Search - House of Cards Trilogy, Vol. 3 - The Final Cut on DVD

A thrilling end to the saga.

Helen Mitford | 05/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A thrilling end to the saga. It's all beginning to slip away from Francis Urquhart, but the 'star' of this one is, for me, the Lady Macbeth-like Elizabeth Urquhart played by the brilliant and beautiful Diane Fletcher. In many ways I'd wish there had been even more of her than there already is. She is so delightfully ruthless in her determination to protect her husband, whom she clearly worships, that even though she has colluded with him in the most fearful crimes, I could not help feeling a pang of sympathy for her, and of course, one does want to know what happens to her relationship with Corder. Her passion for Wagner only adds to her charm. There are some other fine performances in this work. Not least from two tiny cameo roles, Muriel Pavlow as an Age Concern Lady [compare this with her performance as Douglas Bader's wife in "Reach for the Sky"] and Bunny May as a clerk in the Public Records Office. Mr May was one of the first [if not the first] to play "Noddy" onstage under the supervision of Enid Blyton. [Now that's real trivia.]I must be a dreadful person, beacuse I actually wanted the Urquharts to live happily ever after, and to see Francis Urquhart get away with it one last time. Age does not wither him nor custom stale his infinite variety. Yes, I know I may very well think that, but you couldn't possibly comment!"

Wonderful! Awful! Terrifying!

J. Kramer | Santa Clara, CA USA | 01/20/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fasten your seatbelts. This series is the most chilling political thriller I have ever seen. There is not a single misstep anywhere. Ian's Prime Minister is the most evil creature ever to walk the earth, and he just keeps knocking down the good guys without even breaking a sweat; they never know what hit them or even how. It's like watching a terrible accident happen in slow motion, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop it. Stellar performances, superb directing, this is just plain perfect. I just wish it was a happy movie...but then it wouldn't be The Final Cut."

A Most Satisfactory Conclusion To The Trilogy

Peter Fennessy | Bloomfield Hills, MI USA | 08/18/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The final days of our once loveable villain, FU, are, it would seem, rapidly approaching. He is quite prepared to foment an international incident to stay in power and to keep his not so little retirement nest egg intact. But time wounds all heels, and in the end even he cannot quite pull it off. His wife, though, the most cunnning of all the shrewd and political women that have surrounded him, finds a way to pull his chestnuts out of the fire, as it were - and what a surprising and most satisfactory ending it all makes. Top notch acting all round, especially by Richardson, and exciting and devious twists of plot make this (as well as the rest of the trilogy) an excellent performance and an enjoyable evening. See them all if you can."

They should have stopped...

arbiter | Hamburg, Germany | 06/05/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"... with "To Play the King".

While Mr. Dobbs was not amused to have part one changed to a happy end for evil - yes, with FU anything is possible! - he still wrote a sequel which was much better on screen than off.

Sadly, this is not the case with "The Final Cut". The book is full of info on Urquart's background and motives which are totally lacking in the film.

Plus, of course, Shakespearean references: Richard III baptised part one, Macbeth laid the foundation for part two, and part three echoes Julius Caesar... for which there is little evidence in the film. The book gives us FU's version of the funeral speech, spoken, as it were, -sic!- our own Caesar himself BEFORE his assassination. (Greetings to Garofano and his rather harebrained theory)

In the book FU is still up to the mark, not some tottering old fool as he is portrayed in the film. It hurt to see Richardson, the mature but springy scheemer reduced to such inefficiency."