5/5 Dombey and Son
  by L. S. Heard
This version of Dombey & Son is excellent. Even though a few important elements of the story were not addressed, I think someone who is viewing the video without having read the book could pick up the most important points in the story and enjoy it. The actors chosen for most of the characters were very well suited, especially Dombey, Florence and Captain Cuttle. Dickens creates characters like no other author. I recommend this to people who enjoy stories of the old days and who just enjoy a great story!

5/5 Thoroughly enjoyable!
  by N. Muir (New York, NY USA)
I'd never seen Dombey & Son, nor had I ever read the book, so I didn't really know what to expect. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire show. There is something about Dickens that only the British know how to do, and, while the glaring production values of a would-be Hollywood deal might, you would think, make for more worthwhile watching, this is definitely not the way to go when dealing with Dickens, and thankfully not the case with this production.

The realism of a show like Dombey & Son can very much be felt as you watch, and the show is so quiet at times, you can hear a pin drop, unlike today's productions with background music and special effects coming in at the most inopportune of times.

Dombey & Son, which should more aptly be called Dombey & Daughter, is a cold, hard story of a Father who did not love his daughter, and never tried to conceal it. He instead heaps all of his hopes and love (such as he could muster for one so cold and stiff) on his son, while totally neglecting the emotional needs of his daughter. The story is most brilliantly acted and protrayed, while preserving the feel of what, I would imagine, is the closest the viewer could ever come to the world Dicken's lived in.

4/5 Another Dickens classic
  by Amateur Stargazer
If you like Dickens' books you will certainly appreciate this TV version with its authentic recreation of Victorian times. This 1983 BBC miniseries was created with a limited budget, but it is well worth watching. Will Dombey find an heir to his business after his son tragically dies since the family inheritance is so important? He is a strange fellow locked in his own status, something which the elite valued so highly at that time.

The DVD is double sided and includes the entire miniseries of almost five hours in length. It is really a bargain for the amount of material it contains. The only thing these BBC series don't have is the more elaborate sets of the Dickens' big screen movies made over the years. But with the fine characters and actors who played them, the programs had a standard of high quality. And being divided into episodes adding up to longer time in total than the films, they offered much more of the books' original stories.

3/5 Jewel BUT
  by Teresa (Sandy, OR United States)
This is a jewel except for the ending. Should of been more complete. Leaves you wondering where the final chapter was -- and there isn't one.

5/5 these BBC classics are 'classics'
  by Russell (Tonbridge, Kent , United Kingdom)
Maybe it's a nostalgia trip but I've been waiting for these series to be released on DVD for a long time. In the 70's and 80's these multi-part adaptations used to be shown on TV here in the UK on a Sunday afternoon, around tea-time as we say, and as soon as VCR's became affordable I would record these and watch them again and again. For some reason I can't remember, I didn't manage to get all of Dombey & Son so this DVD release is a special moment for me - indeed 20 years since I've seen the whole series. No big budget, no CGI, just the pinnacle of quality for acting, screenplay and production values; don't hesitate to buy if you like Victorian literature. PS, also recommended, Bleak House, Jane Eyre, Pickwick Papers, The Brontes of Haworth, Tennant of Wildfell Hall, etc.