Cheap Tai Pan (DVD) (Bryan Brown, Joan Chen) (Daryl Duke) Price

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Customer Reviews of Tai Pan

Not bad at all despite compressed plot
Admittedly, this is much less of a movie than Tai-Pan is of a book. But the book is a giant among books, and the show is still a good show. Those who have read the book, rather than savaging it for its divergence from the book (which, in any case, would require a mini-series to do its layering and complexity justice, not a 2-hour show) should treat it as a kind of visual accompaniment to the story - good casting, good handling of some powerful scenes. Alright, they were much more powerful in the book, but it's not all the time that readers of a splendid book get the opportunity to see a capable visual incarnation that does justice to the characters, at least, if not to the plot. Maybe if the show had been titled "Selected Scenes from Tai-Pan" rather than "Tai-Pan" it would have been better received by purists.

What I'm trying to say is it did treat the subject material well, although obviously it couldn't pack everything which makes us love the book into just two hours. In an adaptation of a book, when you can recognise each character instantly before the character's name is mentioned it's always a good sign - where there's good casting, it's a sign that it's a sensitive adaptation, and this was the case with Tai-Pan. I thought Bryan Brown was very good as Dirk Struan; I'm not Scottish, so I couldn't tell that his accent was as fake as many others seem to think it.

I can see how those who haven't read the book would find it laughable, though, because due to the compression of the plot you don't really get to know the characters and understand their motivations from scratch. Some of Clavell's magnificent dialogue from the book might sound weird in the show, or lacking in punch, for those without a prior acquaintance of the book, because of this lack of emotional set-up. That's why I think it's best for those who have read the book, who already know the characters and can watch them fully-fledged, so to speak, as the show doesn't spend time introducing the audience to the characters.

Perhaps the reason that fans of James Clavell's books are so vociferous in their criticism of this show, sometimes, is because they are acclimatised to splendid, detailed and heartfelt adaptations of so many of his other books - the Shogun mini-series, the Noble House mini-series and the King Rat film. Why, Clavell fans are really so fortunate already when it comes to screen adaptations! :) If we lowered our expectations a little, we'd see that Tai-Pan, too, is not that bad a treatment of the book at all!

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Slick but watchable
Fans of Clavel will want to watch this if only to satisfy an appetite for his work, however compromised. From Sho-gun to Noble House to Tai-Pan to King Rat, these books are some of the most entertaining adventure stories around. The Shogun DVD series, widely regarded as exceptional and the under-rated King Rat feature film are now joined by this slick adaptation of Tai-Pan. I watched it as a mini-series. Because I was familiar with the Book and Clavel, I suffered thru the superficialities and slick production for a time but then predictably allowed myself to become engrossed in the story line. As will you.
Add it to your collection but stick it behind the Shogun box set.

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many great moments
I agree with most reviewers that too much was cut out of the story. I would love to see a much longer miniseries treatment, too. But, Brock and his son were almost exactly as I had pictured them. And, the scene where Dirk has his men remove the tent to reveal the taels of silver is priceless. And also, the moment when Culum returns Brock's gold sovereigns with the admonition to "buy yourself a coffin" is great. I liked Bryan Brown in the role of Dirk (to be perfectly honest, I don't come into contact with many real Scotsmen so, I wouldn't know a fake Scottish accent from a fake Irish one - it was believable for me).