Dunross' title is tai-pan, which is Cantonese, we are told, for "supreme leader." Brosnan is first-rate. Pierce Brosnan, leaving frivolous "Remington Steele" roots behind, hangs tough in the central role, that of dashing and determined Ian Dunross, chief executive of Struan and Co., a giant Hong Kong trading firm also known as Noble House. Eric Bercovici's script, smartly done, keeps a tantalizing if not precisely lovable assortment of characters in provocative disarray. Exteriors were shot in Hong Kong and Macao, with additional filming at the De Laurentiis studios in Wilmington, N.C. Like Clavell's "Shogun," telecast in 1980, "Noble House" resonates with exotic atmospherics. Considering the attractiveness of the continuing Winter Olympics on ABC, it's safe to say VCRs were made for nights like these. Once the story gets a good grip on you, and it's a gripping good story, "Noble House" proves hard to turn off. The film airs in four parts, tonight through Wednesday, at 9 on Channel 4. NBC's eight-hour mini-series, from the James Clavell novel set among pooh-bahs and panjandra of contemporary Hong Kong, is a tremendously engrossing good view, the most satisfying fit of lavishness a network has had in years.
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