Little Dorrit : DVD released on April 28, 2009

Shameful secrets, strangling bureaucracy and crippling debts collide in the imperative BBC / Masterpiece Classic adaptation of Charles Dickens' major novels, which debuted in serial form in 1855. Mrs Clennam (Judy Parfitt), a shut-in, start the complex story in action when she hires 21-year-old seamstress Amy Dorrit (newcomer Claire Foy, a warm and sympathetic presence) several days before her son, Arthur (Matthew Macfadyen, Pride & Prejudice) returns to London after 15 years at sea. Amy lives with her proud father, William (a heart-rending Tom Courtenay), in the Marshalsea, the debtor's prison, where Dickens' own father did time. Despite his mother's denials, Arthur is convinced that a relationship between the Clennams and Dorrit, so he tries to solve the mystery on his own with the help of sniveling rent collector Pancks (Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky) and obstruction of surly servant Flintwinch (Alun Armstrong, New Tricks) and the aptly named verbiage Office.

Last filmed in 1988, Little Dorrit offers material - about greedy lenders and investors enthusiastic - ripe for reinterpretation. If the series does not exceed Bleak House, a high-water mark in Dickens adaptations, screenwriter Andrew Davies, the author still proud despite a sketchy subplot about a miserable girl and her mysterious protector. But some things never change and Dickens presents extensive scene steal opportunities, which Amanda Redman as a chilly social lite, Pam Ferris as a shallow nanny, Russell Tovey as lovesick admirer, and Andy Serkis as a Gallic psychopath - are creep iest character since Gollum - fully potential. The Featurette, cast and crew a perceptive look at the making of this timely drama.

• Actors: Claire Foy, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay, Alun Armstrong
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: April 28, 2009
• Run Time: 452 minutes