Great Expectations (1946)
Country: GB
Technical: bw 118m
Director: David Lean
Cast: John Miles, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie, Alec Guinness, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt, Francis L. Sullivan, Valerie Hobson
Synopsis:
Brought up on the Thames marshes by his sister and brother-in-law, a blacksmith's apprentice is given the favour of companionship to an aged eccentric and her adopted daughter, who treats him with haughty contempt. Nevertheless, when, on coming of age, he finds himself the recipient of a gentleman's allowance and the promise of an uncertain inheritance, he assumes the same woman to be his benefactress.
Review:
A Dickens adaptation wholly worthy of the classic status accorded the book, this was one of the first British films to attain recognition at the Oscars. The difference of approach compared with MGM's David Copperfield is characterised by a general economy which omits little of importance but uses costume, accent and performance to convey the impression of sharply delineated characters. Lean's command of visual storytelling is further typified by the astounding simplicity of the opening half-hour, with its Magwitch scenes and compression of action into editing strokes, characters etched against livid cloudscapes, etc. It is a pity that the ending is changed, Ambersons-like, to provide a more conventional matinee resolution, but it is a brief moment that does not erase the definitive charm of what has preceded it.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 118m
Director: David Lean
Cast: John Miles, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie, Alec Guinness, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt, Francis L. Sullivan, Valerie Hobson
Synopsis:
Brought up on the Thames marshes by his sister and brother-in-law, a blacksmith's apprentice is given the favour of companionship to an aged eccentric and her adopted daughter, who treats him with haughty contempt. Nevertheless, when, on coming of age, he finds himself the recipient of a gentleman's allowance and the promise of an uncertain inheritance, he assumes the same woman to be his benefactress.
Review:
A Dickens adaptation wholly worthy of the classic status accorded the book, this was one of the first British films to attain recognition at the Oscars. The difference of approach compared with MGM's David Copperfield is characterised by a general economy which omits little of importance but uses costume, accent and performance to convey the impression of sharply delineated characters. Lean's command of visual storytelling is further typified by the astounding simplicity of the opening half-hour, with its Magwitch scenes and compression of action into editing strokes, characters etched against livid cloudscapes, etc. It is a pity that the ending is changed, Ambersons-like, to provide a more conventional matinee resolution, but it is a brief moment that does not erase the definitive charm of what has preceded it.
Country: GB
Technical: bw 118m
Director: David Lean
Cast: John Miles, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie, Alec Guinness, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt, Francis L. Sullivan, Valerie Hobson
Synopsis:
Brought up on the Thames marshes by his sister and brother-in-law, a blacksmith's apprentice is given the favour of companionship to an aged eccentric and her adopted daughter, who treats him with haughty contempt. Nevertheless, when, on coming of age, he finds himself the recipient of a gentleman's allowance and the promise of an uncertain inheritance, he assumes the same woman to be his benefactress.
Review:
A Dickens adaptation wholly worthy of the classic status accorded the book, this was one of the first British films to attain recognition at the Oscars. The difference of approach compared with MGM's David Copperfield is characterised by a general economy which omits little of importance but uses costume, accent and performance to convey the impression of sharply delineated characters. Lean's command of visual storytelling is further typified by the astounding simplicity of the opening half-hour, with its Magwitch scenes and compression of action into editing strokes, characters etched against livid cloudscapes, etc. It is a pity that the ending is changed, Ambersons-like, to provide a more conventional matinee resolution, but it is a brief moment that does not erase the definitive charm of what has preceded it.