Customer Reviews

David Copperfield

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This DVD seemed a bargain, as it was a period piece with a most illustrious cast. Being a lover of period pieces and a fan of Charles Dickens, I immediately snapped it up. Well, you get what you pay for. Despite the illustrious cast, this body of work is dead on arrival.

Robin Phillips gamely plays the part of David Copperfield. He is, however, a rather colorless chap and is not strong enough to hold this film together, which is unfortunate, as he is the linchpin around which this drama revolves. Told in a series of flashbacks, this contrivance is one of the weaknesses in the film, as it tends to be confusing and adds nothing to the film, but rather, detracts a great deal. This retropsective of David Copperfield's life shows him losing his mother at an early age and being left in the hands of an unloving stepfather. Pulled out of school to toil in a factory as a young child, he runs away and makes it to the home of his loving aunt who raises him. The viewer watches him grow up in Victorian England and sees how he fairs against the vicissitudes of life. The cast of characters with whom he interacts is vibrant, and it is they who manage to keep this two hour film somewhat afloat. Ultimately, however, it tanks.

The all star ensemble is a plethora of riches, with screen greats Richard Attenborough, Ron Moody, Lawrence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, Dame Edith Evans, Wendy Hiller, Susan Hampshire, and Pamela Franklin lighting up the screen at different moments. Even their individual, luminous performances, however, are not enough to make this turkey work, so poorly put together and choppy is the film.

The DVD is offers some special features, such as a classic cartoon, a movie trivia game, and a DVD dictionary. The picture quality is sometimes grainy, though the sound quality is good.

I first saw this made-for-TV production over 20 years ago, when it was bright, shiny, new, and sported a dream cast of British pros, many of whom are no longer with us. Unfortunately, there are only two DVD releases of this production and BOTH are equally wretched, whichever you choose. The DVD has extremely poor color and looks as if it were taken from an old, faded video print, with lots of serious color bleeds and other problems you'd find in a video that's ready to be discarded. Any night shots, many indoor shots, and anything in which the color red is dominant will cause your eyes to positively ache. For example, the scene where Steerforth's drowned body is discovered originally had some emotional impact, but on the DVD, the body is so unrecognizable that ones only reaction is annoyance. And the sound quality is so tinny and horrible you'll miss a great deal of the dialogue. If this production is ever released on a decent DVD, one will be able to relish some incredible performances, especially those of Ron Moody as Uriah, Laurence Olivier as Creakle, Ralph Richardson and Wendy Hiller as the Micawbers, Edith Evans as Betsy Trotwood, Pamela Franklin as Dora, and Susan Hampshire as Agnes, to name just a few. Even so, there are those who might find the non-linear approach to this story confusing, since it is told in flashbacks, but I think the real confusion here rests with the viewer's inability to see and the listener's inability to hear. When you add a non-linear structure to THAT mix, you're done for. In short, don't buy this DVD -- it's cheap but no bargain. Hope instead that some day a decent copy will be available, because this version is an insult to all the talent who originally contributed to this production.

This DVD of Dickens "David Copperfield" is a well made version of the book with a wonderful cast of British superstars.Lawrence Olivier in what is basically a cameo is Mr. Creakle, the school master, Ralph Richardson is a wonderful McCawber, Dame Edith Evans shines as Aunt Betsy, Ron Moody is creepy as Uriah Heep - all contribute wonderful performances to this modestly priced DVD. With a cast like this, it is a real bargin. But, it does have some flaws. It is very slow paced. It seems like it is being stretched at some points to fill a 2 hour running time. Robin Phillips is a rather passionless title character.

The color is subdued as fits the period. The direction by Delbert Mann is also subdued, but fitting in a number of scenes. Even with the all star cast, there is no upstaging or scene stealing. Each star contributes a finely drawn character.

The disk does not contain any extras for the film itself, but does have a movie trivia game and a vintage Warner Brothers cartoon.

All in all it is a nice addition to a DVD collection of a Dickens masterpiece.

I would give it zero stars if I could. Despite its "illustrious cast" this movie is the worst film adaptation of any Dickens work I have ever seen. I purchased the DVD on ebay thinking "DVD" meant "quality" but I couldn't have been more wrong. The DVD picture and sound quality is so incredibly awful you think you are viewing a poorly copied video tape (one that sat in a hot car for a few hours or got lost in a sandbox!). I couldn't understand every other word and the "visual noise" (scratches, spots, lines, etc.) were so numerous and distracting it was like trying to watch a movie in a room full of buzzing insects. Besides the poor picture and sound the movie itself was simply unbearable. It was incredibly slow, dull and one of the most boring movies I ever attempted to endure. I finally gave up and called it quits. I won't even try to give away my copy. It's not even worth watching if its free. I will never purchase another DVD or video by Brentwood Home Video again!

Those reviewers who criticize this DVD are absolutely correct. It is a terrible transfer. The picture is awful and the sound is worse. That said, it is still the only copy we have of this wonderful film.
Those reviewers who criticise the film itself simply don't know what their talking about. This is, by far, the best version of David Copperfield ever filmed. Later versions are longer, more lavish, with better DVD transfers; but none has ever surpassed this gem of a movie. Director Delbert Mann captures the spirit of Dickens' classic novel better than any other version ever produced. Its all here: the sheer evil of the Murdstones, Mr. Creakle, Steerforth & Uriah Heep, the mad humour of Micawber, Barkis & Mr. Dick, the generosity, kindness and loyalty of Aunt Betsy, Peggotty, the Micawbers & Mr. Wickfield, the foolish innocence of Little Emily & Dora, the self sacrificing love of Dan Peggotty, Ham & Agnes.
And the cast is magnificent (including Robin Phillips as David Copperfield). How can you beat a cast that includes Edith Evans, Ralph Richardson, Lawrence Olivier, Anna Massey, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Cyril Cusack, Sinead Cusack, Michael Redgrave, Susan Hampshire, Emlyn Williams, Wendy Hiller, Pamela Franklin & Ron Moody (who is superlative as Uriah Heep)? You can't! And it has never been done. This is simply the greatest film version of David Copperfield ever made.

