Let's be realistic.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The Diary of Anne Frank (2009) tells about the experiences of Anne Frank and seven other people, who had to go hiding.It was all because they were Jews and Adolf Hitler was a psychopath.He and his Nazi regime.The story is told in five half-hour episodes.Ellie Kendrick was a very good pick to play Anne Frank.Geoff Berton is great as Peter Van Daan (Pels).Felicity Jones is marvelous as Margot Frank, who would have turned 85 a week ago.Iain Glen is terrific as Otto Frank.Tamsin Greig is great as Edith Frank.Nicholas Farrell is excellent as Mr Dussel (Fritz Pfeffer).Lesley Sharp and Ron Cook do great work as Petronella and Hermann Van Daan.Tim Dantay is brilliant as Mr Kugler.And so is Roger Frost as Mr Kleiman.Mariah Gale is wonderful as Bep Voskuijl.Kate Ashfield is superb as Miep Gies, their lovely helper.This Good Samaritan sadly lost her life at 100 on January last year.This gives a very realistic picture of the events.It's horrible to watch when the Gestapo arrives.You cry when Anne is shaking, unable to tie her shoes, and Dussel helps her.The relationship between Anne and Peter is beautifully portrayed.And the words of the actual diary sound very good.I read the diary about eight years ago, and it is one of the best things I have ever read.Right now I'm reading Carol Ann Lee's Anne Frank 1929-1945.If they would have left Anne to go on with her life, she could be a famous writer now.But her fate, her Jewish fate was to die at age 15.

I downloaded all five episodes to iPlayer. I didn't know any background about the dramatisation but with going by the title alone, and from the BBC, guessed it ought to be worth watching.I have just watched the first two parts and after the first 30 minutes I decided to do some research. As the official BBC about page (http://www.bbc.co.uk/annefrank/about.shtml) confirms to me, the show is aimed at a young age group. I feel the show so far has a very educational bent, as if it's one of those old BBC2 educational shows aimed at school children. As the BBC webpage confirms, with links to the war timeline, other resources and how many of the comments are by children, the similar age to Anne.Although it must have been a breath of fresh air to share such a cramped and hostile apartment with such a lively and outgoing young girl, I feel there is an overly joyous and 'look on the bright side' perspective to the directing. To me it detracts from the importance of the subject and as other reviewers have suggested, turns it almost into a SOAP like format.The filming is done very well, and the actors play the parts well. It is a good, stock BBC production there. The one downside to the acting is it's just too 'English'; a bit of a put-on Dutch, German accent or more prominence to other languages around them, would've been more realistic for me.However, my real gripe is the lack of a dark side. All the dialogue is very clear and carefully spoken, both in terms of diction and subject. Perhaps this is just the view from a young girls diary, but I feel the true impact, grittiness and any reality is missing.I am struggling to continue to watch to be honest. If I hadn't already downloaded the series I think I would've changed channel already. It is lacking in suspense, or rawness. It's all too jolly. So far.Maybe I'll change my mind as the series progresses, but as I say, if I hadn't already downloaded I certainly wouldn't stay in to catch the next episode.Another reason I'll continue to watch is because of the other reviews, you're all so impressed with it! Maybe it does become more gripping.

such an emotional story, acting was superb!the best BBC production in years. They have definitely out done them self this time. This is a must see video/series. If you are into history you MUST WATCH IT! Ellie Kendrick was amazing! so was Tamsin Greig. I always loved to see her in black books, but this performance was just amazing. It still made me go out buy buy all three series again!well done everybody involved.as soon as it is available to buy i will buy it. and so should you.truly inspirational.

First-class. Soap-length and almost soap-like, the great strength of this series is it's day-to-day realism. Free of invented sentiment or the sobriety of guilt or hindsight, writer Deborah Moggach and director Jon Jones work something believable and vital out of Anne Frank's eponymous journal. Rather than watch one finds oneself living through the action with its absurd pettiness and meagre (but treasured) consolations, with familiar tensions and thrills in circumstances not only unfamiliar but inconceivable.The cast are as high-calibre an ensemble as one could imagine. Impossible to identify favourites, I found the women most memorable. Ellie Kendrick is an ideal Anne, conjuring all the highs and lows of a girl forced to experience a compressed adolescence but leaving something terrifyingly real for the inevitable climax. Leslie Sharp and Tamsin Grieg play perigee and apogee of the Jewish hausfrau, pantomime dame and ashen-faced mouse: their Parthian ability to charm or bite can turn the experience of an episode inside out.Everything about this project seems to have worked - the perfect episode length, carefully-pitched drama of the highest calibre and broadcast at a time when everyone can absorb and, yes, even enjoy it. Highly recommended. 8/10