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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A too obvious re-telling of the classic novel, January 26, 2000
After the brilliant David Lean version of "Great Expectations"(1946,but released in the U.S.in 1947),with its perfect casting,beautiful black-and-white camerawork,and magnificently inventive directorial touches, any other version of Dickens' classic is bound to be a letdown. But at least,most of the other versions tried to be as subtle as the author. This ham-fisted version was originally planned as a musical---TV's answer to "Oliver!" and,while we can be thankful that the makers finally came to their senses and came to realize that,unlike "Oliver Twist", "Great Expectations" does NOT lend itself to musicalization, there is little else to be thankful for.
The motivations and personalities of the characters have been simplified,with none of the ambiguous qualities that make the novel or the David Lean film so great---as if the filmmakers were still using a musical libretto,but without the songs. Sarah Miles,for instance, rather than playing Estella as the rather cool,aloof person she has been trained to be, instead plays her as a repressed hysteric about to be driven mad herself as she feverishly ,rather than calmly and sensibly,tries to convince Pip not to love her because she can never love him (of course,we know better--why else would this Estella always be on the verge of flipping out?) Margaret Leighton, an excellent actress, turns in a beautiful performance as the mad Miss Havisham,but again the script shortchanges her by making the tragic, vulnerable, pathetic old woman into more of a raving maniac than in any other previous version (her outburst and taunting of Pip when he inquires for Estella is an insensitive touch the scriptwriters have added to the film).And no better,more horrifying example of the approach that this film takes can be found than in Pip's scene with Lawyer Jaggers (the usually excellent, but this time miscast Anthony Quayle tries, but fails, to sound pompous), in which the two discuss Estella's "dark secret". In the novel--and the David Lean film, Pip, when learning the truth, generously and compassionately says,"She must never be told of this"-- a sign that, despite his now snobbish and selfish nature,he truly loves Estella. In this TV version, the film-makers crudely point up his self-centeredness by actually reversing the line to its exact opposite---"This must be known! If Drummle knew,he'd never marry her!" , something Dickens would not have been capable of. Pip is very blandly played by Michael York, in one of his less memorable performances. He gives the impression of having "phoned it in".
The two major roles left untouched and unchanged, are Magwitch, the convict, played with enormous dignity by the great James Mason,and Joe Gargery (Joss Ackland), who is also given his true worth in this botched movie.Robert Morley reprises his pompous routine for the umpteenth time as Uncle Pumblechook,and Andrew Ray (the once unbelievably cute child star of 1950's "The Mudlark") is a completely forgettable, bland Herbert Pocket, especially in comparison to Alec Guinness's memorable 1946 performance of the role. The musical score consists mostly of a syrupy waltz played over and over by the violins.
Rent the David Lean version instead,and see how a great director handles a classic.
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