Customer Reviews

Great Expectations (Widescreen)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The movie is simply brilliant. It always keeps you on your feet from the beginning till the end. It is a spectacular movie and it deserves a lot more credit for the message that it is trying to convey towards the audience.

If you want to go see a competant modernized version of one of the best books of an era, then go see it, but do so with an open mind. If, however you want to read one of the best books ever written, then read the Dickens. I actually enjoyed the movie.(All of you wanna be negative professional critics can save it for something much more juicey to skewer. The book is what it is...a book. It will never be the ultimate motion picture, it just doesn't translate that well to the screen. Read the book a few times and you will become aware of it's absolute genius. If you don't (become aware) try Stephen King for reading ... For movies maybe Animated Disney Films might interest you more!
Brian F. Burke Jr.

A young boy meets an escaped convict who threatens him with death so the boy helps the convict escape. The boy then meets an eccentric middle aged women with a pretty but bland daughter. The story now jumps to the boy as an unsuccessful man but successful artist. The movie ends with a recap of the boys life accompanied with all the plots and insights we weren't privy too during the previous hour of viewing.

The actors did a great job portraying the characters in this movie, especially loved Anne Bancroft from the Graduate, she was wonderful as the rich, eccentric, lovelorn aunt. I received the movie in perfect condition would order from this site again.

I went into this not expecting a lot. But from the very first few frames I was drawn into the story. Yes, I have read the Dickens novel in High School. Contrary to some, I kinda liked the book. But you could totally ignore the Dickens angle and enjoy this film. That being said, I was highly amused that the director chose Florida as Pip/Finn's boyhood home. The setting and the further choice of the Florida fishing culture brought a depth to the story I did not catch in the novel. New York City as the "big city" may have been a cliché; but then New York City is the center of the art world as far as America is concerned.

Mr. Hawke may have the misfortune of being paired with great actors in almost every scene in this film. Because of this, I believe the talent and ability he brings to the film may be overlooked. For the most part, Hawke is on screen with either Anne Bancroft, Robert De Niro, Hank Azaria, or Gwyneth Paltrow. Although the story is supposed to be about Pip/Finn, our focus flows away from Hawke to any one of these actors.

Gwyneth Paltrow is a pretty woman but she is not fantastically beautiful as others would have her. I think this actually works to her advantage in that her beauty does not overshadow her personal charm. This allows her magic to actually work on the audience. Much is made of the nude scenes in this film; but the truth is that very little is actually shown. It is more suggested than revealed. But their effect is very electric. More effective are the surprised kisses of Hawke and Paltrow over drinking fountains. Simply the "best" kisses I have seen on film in a long time,

Most of us lose patience with great works of art dressed up in modern garb. For the most part, Shakespeare in space suit costumes is not nearly as interesting as many in the "creative community" seem to believe. But this version of Great Expectations really works in unexpected ways. Not a great film-but an absorbing one nonetheless.

This adaptation of Charles Dickens` novel is an interesting watch, but the final result isn`t too engaging or surprising. Another variation on the old poor boy (Ethan Hawke, in another of his dreamer, innocent, young artist roles) that falls for the rich girl (Gwyneth Patrow, with a too wooden and bland performance). Director Alfonso Cuarón presents some stylish and gourgeous sceneries, locations, people and music, yet the plot is still by-the-numbers, failing to convince despite some pretty and well-crafted moments. Not a bad movie, but not a memmorable one either.
Passable entertainment.

Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow star as Finn/Pip and Estella in this modern day version of the Dickens' classic. Director Alfonso Cuarón and 20th Century Fox do a wonderful job in this updated color version. Cuarón's modern day adaptation to "be careful for what you wish for" begins in a lower economic 70's Florida Gulf Coast fishing town. Here we meet a young Finn, a child artist who meets an eccentric elderly woman and her niece. Anne Bancroft does an excellent job playing the eccentric, jilted, Miss Dinsmoore/Miss Havisham. Because she has been left at the altar, Miss Dinsmoore poisons the mind of her niece Estella such that her niece will never feel the pain of a broken heart. Moreover, Miss Dinsmoore encourages Estella to go out into the world and toy with men's affections, rejecting them before they have a chance to hurt her. Thus, the stage is set for Finn to fall in love with the enchanting Estella and to be rejected by her.
Oddly enough, a strange and mysterious benefactor allows for an older Finn to go off to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a rich and famous artist. Finn believes that with enough money and fame he will be able to win Estella's love. Alas, Finn falls victim to all of the trappings of life in the big city and loses sight of who he was and the humble fishing town where he came from.
While the film is modernized from the original version including a soundtrack that is used artistically to reflect the moods and characters within the movie, the movie stays true to Dickens' original story ending, as it ends with Finn and Estella holding hands while gazing out upon the ocean.
The movie has a great deal of emotional depth. Many directors rely on a great deal of explicit imagery (fluff - sex and explosions) to bring the film to a wider audience. Great Expectations delivers a great story without including fluff. The two scenes that gave this movie its "R" rating were very short and necessary to complete the plot and necessary in order to modernize the original Victorian tale.

i didn't like this movie. it was boring , unrealistic , and stupid.

Remakes are risky business. Director Alfonso Cuaron's modernized Great Expectations proves the point. Charles Dickens' engaging, heart-warming, and admittedly plot-manipulated classic fares less well in this glitzy adaptation. Ethan Hawke plays Finn (Dickens' Pip) in his rags to riches rise from Florida fisherman to New York artist. But his character lacks depth. The same is true for Gwnyeth Paltrow's hard-hearted but bewitching Estella. The "minor" but veteran players eclipse both in the film. Ann Bancroft plays a convincing Miss Dinsmoor (Miss Havisham), Estella's jilted guardian. But Robert de Niro steals the show, just as does the money, as Arthur (Magwitch) the escaped convict. The novel's involved and coincidental story line is perhaps to blame, since the script allows for little character development in the lead roles. Still, director Cuaron finds time for some gratuitous sex scenes, hoping to grab a risky enough rating (R), to seduce young viewers into the theater. (Dickens would have raised the dickens about that!) The cinematography, at times an excessive eye candy, does please, however. And the film does entertain in a syrupy way. That said, Great Expectations suffers from (what else?) great expectations - arising from headline actors cast in a predictable film. It is, nonetheless, better than the average bore.

I am ashamed to tell that I have not read the book, hopefully I will. But I liked this movie, it is beautiful and sensual. The plot is about a poor boy who falls in love with cold beautiful rich girl living with her eccentric aunt. She breaks his heart, but he is lucky enough to be a famous artist after being sponsored by an ex criminal becoming rich whom he helped when he was a kid.
I watched it as a love story though some moral is hinted (I believe the book has more philosophy and morals)The atmosphere is so captivating with greens, the crazy aunt, the kids dancing, the super music, the beautiful sketches, that one does not care if this is a sensible movie with well constructed characters and supporting dialogues. Well, it is not, anyway...
Finally, here goes a beautiful movie, a delight to watch and listen especially if you like romance. A must [see]