Tom Jones (1998)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Simon Burke, based on the novel by Henry Fielding
Directed by Metin Hüseyin
Starring: Max Beesley, Samantha Morton, Benjamin Whitrow, Brian Blessed, John Sessions, and Frances de la Tour.

Features:

• Henry Fielding biography/bibliography
  
• Entire mini-series on 2-disc set
  

Rating: NR, suitable for audiences 16+

Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format

My advice: Own it.

When Tom Jones first saw publication, it was an instant controversy. Fielding pushed the edge of the social acceptability envelope ‘til it completely collapsed. The book’s frank sexuality and rakish protagonist was simultaneously exactly what the public wanted, and exactly what they couldn’t admit they wanted. The moral and ethical dichotomy of the age’s rigid social mores and their near-bottomless appetite for tales of debauchery had been distilled by Fielding into his history of a bastard foundling.

The story follows Tom (Beesley) from his benefactor, Mr. Allworthy (Whitrow), discovering him as an infant and taking him under his generous wing. Tom’s trouble-making begins at an early age, and things are complicated by the birth of Allworthy’s nephew Blifil (James D'Arcy), a humorless young man bent on making life miserable for Tom. Events progress, as they are wont to do, and Tom falls for the daughter of Allworthy’s neighbor, Sophia Weston (Morton). Due to the objections of various people to Tom’s parentage, Blifil and others sabotage Tom’s reputation, causing Allworthy to cast him out penniless. Thus begins Tom’s adventures to make his way in the world, and ultimately, back into his beloved benefactor’s good graces. In his way are drunken freeloaders, scheming high society, press gangs, adulterous wives, and jealous husbands, all hell-bent on making his life more difficult.

This BBC production of the novel captures the feel of the book perfectly, even including the author’s own digressions and narration (with Fielding played brilliantly by John Sessions). Beesley is excellent as the book’s titular character, as well. Brian Blessed does a fine turn as the country squire Weston, all bluster and booze. The only weak spot in the performances is Miss Weston herself, though it’s unclear if this is a problem with acting or simply a weakness of the script adaptation (Sophia didn’t precisely get a lot of lines in Fielding’s original, as Tom spends a good portion of the book separated from her).

The production values are high throughout all aspects of the series, a given with most BBC/A&E literary adaptations. Costuming, sets, and the rest are all first-rate. In short, there’s not likely to be a better version filmed. The locations chosen for the project manage to capture perfectly Fielding's portrayal of Restoration-era rural England and the overblown ornamental look of the cities of the age.

The DVD presentation is good, if a bit minimalistic. Only one extra to speak of, and that's a brief text bio/bibliography of Henry Fielding. I would love to see somebody actually get a commentary track on one of these BBC/A&E literary adaptations, but Tom Jones isn't going to be the one, apparently. The video and audio are both crisp, though, so there aren't any real problems with the discs, per se. Just an absence of value-added material.