Mr Swiveller, one of the book's most interesting characters. He is fun to watch but later on he convincingly tones down for a more sympathetic approach. Colin Jeavons(best known to me as Inspector Lestrade in the Granada Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett) is spot on too as Samuel Brass, even better than the one in the Ustinov adaptation, while Annabelle Lanyon is fine as well. Overall, won't be for everybody but personally it was the best version. 9/10 Bethany Cox