Rating: 
Summary: One of the BEST
Review: A great film which more than anything else demonstrates the power of kindness and memory.
Rating:
Summary: A timeless gem!
Review: A peniless orphan is carried under the education shelter of Herbert Pocket . You'll watch step by step the gradual becoming of Guiness .
The underlying lines testify the contrast between the upper class frivolity of London the rustic singleness of Pip'childhood.
It's hard to consider another adaptation of any other Dickens novel so succesful like this one . This film is the screen debut of Sir Alec Guiness that legend actor , and the great jump of David Lean as director .
If you just only think about these two powerful issues : the debut of Guiness and the direction of the greatest english film maker of the last century . What are you risking ? The possibilities of fail are less than zero. One of the most unforgettable movies ever made.
Rating:
Summary: The mood and intent of the novel comes through
Review: An Academy Award winner for Best Art and Set Direction and Best Cinematography in a black and white film, this 1947 version of the classic Dickens novel was adapted for the screen by British director David Lean. I can understand why it won those awards. Without the availability of modern technical effects, he was able to create a perfect atmosphere and sense of foreboding, keeping the mood and dark macabre feeling of the novel throughout. He also kept some key scenes intact, the young Pip's meeting with the convict, the mad Miss Havisham, and the ghoulish atmosphere in the law offices of Mr. Jaggers, whose walls are decorated with the death masks of clients he had lost to the gallows.In most respects, this film stayed true to the novel. But it is impossible to condense Dickens into a spare two-hour film. Perhaps it was because I had just finished the novel the day before, but I couldn't help but notice how some characters were missing, many scenes were eliminated, the ending was changed and the plot seemed an oversimplification of the one I had just lived with in the book for the past month. Without exception, all of the actors were excellent, but I wondered a bit at the casting. John Mills played the young pip who was supposed to be 20. In reality, he was 38 years old at the time and, in those days before plastic surgery, even had some crows feet around his eyes. Alex Guinness, who was cast as Herbert Pocket who befriends the adult Pip, was actually 32 and both of these gentlemen just didn't have the freshness of youth that was so apparent in the Dickens novel. Age didn't seem to matter though in the casting of the convict. Finlay Currie, with his craggy face and threatening bearing was 68, but he played the role as if it was created just for him. Jean Simmons played the young Estella, her performance overshadowing that of Valerie Hopson who was cast as the older Estella. Marita Hunt played Miss Havisham, exactly as I had pictured her in my mind's eye. And Francis L. Sullivan's gave a perfect portrayal of the lawyer Jaggers. Perhaps if I had let several decades pass between my reading of the book and my viewing of the film, the edges would have softened on my memory and I would have not been as critical. The film was really good and a great way to experience Dickens through this director's interpretation of his work. It certainly is a wonderful story and I've noticed from a bit of research on the Net that there are nine movie versions, three TV programs and four TV series. I plan to keep on the lookout for other videos which might exist of these offerings as I am now fascinated by the story and by the variety of interpretations. I do recommend this 1947 version, especially if you haven't read the book. It is totally in keeping with the intentions of the original.
Rating:
Summary: Two very important Introductions
Review: David Lean always made it a feature of his filmmaking technique to open with an attention grabbing scene. In his hommage to Dickens Lean is at his best. The sheer brilliance of the cemetary encounter cemented Lean as a master craftsman. This single scene has been often quoted as one of the best edited in cinematic history, a veritable clinic in miniature. Even Speilberg has tipped his hat. Great Expectations oozes atmosphere from the first shot to final cut courtesy of another Lean trademark, the ability to select a great cinematographer (Guy Green). Lean was always blessed by attracting singularly talented individuals to his projects. Whoever did his casting must receive high praise. Perhaps his greatest finds were in the twin talents of Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif yet this feature manages to introduce no lesser personages than Sir Alec Guinness and Jean Simmons, whose youthful beauty it must be admitted diminishes the performance of the actress who must portray her character in adulthood. One of the few times I can criticize Lean's casting. The brilliance of the other performances more than make up for this deficiency however. Gwyneth Paltrow's modern remake is a shambles when compared to this glorious undertaking which ranks as one of the best Black and White films ever made.
Rating: 
Summary: great movie-lousy dvd quality
Review: i was so disappointed!!!one of the best movies of all time, but the transfer to dvd sucks!!!you can't even turn off the subtitles for the hearing impaired!!like i said : WONDERFUL MOVIE, BUT THE DVD OPTIONS ARE AWFUL, NOT WORTH TO BE PLACED IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION!!!I WOULD NEVER BUY IT FOR THAT OUTRAGEOUS PRICE AGAIN!!!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I've seen the movie many times and it's the best version of this classic yet! GET IT!
