Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Tis a far, far better thing...", August 6, 2001
than a lot of other movies, that's for sure! What a wonderful adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities". Like so many of the great author's works, this story is crammed full of images famous outside of the work itself: Madame DeFarge and her incessant, malevolent knitting, Dr. Manet lost in his cobbling, Sydney Carton offering the ultimate love sacrifice. Ronald Colman gives a splendid performance as the world-weary Sydney, and looks surprisingly young without his trademark moustache. Among the good supporting cast, Edna May Oliver, as always, steals the show as the prim Miss Pross, chaperone to Lucie Manet, daughter of the unfortunate doctor held captive in the Bastille for half a lifetime. Like all pre-GWTW Selznick pictures, the movie has an air of the antique about it (like "David Copperfield" and "Little Women"), but for a story set in the distant past, that makes sense. It had been many years since I last saw this piece, and what surprised me were the excellently done mob scene when the French peasants charge the Bastille, and when Madame DeFarge denounces Charles Darney in the witness box. Usually, the only scene excerpted from "A Tale of Two Cities" is the last guillotine shot, but I think it's a disservice to the film to not show more of these other great scenes to a larger audience. "It was the best of times" seeing this grand old film--take my work for it, and rent it yourself.
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38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES...IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES..., August 28, 2005
This is an epic film, adapted from Charles Dickens' book of the same name. It is, indeed, a tale of two cities, as the drama in the film swings back and forth between Paris and London. In Paris, France, the seeds of revolution are being sown. A secret underground is already at work, presided over by a Madame Defarge (Blanche Yurka), who, with her husband, runs a small wine shop. These unhappy citizens are seeking to end the tyranny of the aristocracy, whom they view as oppressors of the poor. The worst of the aristocracy is represented by the Marquis St. Evremonde (Basil Rathbone), an insufferable, effete aristocrat, who cares for no one but himself, much less for the starving masses outside his door, whom he considers to be less than dogs. There is a scene in the film that illustrates this quite aptly.
Meanwhile, one of the victims of the Marquis, Dr. Manette, an innocent man who has been imprisoned in the Bastille for the last eighteen years without benefit of trial, is finally released, a changed man who has lost touch with reality. Dr. Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie (Elizabeth Allen), who had thought that her father was dead. Under her love and nursing, he recovers a bit and together travel to England to resume their lives. It is on that voyage that they meet a fellow Frenchman, a young, handsome man who goes by the name of Charles Darnay. They do not know that he is the idealistic nephew of the despicable Marquis St. Evremonde.
Once in London, Lucie and Darnay have occasion to meet. Then, he is accused of treason, having been framed by an emissary of the Marquis. Represented at trial by a team of barristers, which includes Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman), a handsome, melancholy barrister with a penchant for drinking. It is at the trial that Carton makes the acquaintance of Lucie Manette, for whom he develops a deep and abiding secret love. Carton becomes a welcome and frequent visitor to the Manette home, where Lucie holds him in great esteem and considers him her greatest friend. Carton thrives under her attention. So, when she tells him that she is going to be marrying Charles Darnay, Carton simply begins his downward spiral anew. Shortly after, Lucie becomes Mrs. Darnay. Later, Carton resumes his visits with Lucie, none the wiser of his feelings for her. Carton eventually settles for being a favorite of Lucie and Darnay's young daughter, who is watched over by Lucie's former nanny and companion, Miss Pross (Edna May Oliver).
When the revolution in France begins, all hell breaks looks, with Madame Defarge as its spokesperson. She now relentlessly knits shrouds for victims of the guillotine, as the aristocracy and anyone affiliated with them are sentenced to death by kangaroo courts presided over by "citizens". Under false pretenses, Darnay is lured back to France. Even though he knows that he is at risk, he goes, thinking that he will be helping his former tutor and friend, who has been arrested for having been employed by the Marquis St. Evremonde, the Marquis having long since been murdered. When Darnay arrives in Paris, he is arrested as a member of the aristocracy, despite having renounced his title long ago. He is imprisoned, and his wife, daughter, father-in-law, Miss Pross, the family banker, and Sidney Carton, all go to Paris in hopes of helping him. Dr. Manette testifies on behalf of his son-in-law at trial, and it looks as if Darnay may be set free, as the people seem persuaded by the eloquent plea of the man who spent eighteen years unjustly imprisoned in the Bastille. Then, an outraged Madame Defarge steps up to home plate. At Darnay's trial, she rallies her fellow citizens with her revolutionary rhetoric and gets the verdict that she desires.
While Darnay awaits his turn at the guillotine, Carton sees that there is something he can do to help his beloved Lucie. He can return Charles to her. He concocts a daring plan, so that instead of Darnay, the guillotine will meet with him, instead. It is one of the most memorable, redemptive self-sacrifices ever filmed. He also arranges for them to flee France immediately, as the by now insanely bloodthirsty Madame Defarge, aware that Darnay has a child, wants all the descendants of the Marquis St. Evremonde to make contact with the guillotine. Madame Defarge almost succeeds but for the fact that she runs into the formidable Miss Pross. The tangle between these two at the eleventh hour makes for one of the film's most memorable scenes.
This is a superlative film. The cast is stellar and gives performances that are exceptional. The two main standouts are Ronald Colman and Blanche Yurka. Ronald Colman gives a sensitive, restrained performance as Sidney Carlton, the lawyer on the skids, who finally has an opportunity to show his love for Lucie in a way that will be meaningful to her. Moreover, in portraying an attorney with a drinking problem, he does so with a deft subtlety, getting the point across without over doing it. His face shows a myriad of emotions, and his suffering is etched on it, visible with every glance. His velvet voice, as always, keeps the viewer riveted to the screen. Blanche Yurka gives a powerful and compelling performance as the commanding Madame Defarge, who goes over the deep end at the last. Basil Rathbone is excellent as the cruel and narcissistic Marquis St. Evremonde, his every word and action dripping with contempt for the people of France. Of course, who could forget the indomitable Edna May Oliver, who has one of the most memorable scenes in the film, when Madame Defarge crosses her path at a most inopportune moment? The rest of the cast, too many to mention, individually contributes successfully to making this a worthy film, indeed. It should be in the personal collection of all those who appreciate vintage films. Bravo!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
COLMAN'S FINEST HOUR., March 30, 2002
Originally released for Christmas in 1935, this splendidly produced, atmospheric and magnificently acted film displayed M-G-M's flair for filming literary classics - DAVID COPPERFIELD was released earlier that year - with no expense spared; the storming of the Bastille sequence employed several thousand extras and was filmed on one of Hollywood's largest sets ever. Ronald Colman was intially reluctant to play the role of Sidney Carlton, that charming but dissolute lawyer who commits the ultimate self - sacrifice ...... It took great persuasion to make Colman shave off his trademark moustache for the role of Carlton, but he delivered more than likely his finest performance ( Later in his life, Colman admitted this was his personal favourite of all his roles ). Charles Dicken's stirring classic of seventeenth-century Paris and London and the events surrounding the French Revolution had been filmed as silents on four different occasions -twice each in Great Britain and America - this easily remains the definitive masterpiece. Under Jack Conway's meticulous direction, A TALE OF TWO CITIES offers memorable performances by a fine cast, including the marvelously hammy Blanche Yurka, frightening Lucille LaVerne, vinegary Edna May Oliver, despicable Basil Rathbone, eloquent Henry B. Walthall ( he was the "Little Colonel" in BIRTH OF A NATION ) and, in a radical change of pace, the dimunitive Isabel Jewell, as the pathetic seamstress who accompanies Colman to the place of his execution.
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