As a two hour distillation of an 800-page book, this movie is much better than the Masterpiece Theatre version: all the big scenes and memorable lines are retained here. The actors are usually high-profile British actors of the 1970's: Edith Evans (Aunt Betsey), Susan Hampshire (Agnes), Ron Moody (Uriah Heep), Ralph Richardson (Micawber) and cameos by Laurence Olivier (Creakle), Richard Attenborough, Windy Hiller & Michael Redgrave. The score is composed & conducted by Sir Malcolm Arnold.

But the "fly in the ointment" is that this marvelous adaptation by Jack Pulman has not been remastered! Colors are faded, but worse, there are a number of "blips" in some scenes. So the end result is a 5-star performance compromised by the lack of technology.
The movie opens with David, grieving and upset at the blows life has dealt him, aimlessly walking the English coast. He remembers in a series of "flashbacks" the blows he has suffered. After his litany of misfortunes are recounted, the development of Aunt Betsey's & the Wickfield's current dilemmas are resolved through David's involvement in the current world, rather than his absorption in the past.
I had read (& loved) the novel about five years before I first saw this production on TV in the late '70's; other reviewers seem to have had difficulty with the series of flashbacks used in the film---I did not.

Delbert Mann's TV movie of David Copperfield is unique among film adaptations in that it tells the entire story from a series of flashbacks rather than an ongoing narrative. It works extremely well, adds to the emotional punch of the entire story, further illuminates Dickens' wonderful characters and is aided by a haunting musical score by composer Malcolm Arnold.

It also boasts a pretty fabulous cast including Dame Edith Evans, Susan Hampshire, Richard Attenborough, Ron Moody, Wendy Hiller, Lawrence Olivier and Sir Ralph Richardson; a veritable who's who of the finest British actors of the 20th century! Some have commented that Robin Phillips is bland as the title character. I couldm't disagree more. He is certainly the most cerebral, tortured David in any of the adaptations and also cuts a handsome figure in the movie. In short, he's splendid.

Now to the DVD quality. I certainly agree that it is not good. The colors are a bit washed out, there is some clipped editing and a few moments of nasty film print. That being said, it is far from being unwatchable as some others have suggested. The musical soundtrack comes through fine and the dialogue is clear. And as much as I would welcome a digital restoration of the film, it's TV origins suggest that this would be unlikely.

Frankly, having the movie on DVD at a bargain price is blessing enough. I highly recommend it to those interested in an outstanding version of the story and willing to put up with technical imperfections.

This DVD seemed a bargain, as it was a period piece with a most illustrious cast. Being a lover of period pieces and a fan of Charles Dickens, I immediately snapped it up. Well, you get what you pay for. Despite the illustrious cast, this body of work is dead on arrival.

Robin Phillips gamely plays the part of David Copperfield. He is, however, a rather colorless chap and is not strong enough to hold this film together, which is unfortunate, as he is the linchpin around which this drama revolves. Told in a series of flashbacks, this contrivance is one of the weaknesses in the film, as it tends to be confusing and adds nothing to the film, but rather, detracts a great deal.

This retropsective of David Copperfield's life shows him losing his mother at an early age and being left in the hands of an unloving stepfather. Pulled out of school to toil in a factory as a young child, he runs away and makes it to the home of his loving aunt who raises him. The viewer watches him grow up in Victorian England and sees how he fares against the vicissitudes of life.

The cast of characters with whom he interacts is vibrant, and it is they who manage to keep this two hour film somewhat afloat. The all star ensemble is a plethora of riches, with screen greats Richard Attenborough, Ron Moody, Lawrence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, Dame Edith Evans, Wendy Hiller, Susan Hampshire, and Pamela Franklin lighting up the screen at different moments. So poorly put together and choppy is the film, however, that even their individual, luminous performances are not enough to make this turkey work. Ultimately, it simply tanks.

I saw this movie on television via PBS when it first came out. "David Copperfield" is my favorite Dickens. Of all the movie versions of the book that I've seen this comes the closest to enacting the Major Theme: the maturation of love as one of the purposes of human existence. And, of course, Dickens' favorite theme: the importance that one human being can make either for the good of us all or the downfall. The style of the film may seem a bit dated as those things go but if you are familiar with the book, it hits all the ugly discomforts, the being pulled in by old admirations, the acceptence of the people that we love the most and find most attractive being both flawed and leading us away from ourselves for their benefit... It is a powerful book; close to 1000 pages. It has lots of subplots going on as one follows the main story. Dickens pulls it all together and that is where this film hangs - where Dickens pulled it all together. It seems it would be impossible to make a 2 hour film from such a long complicated book. I liked it because it followed the book, uses the voice one hears while reading the book, yet the film makers didn't bog themselvs down by using the book like a script. Films are films, books are books. I like this version.

I disagree with the above review. This is a wonderful film with outstanding actors. Robin Phillips does an outstanding job considering the emotional starvation of the youth whom he was playing. Robin was perfect for the part. I don't see how it could have been done better. I am a psychologist and I understand the delicate emotional balance needed to play Copperfield in this film. I found this movie so fascinating that I have viewed it several times and I will buy another just to be certain I aways have a copy.