I had not read the book and I'm ashamed to say I haven't read many of the classics but why read them when I can watch them so beautifully? I loved watching how each character changed in the duration of the four episodes and wished it was longer. You really felt Margaret's disdain and then loyalty to the union workers plight. It's like she really was looking from the outside and seeing both sides. Well done!

There's no denying that Armitage is a handsome man and Denby-Ashe is a lovely woman. Let's put that on hold, because Mrs. Gaskell is turning over in her grave.Un-Gaskelly, un-Victorian scenes (smelling of Hollywood, not London, and certainly not of Manchester!) are injected out of writer's caprice to motivate the characters more blatantly, to bring sensationalism into the mix for the viewer's consumption. The "railroad scene" ending that so entrances viewers is nowhere to be found in the book. Victorians simply did not display open, public eroticism, because it wasn't that kind of culture in those days. What a disappointment for modern audiences, who like nothing better than sex with a little violence thrown in for emphasis (Armitage's beating the employee in the early part of this dismal adaptation).Other reviewers have said the Margaret/John relationship was not developed, or underdeveloped, and right they are.The 1975 version, even with the liabilities of Rosalind Shanks' uncertain acting, crooked smile and meandering eyebrows (way too many close-ups of that lady as Margaret), is far, far better a telling of what Mrs. Gaskell intended to say. Patrick Stewart makes a believable John - morally straight, forceful, and attempting (nearly succeeding) to be a gentleman, as in the book.Not that the 1975 version is perfect. Margaret, whose graduate degrees in economics are absent, presumes to know how to run a mill successfully, and pontificates frequently and ignorantly, but with sincerity, anyway. Furthermore, the 1975 version omits Leonard's recognition of Frederick at the train station and consequent legal problems for Margaret - but it is one thing to omit, and quite another to fabricate, as the 2004 version does.Norman Jones is appropriately intense and mellow, as the situation calls for, and overall much better as Higgins in 1975, although Brendan Coyle has lots more sex appeal in the 2004 version.This 2004 version is pretty. Nice locations. Mill fluff ten times the size of true mill fluff in those days, so the viewer can take it seriously. But it does not deserve more than two stars, and that's for Sinead Cusack's rowing with the script oars she was given - she does an outstanding job with a flawed script. Her dad was the great Cyril Cusack, an actor's actor, catch one of his later roles as the gunsmith in "The Day of the Jackal."

As a fan of Pride and Prejudice I love these old British tales from Victorian England such as Jane Austen and Eliz Caskell. I kind of stumbled into North and South and was floored on how well it is done. The BBC takes enormous pains to develop each character to a fine depth and endearment and fleshes out all the nuances. The subdued feelings and manners of the time and the repressed and polite discourse; then it is finessed into a wonderful emotional crescendo at the end.I was hysterically crying when my WIFE walked in after binge watching all four hours on Netflix. How wonderful it is done! And I thought P&P was the benchmark! No longer.Yes, I went to USC Film School and worked in the film industry for awhile but that did nothing to suspend my thoughts of today and be swept back to 1845 England. Both lead actors do superb jobs in their roles and the technical aspects of a mill town of the Industrial Revolution is well crafted and adeptly displayed. Job well done BBC!

This is a beautiful masterpiece from BBC. The presentation of the story is above and beyond anything Hollywood puts on either the big or little screen. It does not fall into the "over the top costume drama" that many modern adaptations of history have fallen into as it was not appropriate for this story and I am glad they did not change it. It is subtle yet inspires deep involvement in the characters, especially Richard Armitage's portrayal of John Thornton. He makes you forget you are watching a modern actor portraying a part and makes you believe that he is John Thornton, that the feelings are 100% real. Not only does this improve the experience of the story, but it also carries you through some of the more frustrating moments of the plot. You love and hate characters at various moments, but overall you love them. Overall if you are a fan of period pieces this is one of the best available. Casting was excellent, plot was beautifully executed, and the filming style was pure perfection.