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Great Expectations
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786300988804
Format: NTSC
ISBN: 6300988805
Label: Paramount Home Video
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: April 20, 1988
Studio: Paramount Home Video
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Editorial Review:
David Lean's handsome adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel captures the warm humor and richness of character that so many filmmakers miss in their reverent recreations of Victorian England. From the nightmarish opening sequence on the windswept graveyard where young orphan Pip (Anthony Wager) meets the desperate escaped criminal Magwitch (Finlay Currie) to the shadowy, musty mansion of the widow Miss Haversham (Martita Hunt) where he first meets the impertinent young beauty Estella (Jean Simmons), Lean captures a childlike exaggeration of reality with his elegant expressionism. When Pip's sudden change in fortune sends him to London as a burgeoning gentleman in high society, Lean sketches a beautiful, bustling city. John Mills's performance as the adult Pip charts his change from the wide-eyed wonder and generous spirit of the child he was to the class snob transformed by money and social standing, an ugly flaw that Pip confronts when his mysterious benefactor is finally revealed. The outstanding cast also features Valerie Hobson as the grown-up Estella, now a beguiling enchantress, a bright young Alec Guinness in his film debut as Pip's jovial London roommate Herbert Pocket, and the imposing Francis L. Sullivan as the decidedly humorless lawyer Jaggers. Exquisitely photographed by Guy Green (who won an Oscar for his work). Lean and his collaborators effectively maintain the heart of Dickens's epic drama while cutting it to its essentials in this vivid, compelling film. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Gold Standard!
There are some films, such as "Casablanca," that should never be remade. David Lean's "Great Expectations" is one of them.
The cast--headed by John Mills as the grown-up Pip, and which includes the rotund Francis L. Sullivan as the lawyer Jagger (whose clients are hanged as a matter of course), Finlay Curry as the convict Magwitch, and Alec Guinness as Herbert Pocket--is pitch-perfect (although I always thought the excellent Valerie Hobson was a bit of a disappointment after the brittle ... Read More
Rating: - Classic Movies
I watched this classic story long ago and had forgotten about it until reading the story again. I had a hard time finding this old English version. My personal opinion is that the English productions are much better quality than what comes out of Hollywood for the classics especially. I have a sentimental attachment to this film because it came out the year I was born and has such great character actors and actresses in it. As in other classical movies it does not match the book in the way it develops ... Read More
Rating: - Lean meets Dickens' 'Great Expectations.'
Who doesn't like a David Lean film or a great Victorian story like Great Expectations? Except for the ending, David Lean's 1946 film follows Dickens' original novel closely. Set in 19th Century England, Great Expectations tells the story of a young orphan, Pip (Anthony Wager), who befriends an escaped convict, Magwitch (Finlay Currie), in a graveyard, before later falling in love with a cruel, but beautiful girl, Estella (Jean Simmons). As a teenager, Estella mocks Pip's coarse and common manners. She aspires ... Read More
Rating:  - BENEFACTORS
Dickens' tale of an abused orphan gets a deluxe production here with lively direction by David Lean, a shapely script by, among others, Anthony Havelock-Allan, some splendid performances (& a few clinkers as well) which is all served up in glorious Black & White by Guy Green, The first part is so good it carries you through the somewhat disappointing second part. The opening in the churchyard where Pip meets the escaped convict Magwitch (Finlay Currie) is so expertly staged it's thrilling & you can't ... Read More
Rating: - Another Famous Dickens Book Comes To Life
As I watched the beginning of this film, I couldn't help but compare the story to the only other Charles Dickens story I was familiar with: Oliver Twist. It looked like it was going to be another story of a nice, respectful boy being abused by nasty adults. However, as soon as the young boy turned into a man, the similarities ended. Poor Oliver had a lot of ups and downs but life was basically pretty good for the boy, "Pip" in "Great Expectations." Because of that, I didn't think this Dickens tale had the emotional ... Read More
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