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David Copperfield

David Copperfield

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $15.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: yup, it's good
Review: A sumptuous, wonderful adaptation; unexpectedly and disarmingly excellent.

I was a little hesitant going into this: having read the novel a couple of times and declared it my own, I had long fondly imagined the scenes and characters without any need for assistance, thank you very much.

Consequently, I felt the way many Tolkien fans must have felt before those three recent movies came out: leery that my coveted imaginings would be sullied by what might prove to be a jarrring and irreversible contamination.

These fears were misplaced, however. The full vitality of Dickens's bittersweet classic -- all the heaping joys and sorrows of life -- comes through quite powerfully in this handsome BBC version. After about 25 minutes I was literally on the edge of my seat.

Oh, and speaking of this version: they spent some money on it, you'll be happy to know. It's not one of those innumerable stuffy BBC dramas that take place (for budget considerations if nothing else) in an intolerable series of drawing rooms and antechambers. No, they did this one right: the blokes went outside and built some proper sets, and it shows.

Yes, though fully prepared to dislike it, I find myself here with little ammunition for complaint. I wish Traddles hadn't suffered deletion; he is one character I have difficulty picturing and could have used some help. Also, the actress who played Dora was not exactly my conception of her . . . but this is nitpicking.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great movie-if you like period pieces, you'll love it!
Review: Although not yet available, I was able to see this on PBS. I was so happy to see it will be available from Amazon. A great production which shows why this novel has become such a classic. I think that the actors really made the characters come to life and I really got caught up in the what was going on with everyone. Check it out!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mislead?
Review: Being a fan of the classic by Dickens, (it is in my top ten), I was naturally inclined to want to see the movie versions of this wonderful work of literature.

Actaully I had seen one on A&E, and while I don't really remember much about it, I did enjoy it enough to have a desire to read the book. Ah, contentment. Nothing like a well written novel. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to read it out loud to my wife, something that we love to do with great works that are written in a style that just begs to be spoken. There is something about it that just brings an enrichment to the stories that can sometimes be missed otherwise.

Anyhow, after this treasured experience, we both wanted to see the A&E version. But try as I might, I couldn't find it released on DVD or VHS. So I turned to the altenatives. I read the reviews for this BBC version right here on Amazon, and I must say I was impressed. Almost every review was a good one, and much was said about how close this was to the book. The people who had seen this and the A&E version even told me this was much superior.

So I happily plunked down the money for this movie. We invited our friend Ian who had recently pleasured himself by reading the book. We watched. By the time it was over I was wishing that I hadn't read all those reviews. False hope and all that dashed nonsense. I also wished that I had seen this before reading the book. (I know that by saying this I am totally contradicting my review of Austen's book "Northanger Abbey", but in this case I was wrong.) Not that it is a bad movie, but like my wife said, "It was just a skeleton of the book".

So I shall give a list of the things I didn't like, followed by those that I did.

1. The movie just whizzed by from scene to scene, as if they were in a hury to get to the end. Three hours is three hours, but a good director, coupled with nice editing can make a movie feel smoother and seem longer, without giving you that ancy feeling you could be doing something else.
2. There were quite a few well written characters missing, or just having brief cameos. Some of the missing who were in my mind vital to the story: Traddle, Dora' two birdlike aunts, and Doctor and Mrs. Strong. Not so important, but still missed by me: The Old Soldier (Mrs. Markleham), Mr Omer, Mr. Joram, And the unforgetable Miss Mowcher.
3. The scene where everyone confronts Uriah Heep is way to short. It felt like it took all of about a minute, where as in the book it took up almost an entire chapter, fiiled with rich speech from all the characters, most notably Micawber, who couldn't say the name Heep without going almost into a fit of rage, while here he says Heep that way maybe twice, then mellowing out his tone for the rest of the scene.
4. I don't like how they split the DVD like you are watching it on PBS by having the credits halfway through, then you get to watch a preview of what you are going to watch in a few minutes, and then a rehash of what you just watched. Maddening!

Good points.

1. While there was a lot left out, they didn't deviate from the storyline hardly at all.
2. Seeing David's aunt tearing into the Murdstones was almost perfect.
3. Mr. Dick was just how I imagined him, especially in the kite flying scene with him twirling his cane in the air with his childish excitement. Seeing David's smile during this scene was very nice to.
4. Most notable performances: the young David (an awesome career lies ahead of this boy), Peggotty, Mr. Peggotty, Ham (especially when talking of his love for Emily), Mr. Micawber (while not how I imagined him, was still excellently done), Mrs. Micawber, Miss Trotwood, Uriah Heep (definatly portraying sinister), and Rosa Darttle.

I would recomend this movie to a few select groups. If you are curious and have read the book, then I would say, try to rent or borrow this before purchasing. Who knows you might like it. Or if you are a collector of great literary books brought to life, and finally, if you have never read the book, then try watching this and see if you want to read it then.

I would not recomend letting children view this until you yourself have screened it and decided its ok, because there are some scenes that could be very disturbing to youngters, and the first half of the movie has a dark feel about it as well.

My only hope is that someday soon, someone will put up the money for a proper mini-series to be done. Something in the range of six to ten hours would be nice. And it can be done. Just look at Pride & Prejudice, coming in at five hours long, with the book being a little over 300 pages, while Copperfield rests at a nice long 850 pages.