Rating:
Summary: To Dickens Greatness Comes From Within
Review: It has never been easy to tranfer Dickens from the printed page to the moving screen. His plots are all too often multi-layered, containing what today's readers might think of as an excessive number of characters. Nevertheless, the very best filmed adaptations still retain enough of the flavor of the original to keep the movie's actions on line. Director David Lean in GREAT EXPECTATIONS has created a moody, black and white period piece that perfectly captures the essence of how a young and fearful boy sees his bleak surroundings. This element of bleakness, so evident in most of Dickens, is especially prominent here, both externally in the grim, forbidding exteriors of the graveyard that introduces the film and internally in the myriad of blows that buffet young Pip (Anthony Wager) for nearly the entire film. As was common for most of his child heroes, Dickens gave them a juvenile view of a universe that was inhospitable for them. Adults were often unpredicatable and cruel in a manner than resonates even today. Young Pip sees terror nearly everywhere. The escaped criminal, Magwitch (Finlay Currie), his elder sister Mrs. Gargery (Freda Jackson), and the weirdly dressed Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt) all combine to make Pip's existence full of doubt and fear. There are only a few adults whom Pip trusts, one of whom is his decent and honorable brother-in-law Joe Gargery (Bernard Miles).
As Pip matures,(now played by John Mills) he now realizes that his initial perception of the universe as intrinsically unstable was essentially a correct one. What he does learn, at great cost to his pride and self-respect, is that he can alter the equations of this universe slightly by a corresponding alteration in his perception of that universe. By the novel's end, he can see more clearly the inner natures of those who most impacted on him. Joe Gargery he now can see as the good man he always was. Magwitch is a man whom life pushed down the wrong path only to later relocate himself on the right one. Estella has had time to mature even as he has. Thus, the great expectations of the title is itself revealed as having undergone a metamorphosis. Pip has learned a brutal lesson: the measurement of greatness is a function more of the heart than of the wallet. Not everyone watching this movie can say the same.
Rating:
Summary: To Dickens Greatness Comes From Within
Review: It has never been easy to tranfer Dickens from the printed page to the moving screen. His plots are all too often multi-layered, containing what today's readers might think of as an excessive number of characters. Nevertheless, the very best filmed adaptations still retain enough of the flavor of the original to keep the movie's actions on line. Director David Lean in GREAT EXPECTATIONS has created a moody, black and white period piece that perfectly captures the essence of how a young and fearful boy sees his bleak surroundings. This element of bleakness, so evident in most of Dickens, is especially prominent here, both externally in the grim, forbidding exteriors of the graveyard that introduces the film and internally in the myriad of blows that buffet young Pip (Anthony Wager) for nearly the entire film. As was common for most of his child heroes, Dickens gave them a juvenile view of a universe that was inhospitable for them. Adults were often unpredicatable and cruel in a manner than resonates even today. Young Pip sees terror nearly everywhere. The escaped criminal, Magwitch (Finlay Currie), his elder sister Mrs. Gargery (Freda Jackson), and the weirdly dressed Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt) all combine to make Pip's existence full of doubt and fear. There are only a few adults whom Pip trusts, one of whom is his decent and honorable brother-in-law Joe Gargery (Bernard Miles).
As Pip matures,(now played by John Mills) he now realizes that his initial perception of the universe as intrinsically unstable was essentially a correct one. What he does learn, at great cost to his pride and self-respect, is that he can alter the equations of this universe slightly by a corresponding alteration in his perception of that universe. By the novel's end, he can see more clearly the inner natures of those who most impacted on him. Joe Gargery he now can see as the good man he always was. Magwitch is a man whom life pushed down the wrong path only to later relocate himself on the right one. Estella has had time to mature even as he has. Thus, the great expectations of the title is itself revealed as having undergone a metamorphosis. Pip has learned a brutal lesson: the measurement of greatness is a function more of the heart than of the wallet. Not everyone watching this movie can say the same.
Rating:
Summary: I'd purchase this DVD, but ....
Review: It seems that none of the many reviews shown here address the Criterion DVD version of "Great Expectations". I would like to know just how nice this DVD version looks before I pay out the premium price being asked for it. I've heard that some titles on the Criterion label are great, and others rather poor. I have this film on VHS, which looks about as nice as the VHS format allows, but I would consider upgrading to DVD if the DVD was mastered from a clean sharp 35mm source print, with clear sound, and good tonal balance. Some critics praise Lean's "Expectations" as the finest feature film ever made. But many older titles seem to get short shrift when transfered to DVD. In so doing, the medium is not used to its full potential, and the film is not seen to best advantage. For such a great film as this, and for the high price of this DVD, the results ought to be outstanding. Are they? If you have this DVD, please let us know by writing a short review of the DVD edition. Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: I'd purchase this DVD, but ....
Review: It seems that none of the many reviews shown here address the Criterion DVD version of "Great Expectations". I would like to know just how nice this DVD version looks before I pay out the premium price being asked for it. I've heard that some titles on the Criterion label are great, and others rather poor. I have this film on VHS, which looks about as nice as the VHS format allows, but I would consider upgrading to DVD if the DVD was mastered from a clean sharp 35mm source print, with clear sound, and good tonal balance. Some critics praise Lean's "Expectations" as the finest feature film ever made. But many older titles seem to get short shrift when transfered to DVD. In so doing, the medium is not used to its full potential, and the film is not seen to best advantage. For such a great film as this, and for the high price of this DVD, the results ought to be outstanding. Are they? If you have this DVD, please let us know by writing a short review of the DVD edition. Thanks!
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