Product Details

• Actors: Chris Sarandon, Peter Cushing, Kenneth More, Barry Morse, Flora Robson
• Directors: Jim Goddard
• Writers: Charles Dickens, John Gay
• Producers: Norman Rosemont, William Hill
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• VHS Release Date: May 21, 1996
• Run Time: 156 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0784001308
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,163 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the same as the book, but. . . ., June 16, 2004

By 

Ruth Henriquez Lyon (Duluth, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tale of Two Cities: Literary Masterpieces [VHS] (VHS Tape)

. . .it was a good watch anyway. Chris Sarandon was outstanding in the roles he played of look-alikes Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. He captured Carton's sardonic humor well, and evoked his melancholic fatalism and innate dignity with much pathos. A quite elderly Kenneth More put on a great performance as the officious but kindly banker, whose character provided much humorous dialogue. The character of Miss Pross, the sharp-eyed chaperone, was absolutely wonderful.

I never expect a movie to follow a novel very closely -- books and films are two completely different art forms and cannot be translated one to the other with good effect. As the movie begins we see the words "Based on the novel by Charles Dickens." With those words we are given fair warning that what is to follow is an interpretation of Dickens' vision.

What this film did was capture what is so wonderful about Dickens' novels -- the alternation between the humor and the darkness at the center of much human experience. The scenes were knit together flawlessly, so that a rather complicated plot taking part in two different places came together without confusion or awkward transitions. The pacing was artfully done, and the last 40 minutes or so were very suspenseful.

It's too bad the movie received so many bad reviews because it didn't follow the book. I've read the book and found it, like many of Dickens' works, to be wonderful, but also probably inaccessible to many readers. This film takes a good story and opens it up to those who may never open the book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It, June 14, 2004

By 

Mitzie Carvel (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tale of Two Cities: Literary Masterpieces [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is my favorite version of A Tale of Two Cities. I do not agree with the review that said it was "flat". I have seen other versions and think Chris Sarandon did an outstanding job. Dickens would be proud

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tale of Two Cities: Literary Masterpieces [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have recently watched this movie in High School and I loved it. I thought that it was very detailed and real. The actors were incredible and the movie really made me think. The characters were so incredible and I fell in love with the plot. I would recommend this movie to everyone. I think that people of all ages should see this movie. It was a great learning experience and it held my interest.