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Great Expectations [1981] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Our Price: £6.73 (subject to change)
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Review date: 2008-06-16 Rating: 8 out of 10
I remember seeing this when originally broadcast when I was a child and being spellbound by it. Indeed, when I saw the David Lean version, I can remember being disappointed. It doesn't have the cinematic sweep of Lean as most of it is on video, but the compensation is in the performances. Three performance stand out in this adaptation. Joan Hickson I would say is the definitive Miss Havisham - proud, cruel, and frightening. Stratford Johns' Magwitch has great depth, and in the last episodes he elicits great sympathy. Phillip Joseph as Joe Gargery is quiet nobility personified - not the village idiot that Bernard Miles makes him in Lean's version. In addition to these, Sarah-Jane Varley makes a more believably ice princess Estella than the mature Valerie Hobson for Lean. Gerry Sundquist as Pip lacks the snobbish element early on, but is wholly sympathetic later. As is usual with BBC adaptations, the smaller roles are wonderfully cast - Derek Francis' non-commital Jaggers and Colin Jeavons' Wemmick are memorable. Also memorable is Mr Wopsle's dreadful performance as Hamlet! As I say, this doesn't have the cinematic polish of a film, but the 12 episodes mean you get more of Dickens' story and characters.
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Gerry Sundquist
Derek Francis
Tim Munro
Phillip Joseph
Patsy Kensit
Creators:
Gerry Sundquist (Primary Contributor)
Patsy Kensit (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: BBC Warner
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
EAN: 9781419814518
Binding: DVD
ISBN: 1419814516
Number of items: 1
Format: Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, NTSC,
Release date: 2005-09-06
Universal product code (UPC): 794051233721
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 351 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981
Language: English (Original Language)