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Great Expectations
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Great Expectations
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- 1946
- David Lean
- 113 mins
- PG
Summary
Director David Lean's Oscar-winning adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel, starring John Mills and featuring Alec Guinness. The life of a poor young orphan boy suddenly changes when he comes into a fortune from an unknown benefactor, enabling him to move to London and become a gentleman of great expectations.
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IMDB
Review
A star rating of 5 out of 5.
Andrew Collins
David Lean will always be best remembered for his Technicolor epics, but this black-and-white adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel is one of his early masterpieces. It's a carefully pruned version of the book that excises entire characters but retains the magical Dickens spirit as it tells the tale of orphaned Pip (played as a boy by Anthony Wager and as an adult by John Mills), who comes into an unexpected fortune. From the opening sequence on the Kentish marshes, when the young Pip encounters terrifying escaped convict Magwitch (Finlay Currie), through to his love for Estella (played by Jean Simmons as a child and Valerie Hobson as an adult), this is superlative film-making from one of Britain's greatest directors. It looks magnificent and earned Oscars for cinematographer Guy Green and designers John Bryan and Wilfrid Shingleton.
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7.8/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenamePip as an adultJohn MillsEstella as an adultValerie HobsonJoe GargeryBernard MilesJaggersFrancis L SullivanMiss HavishamMartita HuntAbel MagwitchFinlay CurrieHerbert PocketAlec GuinnessWemmickIvor BarnardPip as a childAnthony WagerEstella as a childJean Simmons
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Crew
rolenameDirectorDavid Lean
Details
Theatrical distributor
BFI
Released on
2007-02-02
Languages
English
Available on
video, DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Black and white
News & features about Great Expectations
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