Great Expectations

I had the VCR tapes, but I haven't had a VCR in years. I have read many reviews and everyone agrees this is one of if not the best versions.of this Classic. Come on people, you can make money with getting this updated, which we all know is the driving force why companies do what they do.

Even in a lengthier presentation like this, there are elements of the story left out. Everyone knows the story of Phillip Pirrip (Pip) who grows up with his nasty, vengeful sister, and his Uncle Joe, the kind, patient one. Pip is assaulted in a graveyard by a convict named Magwitch (Anthony Hopkins) who threatens him and his family if he doesn't bring him food. Pip manages this at great expense to himself and Joe. The opposite of Pip's situation is the home of Estella, who lives with her Aunt (Miss Havisham) who was left at the altar in her youth and has never recovered. She is very rich but powerful and unhappy woman who taunts Pip's poverty by throwing Estella at him. Estella is a snob and, of course, Pip falls in love with her. The story then involves Pip becoming a gentleman (I think that means a guy that doesn't have to work for a living). He becomes a ward and believes it is Miss Havisham that is supplying his finances. There are numerous turns of events as Pip's "great expectations" are affected by gale force winds. The acting is excellent with a host of wonderful characters. I actually enjoyed this more than the David Lean film.

I admitt, for Great Expectations, I am grateful to Charles Dickens. This adaptation is a very inspired remind about the sources of this gratitude . For acting and magnificent construction, for craft of each detail, for Satis and for the aspects of london, for supporting characters, so easy ignored by other versions and for costumes, for a true Pip and a splendid , realistic Miss Havisham , for the gentle connection of episodes and the pulse of this links.

It is more than a beautiful mini series but a fair / precise exploration of the Dickensian universe.

And the gratitude for novel becomes admiration for this series , provocative and seductive, in so many senses.

This is a great adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic, a TV mini-series about young Pip meeting two convicts in a graveyard, which leads to him meeting the mysterious Miss Havisham and her ward Estella.

I first saw this movie in my freshman English class in high school and, from what I remembered, it followed the novel pretty well. The actors were memorable and delivered solid performances, especially Jean Simmons as Miss Havisham and Anthony Hopkins as Magwich. The period setting and costumes were lavishly done and the story and plot flowed at a steady, but gripping pace, keeping the audience engaged. From what I remembered, my class enjoyed the movie.

Like many late 1960s to the 1980s movie/TV adaptations of famous novels, this TV mini-series of Great Expectations ranks high up there with 1968's Romeo and Juliet, 1982's Oliver Twist and 1988's April Morning. It's a good take on the novel and, if I were to select one film adaptation of the story to recommend, I would go with this one.

Grade B+

It's long, but that is because it most closely follows the novel, and there is so many things happening in the book. I watched this after listening to the unabridged audio book and was thrilled at how close it was. They even had most of the little intricate details and descriptions captured from the novel.