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Great Expectations [VHS] [1946]
 
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Great Expectations [VHS] [1946]

VHS ~ John Mills
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

David Lean's handsome adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel captures the warm humour and richness of character that so many film-makers 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 child-like 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 humourless 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, Amazon.com



Synopsis

A boy's action in befriending an escaped convict brings sudden fortune. Possibly one of the most famous films ever made. Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens.

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best film adaptation of Great Expectations ever, 8 Mar 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Great Expectations [DVD] [1946] (DVD)
From the wonderfully eerie opening scenes on the Essex marshes and Finlay Currie's menacing appearance in a foggy graveyard, you can tell straight away this is a winner. As the story of this "gentleman of great expectations" unfolds, you are treated to one of cinema's classics. David Lean's moody direction keeps you gripped throughout, but it's the acting that really makes the movie: John Mills and Alec Guiness both turn in great performances, and the incidental characters such as Francis L Sullivan's bluff Jaggers and the bumbling but sweet Joe Gargery supplied by Bernard Miles simply steal the show. There have been at least ten versions of this film made. If you only watch one, make it this one: It's a cracker!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Gold Standard!, 21 Jun 2008
By F. S. L'hoir (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Great Expectations [DVD] [1946] (DVD)
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 that Valerie Hobson was a bit of a disappointment after the brittle hauteur of Jean Simmons).

This film has everything: humor, suspense, and a lack of the sentimentality that seems to have crept into Dickensian films of late.

Lean, who was to become famous for his sweeping desolate landscapes of "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago," captures the essence of the lonely English fog-bound marshes with swirling swathes of grey in this glorious black and white film. The image of young Estella (a bewitching Jean Simmons) leading young Pip by candlelight up the darkened staircase into the cobweb-enshrouded inner sanctum of the demented Miss Havisham (the incomparable Martita Hunt) is unforgettable, as is the sight of the jilted bride's rat-infested wedding cake. Without computer-generated effects or even color, David Lean has created a cinematic masterpiece.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Expectations - great film, 10 Jul 2004
This versions of Dicken's classic novel "great expectations" is a fantastic adaptation of the book. It follows the book very well and it's the best version i have seen so far out of all 3 versions.
All the actors/actresses are fantastic and i thoroughly enjoyed watching it at school so i bought it. I have been watching it ever since.
The film only misses out a few characters, such as Orlick, who worked for Joe and there are only 1 or two other characters missed out.
So i suggest you buy it, it may be in black and white but it adds to the effect and makes it most enjoyable.
The actor who plays the convict at the beginning
is fantstic when he approaches Pip in the graveyard .
So my advise to you is to buy this.
I am only 15 and have thouroughly enjoyed it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Flawed Beauty
I have to agree with the person who said that Valerie Hobson's lack-lustre performance as the grown up Estella was disappointing after that of Jean Simmons (who frankly -- along... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Simon W. Cameron

5.0 out of 5 stars The best story from the master and the best film of it too
WONDERFULL, I recently saw it on the big screen and even though I'd seen it many times before it is one of my favourite films, well into the Top 5. Read more
Published 12 months ago by John Olliver

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful adaptation of a literary masterpiece
This excellent production truly captures the spirit of a Dickens classic. And it's WAY ahead of its time for 1946! Read more
Published 14 months ago by Irish Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Film making at it's best
They don't make films like this anymore, more's the pity. John Mills is superb and the supporting cast just as good. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Marko

4.0 out of 5 stars brilliant
i first watched this film about ten years ago and was happy to see it always crops up on tv so i always try to re watch it again! Read more
Published 22 months ago by Ms. F. I. Macdonald

5.0 out of 5 stars A great movie from a great novel, and perfectly cast
If a movie ever captured better the look in your head of a book you've read than David Lean's Great Expectations, I don't know what it would be. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2007 by C. O. DeRiemer

4.0 out of 5 stars close to perfect, and full of interest
This classic David Lean film has been justly popular for many, many years now. So much of it is good : the chilling opening scene on the marshes with Finlay Currie as a craggy,... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2007 by Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Expectations on DVD
Having seen, and been disappointed in, many book-to-film adaptations, this particular version surprised me. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2006 by Gemma Watson

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesomely Criterion Classic!
I have seen this movie several times, and I loved it every time seeing it. It was a very respectable adaptation of Charles Dicken's novel. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2004 by christie_olson

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost Great Expectations
This is a wonderful film - atmospheric, great acting, funny, dark but it is let down by the weakness of Valerie Hobson's performance as the grown up Estella. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2004 by Douglas Milne

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