Tipping the Velvet : The Complete BBC Series [2002] [DVD]

Very good DVD . Bought for my gay granddaughter and she loves it . I also love it and it is very funny in parts . Good acting with excellent cast. Oldie but goody

I saw this film on TV and thought it was good enough to watch again sometime. Two very good actresses who play their roles really well

I was sceptical when this first aired - the subject matter seemed too risque for mainstream TV to do anything other than skirt nervously around, the marketing too slanted towards a voyeuristic male audience. Two years on, I rented the DVD and was more than pleasantly surprised.Andrews Davies' screenplay is excellent, sticking close to the novel while judiciously trimming the plot down to essentials. Together with some clever direction and editing, it intelligently explores the novel's interlinked themes of performance, display, gender and identity. The sound and visual effects of the music hall pursue Nan throughout her journey from innocence to experience. Drumrolls, cymbal clashes and fade-to-black 'spotlights' accompany pivotal moments in her life. A recurring motif of dressing in front of mirrors subtly underlines how Nan variously expresses, hides and reinvents herself - sexually, physically, emotionally - as she moves from oyster girl to male impersonator to kept woman to socialist campaigner. At times, the series comes into its own beautifully, as with the intercut sequence of Nan and Kitty rehearsing their act together.Surprisingly, too, none of the novel's bawdiness is lost - Nan's story is here in all its joys, pains and dildos - but again the production proves itself worthy. The sex scenes are explicit - but rather than just providing titillation, they always further the themes and character development.The acting is a little uneven - certain cast members play it straighter than others (excuse the pun) - but the leads all do well with the material. Florence is less forthright and assured than in the book, but Jodhi May gives her grace and sweetness enough to make us root for her at the end. The only problem - to this reviewer - lies in Kitty, Nan's first love. The script misses a trick when it skips the novel's pivotal moment for her character (her crisis after a performance is interrupted by hecklers accusing the pair of being lesbians). Where she could have presented yet another facet of the theme of appearance and identity - her rushed, concealing marriage prompted by paranoia that exposure as a lesbian will blight her career and cost her the public adulation she craves - instead she emerges simply as a cliched, confused bisexual, unable to choose between Nan and Walter until it is too late.On the whole, though, this is an brave and admirable adaptation that captures the essence of the novel and is highly entertaining in its own right.

great service and movie

After seeing the somewhat cramped version of 'The Night Watch', also by Sarah Waters, squeezed into just 90 minutes, I was pleased to see that 'Tipping The Velvet' was given the room of three hours to breathe and followed the novel well.Oyster girl Nan Astley is entranced by the singer Kitty Butler on stage, and eventually becomes her friend, dresser and lover. The passion between the two and others in this Victorian romp seemed rather daring at the time it came out on TV, but nowadays might be seen as tame considering some of today's productions. Were there some trimmings to the DVD to get it to a '15' standard. I'm not sure.Rachael Stirling turns in a sterling (sorry!) as Nan, an conveys her well in all the ups and downs she has throughout the story. Keeley Hawes as Kitty brings her character to life also. A pleasure to see Sarah's debut novel come to life.There are some rising stars in the three part adaptation. Nan's sister Alice has a boyfriend Freddy, seen in Part One, who is none other than Benedict Cumberbatch in a very small role. In Part Three, Hugh Bonneville has a good role as a revolutionary socialist, Ralph, a far cry from his future one of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in 'Downton Abbey'. Sally Hawkins is another of Nan's lovers in one of her first appearances. Jodhi May plays Florence.There is one noticeable change in the storyline, right at the ending, when the rally is moved from the park to a theatre, and Nan goes back to sing at the theatre, and throws a rose not to Kitty, who happens to be watching, but to her one true love Florence.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this cheeky fanciful romp of Victorian lesbian sexuality. I wasn't sure what to expect and bought the DVD from the reviews. The episodes differed slightly in their context. They started off as semi serious with Nan being seduced by the sophisticated and glamorous stage performer Kitty. She is introduced to the bright lights of the London music hall where she discovers a hidden vocation as a male impersonator. My only criticism was the director (?) failed to capitalise on Nan's humble origins as a wench serving in a seaside family oyster bar. Why do director's think that sticking the character in a dowdy frock, whilst retaining a flawless complexion and make up that would have graced a West End beauty parlour, represents working class? Had the contrast between Nan's origins and her eventual migration to the sophistication of London society been better handled it would have added much to the believability and depth.The second episode is more comedic as, betrayed, she takes to the heartless streets of London for survival. Before long she's rescued by a despotic lesbian wealthy widow, who demands her utmost loyalty and total sexual subservience. The decadent house parties were a hoot, was there ever so much fun in Victorian London?In episode three, she is cast aside and thrust once more, penniless back onto the streets in poverty stricken areas of London, fortunately retaining her unblemished beauty. Finally she finds true love and restores her dignity, once more on the stage.The programme could so easily have degenerated into farce but it didn't and managed to combine an engaging storyline with just sufficient smattering of credibility. Excellent acting, good settings and a tight well written script. Although not an expert on the subject I strongly suspect there was a lot of historical creative licence throughout the story. But that's fiction for you.Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the whole programme immensely, a host of fun and saucy entertainment with touching sensual romance.