Customer Reviews

Great Adaptations (Great Expectations / Lord of the Flies / The Most Dangerous Game / Oliver Twist) (The Criterion Collection)

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This is a wonderful collection of some of the greatest films ever made. It is well worth the price and more. Besides Criterion restored the films and made them the most watchable they can be. The two greatest films are directed by David Lean, are British and based on Charles Dickens' books. Great Expectations and Oliver Twist are wonderful films and no other adaptations compare to them though with Oliver some adaptations have come close twice. England in these pictures is a dark scary place full of peril and people who can help you or hurt you. The darkness assists the stories in mood and detail in British life. England was not the most beautiful place to be during this part of the 19th century. The stories have never been told so well on film. Lord of the Flies is a movie I would normally rate about 3 stars but it also is the best adaptation of the book. Criterion has included amazing extras that taught me more about the director, author of the book and making of the movie than I dreamed possible. They add to the film and make me appreciate more. I loved the feature where the author reads excerpts from his novel as the corresponding scene in the movie is played in the background. Haven't seen that before. I think teachers would love to use that feature. The last film is The Most Dangerous Game. A film I have always loved and true to form, Criterion has improved the sound and picture quality so that it is better than ever. Joel McCrea and Fay Wray are bait on an island where an insane madman hunts them for sport. A fun exciting movie that is brought to you by the same team that created King Kong and filmed it at the same time. These films are wonderful as well as their DVDs. This is a must collection of great films.

A ship full of mysterious characters is interring a harbor that is either misscharted or mislight. We are introduced to them and in two minutes and they are old friends.

A conversation is struck up on the subject of hunting. Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) is asked if it is really fare hunt with superior file power and asked if he would change places with the tiger. He philosophically replies, "That is something I will never have to decide... This world is decided into two kinds of people. The hunter and the hunted. I am a hunter and nothing can ever change that."

I will not give you a detailed review of the movie as that is what you will buy it. However after watching once be sure to listen to the Criterion version voice over by xxx and then watch the movie again.

You can tell right off that this is a David O. Selznick picture as he has his name plastered over the credits.
Screen play by James Ashmore Creelman. From a story by Richard Connell.

I found it interesting that many of the actors and the sets will show up in the 1933 version of King Kong.
I also pretty much guesses the story ahead of time. Not because I saw it or read the book. But I saw most of the remakes and know the formula. Believe me this will not distract from this film.