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Noble House

  • TV Mini Series
  • 1988
  • TV-14
  • 5h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
Noble House (1988)
ActionAdventureDrama

Ian Struan Dunross is chairman of Struan & Company, the oldest and largest of the British-East Asia trading companies. To the Chinese, that also makes him "Tai-Pan" ("supreme leader") of the... Read allIan Struan Dunross is chairman of Struan & Company, the oldest and largest of the British-East Asia trading companies. To the Chinese, that also makes him "Tai-Pan" ("supreme leader") of the "Noble House". Unfortunately, with his power, he inherits ancient promises, dark secrets,... Read allIan Struan Dunross is chairman of Struan & Company, the oldest and largest of the British-East Asia trading companies. To the Chinese, that also makes him "Tai-Pan" ("supreme leader") of the "Noble House". Unfortunately, with his power, he inherits ancient promises, dark secrets, and deep financial problems on a small island full of people, who want to see Struan fall... Read all

  • Stars
    • Pierce Brosnan
    • Deborah Raffin
    • Ben Masters
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    1.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Stars
      • Pierce Brosnan
      • Deborah Raffin
      • Ben Masters
    • 30User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 2 nominations total

    Episodes4

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 Season1988

    Photos18

    Pierce Brosnan in Noble House (1988)
    Ben Masters and Julia Nickson in Noble House (1988)
    Deborah Raffin in Noble House (1988)
    Pierce Brosnan in Noble House (1988)
    Noble House (1988)
    Noble House (1988)
    Noble House (1988)
    Noble House (1988)
    Noble House (1988)
    Pierce Brosnan and Deborah Raffin in Noble House (1988)
    Noble House
    Noble House

    Top cast

    Edit
    Pierce Brosnan
    Pierce Brosnan
    • Ian Dunross
    Deborah Raffin
    Deborah Raffin
    • Casey Tcholok
    Ben Masters
    Ben Masters
    • Linc Bartlett
    John Rhys-Davies
    John Rhys-Davies
    • Quillan Gornt
    Julia Nickson
    Julia Nickson
    • Orlanda Ramos
    Khigh Dhiegh
    Khigh Dhiegh
    • Four Finger Wu
    Gordon Jackson
    Gordon Jackson
    • Supt. Armstrong
    Burt Kwouk
    Burt Kwouk
    • Philip Chen
    Nancy Kwan
    Nancy Kwan
    • Claudia Chen
    John Van Dreelen
    John Van Dreelen
    • Jacques DeVille
    Ping Wu
    Ping Wu
    • Paul Choy
    Kay Tong Lim
    • Brian Kwok
    Lisa Lu
    Lisa Lu
    • Ah Tam
    Damien Thomas
    Damien Thomas
    • Lando Mata
    Dudley Sutton
    Dudley Sutton
    • Commissioner Roger Crosse
    Ric Young
    Ric Young
    • Tsu-Yan
    Tia Carrere
    Tia Carrere
    • Venus Poon
    Steven Vincent Leigh
    • John Chen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Struan & Company was modelled after Hong Kong-based trading company Jardine-Matheson. The exterior shots of the Struan & Company building are actually Jardine House.
    • Quotes

      Ian Dunross: [reading from the legacy of company founder, Dirk Struan, in the family Bible] "To whomsoever gives me the other half of any of these coins, I will grant one favor."

    • Connections
      Follows Tai-Pan (1986)

    User reviews30

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A creditable adaptation of a great novel
    I still remember looking forward anxiously to seeing this miniseries when it first aired -- I had considered "Noble House" James Clavell's masterpiece, even greater than "Shogun." I had come away from reading the book with the sense of knowing the characters as if they were real people, and missing them when the book was finished.

    In some cases, the characterizations in the miniseries hit the mark. Pierce Brosnan does an excellent job as the supremely self-confident Ian Dunross, John Rhys-Davies gives a truly inspired performance of charming villainy as Quillan Gornt, Burt Kwouk is very convincing as the compradore of the Noble House, and Gordon Jackson did a fine turn as the committed, conflicted Superintendent Armstrong. I also thought Julia Nickson Soul really heated up the screen; she was much better than a young Tia Carrere (in her pre-"Wayne's World" days).

    Unfortunately, I thought the American performances were weak. Deborah Raffin was OK as K.C. Tcholok, but I would have preferred it if they had stuck to the story and not had her wind up romantically involved with Ian Dunross. The weakest in my opinion, though, was Ben Masters as Linc Bartlett. While Mr. Masters may be a good actor, I didn't think he carried this role off very well. In the book, Bartlett is a cool, calculating, and yet personable man who comes across as opportunistic but respectful of Hong Kong business and cultural traditions. Clavell wrote him as a friendly, likable man who moves easily into the circles of power in the Colony but who is an unknown, unpredictable quantity to all of the vying factions. I thought that Mr. Masters overplayed the part as too cocky, too brash, and too shallow to be a likable or sympathetic figure. In the novel, I thought Bartlett was an intriguing character on a par with Dunross. In the miniseries, I generally thought he was just a jerk.

    That aside, while the miniseries has to trim a lot of the interesting sub-plots in the interest of time, it does a good job of remaining true to the spirit of Clavell's novel. I'd agree with the observation that you should watch the miniseries, then read the novel to see what the story was REALLY about.
    helpful•26
    2
    • arumbold
    • Jul 18, 2002

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 21, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Otmjena kuca iz Hong-Konga
    • Filming locations
      • Jardine House - Connaught Pl., Central, Hong Kong, China(Struan & Co. "Noble House" HQ)
    • Production company
      • De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      5 hours 55 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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