Great Expectations (1946)
Genre: Drama / Romance
Duration: 118 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: David Lean
Stars: John Mills, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness
IMDb score:
7,8 (26.997)
Releasedate: 26 December 1946
Great Expectations plot
"From the Vivid Pages of Charles Dickens' Masterpiece!"
This film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel tells the story of the poor orphaned boy Pip who helps an escaped convict. He grows up in the company of the bitter woman Miss Havisham and her protégé Estella. Years later, he is financially helped by an unknown person to become a real gentleman.
Actors and actresses
Pip
Estella
Young Pip
Young Estella
Joe Gargery
Mr. Jaggers
Abel Magwitch
Miss Havisham
Herbert Pocket
Mr. Wemmick
Reviews & comments
Dievegge
-
- 3060 messages
- 7901 votes
The first forty minutes are brilliant. The foggy opening images with a long tracking shot to the cemetery immediately set the right atmosphere. There is a contrast between the young, innocent Pip and the rough escaped convict Abel Magwitch, but after the initial scare you see them grow closer together. Another Dickensian figure is Lady Havisham, for whom time has stood still. Her house with the cobwebs, fabric nets and the yellowed wedding dress has a gothic character. Her haughty niece Estella is played well by Jean Simmons: conceited in a charming way. They play the card game beggar my neighbour, a variant of war.
Unfortunately, once Pip is an adult, it diminishes. John Mills is fifteen years too old. It is hard to believe that Valerie Hobson represents the same character as Jean Simmons, especially since her voice is so much lower. There are beautiful character roles for Francis L. Sullivan as the fat lawyer Jaggers and for Bernard Miles as the simple blacksmith Joe.
Translated from Dutch · View original
arno74
-
- 8700 messages
- 3342 votes
Wonderful movie. I didn't know the story of Great Expectations, but I do like films that take place in a similar setting, atmosphere and zeitgeist, such as Les Miserables and in a sense also [i ]A Christmas Carol[/i]. Given the poster and the genre, I had expected a standard romantic classic, but it is by no means standard, it is a very original story that is also beautifully presented on the big screen. It is actually not a romantic film as the love story is more of an unrequited platonic love, which, although it forms a common thread, takes place more in the background.
In any case, the strength of Dickens in this film lies in the beautiful characters and the world created by the powerful story here. A world where the poor and less fortunate have higher morals than the cold rich. In that world we see how a boy grows up from one environment to another, with all the advantages and disadvantages that entails. The cinematography is truly enjoyable, with beautiful settings such as a misty graveyard and a haunted house-like castle. All this is brought at a nice pace where you don't really want the film to end. 4.5*
I am curious about the other versions as I read that the story and the characters are much more extensive than what is shown in this film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Roger Thornhill
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- 5743 messages
- 2290 votes
Without ever being one of my favorite writers (I've read four of his titles, including this one), Dickens always manages to entertain and move me, on the page as well as on the screen. Somewhat skeptical, I started this second viewing (after maybe 25 years), and I liked the much-vaunted beginning in the graveyard, but then again not as impressive as many previous users here, but after some time I got carried away again. Jean Simmons is outrageously beautiful as the young Estella, Bernard Miles is endearing as the docile blacksmith, and John Mills is cut out for the role of the older Pip (I had no problem with Mills' old age – I've never really had that with that. kind of "anachronisms"). But I especially liked the way of telling, the pace, the way Lean keeps up the momentum at times and takes all the time at other times to give dramatic moments the appropriate intensity, such as when Mr Jaggers tells Pip the identity of his benefactor. reveals. So at the end I am still impressed and, yes, also moved, thanks again to how John Mills, despite all the rejection and disappointment, never lets his character become bitter or lose his optimism. Good looking.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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