Great Expectations: Amazon.ca: Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Waddell, Charlotte Rampling, Laura Aikman, Nicholas Blane, Selina Cadell, Jo Cameron Brown, Emma Cunniffe, Tony Curran, Laurence Dobiesz, Leo Dolan, Sarah Durham, David Odd, Julian Jarrold, David Snodin, Melanie Howard, Michael Wearing, Rebecca Eaton, Charles Dickens, Tony Marchant: DVD

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This capable and intelligent adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel is one in a long line of Great Expectations put to film. But this two-part drama distinguishes itself with its faithfulness to the book and outstanding performances by the principal cast. Ioan Gruffudd plays the adult Pip, an orphan who lives with his sister and her kindly blacksmith husband. Pip's life changes when he is sent for by Miss Haversham (Charlotte Rampling), an eccentric and wealthy spinster who wears only her bridal gown, which she was wearing when she was left at the altar years before. Introduced to Estella (played later as a woman by Justine Waddell), Miss Haversham's contemptuous ward, Pip falls in love with the girl and spends the remainder of his youth attempting to be good enough for her--a state of affairs that suddenly seems possible when a mysterious benefactor makes Pip's education as a London gentleman possible. Gruffudd is a fine choice for the central character, and his naturally intense expression underscores Pip's problems with insecurity and sense of deservedness. Waddell is an appropriately solipsistic Estella, slightly reminiscent of Vivien Leigh, and Rampling's casting is an unexpected but terrific move on the filmmaker's part. The veteran actress's career-long air of mystery, vague suffering, and intense sexuality bring a potent power to Miss Haversham's baleful looks. Dickens would be proud of this one. --Tom Keogh

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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2.0 out of 5 stars Not a good movie, Jun 16 2004

By

Wm19 (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Expectations (VHS Tape)

I've never read Dickens, or watched any movies/tv series based on any his novels, so I don't know what is from the book and what is from the movie director. I really enjoy historical dramas, especially BBC tv series. In this Great Expectations, the acting was good, especially the heartless little Estella. However, what I didn't like about the movie:

1. Too much scenery, not enough interaction. Instead of 10 seconds of Pip walking on the moors, we get 30 seconds. The same goes for birds flying, waves on the water, Pip walking through dark tunnels, Pip walking through dark streets, Pip walking up stairs, Pip rowing a boat. Pip opening doors and walking down dark hallways. Lots of extended scenes of scenery and no character conversations. Also, there're lots of scenes of Pip and Miss Haversham, Joe and the convict. But, there's next to no scenes of Pip and the love of his life, the grown-up Estella. Which leads to the next point:

2. As a result of the lack of scenes with Pip and Estella, we hear secondhand that she's unhappy, and we only hear Pip say that he's in love. The editing/screenplay is so choppy that we never hear why or how. I guess we are to assume from 10 minutes of the movie that Pip loves her madly because she is pretty and treats him very cooly.

I mean, honestly, we get what's got to be a total of 30 minutes of boring scenery in the movie, and then almost none of the adult Pip falling in love with Estella, or what happens to Estella after marriage?

3. Discontinuity. I don't understand why Estella is so heartless and cruel as a child, then comes back as a soft mannered, kindly seeming lady. Is this a gentleman-trap of some sort?

I give this 2 stars because the acting was very good, but the storyline is super choppy, cryptic, and unbalanced. It would have been better if more time had been spent on explaining the plot instead of long panoramas of the scenery.

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2.0 out of 5 stars falls flat for me, Jan 19 2009

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Poetkitty (Victoria, British Columbia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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This review is from: Great Expectations (DVD)

Love the genre; couldn't connect with this movie. I have to say I was hoping the movie would be more engaging than the novel, but it fell flat to me on every level. I found it dark, depressing, totally lacking in drive - there were no soaring moments - I felt I could turn it off at any moment.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Worth searching an hour for!!!, May 22 2005

By

Rachael (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Expectations (DVD)

I watched this movie in school the other week, but got sick and missed an entire day. I was bound and determined to see the part I missed, which was the tragic death of Miss. Havisham and Orlick's revenge on Pip, so I got on the internet and searched for about an hour or more to find THIS version and I do not regret it. There are SO many other versions out there but none compare, especially the one with Gwenith Paltrow (*tutts). The cover of that one implies that it's a porn! and the only simularity between the movie and book was the title. Anyways, this movie is the best! It was just so awesome, I cannot even put it into words. The actors were brilliant and the director - phenominal! I do admit that I was a bit dissapointed when I found out that Orlick merely met Pip on the street and decided to kill him rather than the clever kidnapping, and I was looking for at least a wince from Pip after being burned severely. But, I guess, the producers had to make it fit into at least two tapes. Anyways, I love this movie. Sure, there were some faults but I can count up a lot more in the Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, and Leo DiCaprio movies. E-mail me to discuss more! Rachael_g08@yahoo.com

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Horatio Hornblower as Pip!
It's an unique adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations", but still, it's not as good as John Mills' "Great Expectations" (1947). Read more

Published on Aug 25 2003 by Ali Ateya Abdali Neama

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, but ill-focused film.
First let me say that I adore Ioan Gruffud and Justine Waddell, and their work, in this and in other films. Read more

Published on Mar 11 2003 by Sherry A. Martin