And so I wait....

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mislead?
Review: Being a fan of the classic by Dickens, (it is in my top ten), I was naturally inclined to want to see the movie versions of this wonderful work of literature.

Actaully I had seen one on A&E, and while I don't really remember much about it, I did enjoy it enough to have a desire to read the book. Ah, contentment. Nothing like a well written novel. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to read it out loud to my wife, something that we love to do with great works that are written in a style that just begs to be spoken. There is something about it that just brings an enrichment to the stories that can sometimes be missed otherwise.

Anyhow, after this treasured experience, we both wanted to see the A&E version. But try as I might, I couldn't find it released on DVD or VHS. So I turned to the altenatives. I read the reviews for this BBC version right here on Amazon, and I must say I was impressed. Almost every review was a good one, and much was said about how close this was to the book. The people who had seen this and the A&E version even told me this was much superior.

So I happily plunked down the money for this movie. We invited our friend Ian who had recently pleasured himself by reading the book. We watched. By the time it was over I was wishing that I hadn't read all those reviews. False hope and all that dashed nonsense. I also wished that I had seen this before reading the book. (I know that by saying this I am totally contradicting my review of Austen's book "Northanger Abbey", but in this case I was wrong.) Not that it is a bad movie, but like my wife said, "It was just a skeleton of the book".

So I shall give a list of the things I didn't like, followed by those that I did.

1. The movie just whizzed by from scene to scene, as if they were in a hury to get to the end. Three hours is three hours, but a good director, coupled with nice editing can make a movie feel smoother and seem longer, without giving you that ancy feeling you could be doing something else.
2. There were quite a few well written characters missing, or just having brief cameos. Some of the missing who were in my mind vital to the story: Traddle, Dora' two birdlike aunts, and Doctor and Mrs. Strong. Not so important, but still missed by me: The Old Soldier (Mrs. Markleham), Mr Omer, Mr. Joram, And the unforgetable Miss Mowcher.
3. The scene where everyone confronts Uriah Heep is way to short. It felt like it took all of about a minute, where as in the book it took up almost an entire chapter, fiiled with rich speech from all the characters, most notably Micawber, who couldn't say the name Heep without going almost into a fit of rage, while here he says Heep that way maybe twice, then mellowing out his tone for the rest of the scene.
4. I don't like how they split the DVD like you are watching it on PBS by having the credits halfway through, then you get to watch a preview of what you are going to watch in a few minutes, and then a rehash of what you just watched. Maddening!

Good points.

1. While there was a lot left out, they didn't deviate from the storyline hardly at all.
2. Seeing David's aunt tearing into the Murdstones was almost perfect.
3. Mr. Dick was just how I imagined him, especially in the kite flying scene with him twirling his cane in the air with his childish excitement. Seeing David's smile during this scene was very nice to.
4. Most notable performances: the young David (an awesome career lies ahead of this boy), Peggotty, Mr. Peggotty, Ham (especially when talking of his love for Emily), Mr. Micawber (while not how I imagined him, was still excellently done), Mrs. Micawber, Miss Trotwood, Uriah Heep (definatly portraying sinister), and Rosa Darttle.

I would recomend this movie to a few select groups. If you are curious and have read the book, then I would say, try to rent or borrow this before purchasing. Who knows you might like it. Or if you are a collector of great literary books brought to life, and finally, if you have never read the book, then try watching this and see if you want to read it then.

I would not recomend letting children view this until you yourself have screened it and decided its ok, because there are some scenes that could be very disturbing to youngters, and the first half of the movie has a dark feel about it as well.

My only hope is that someday soon, someone will put up the money for a proper mini-series to be done. Something in the range of six to ten hours would be nice. And it can be done. Just look at Pride & Prejudice, coming in at five hours long, with the book being a little over 300 pages, while Copperfield rests at a nice long 850 pages.

And so I wait....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An English TV Movie Masterpiece!
Review: Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theatre has done it again! This fantastic TVmovie adaption of the grand Dickens story of "David Copper" is something all family must have. Though we all know often an film adoption of a novel is not as original as it should be. However, in this production you will find pieces of evidence that the film stayed loyal to the novel. Most of the characters are well adopted in the movie, scenaries are well setup (you will love to see Yarmouth, the boathouse is fantastic!) I believe all Dickens fans will find the film something worthwhile to watch for.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: David Copperfield
Review: Get your hankies out for the first part of this movie. Daniel Radcliffe is the young David Copperfield. This is a 2 video set and is quite long. A 2 nighter for some. Young David, who later became Harry Potter, was surpurb in this film. His acting ability was excelent. Even when I first saw this movie on tv and didn't know who Danny was I enjoyed it. His acting ability at such a young age was so great you felt what he was portraing. That's why I said get your hankies out for the first half of this movie. MAGGIE SMITH is in it also in this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wondefuly warm and uplifting - Perfect for a rainy day!
Review: I absolutely loved this movie! It had all of the right elements, a great plot, plus a good balance of of good and evil. But most importantly, the movie was filled with wonderful insights, and delicate displays of love and compassion. I was glued to my seat the whole time! Long film, but worth every single second! Truly a warm and loving film, with some of the finest acting that I've seen to date!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wonderful
Review: I can't say enough about this movie. I was glued to the set. Beautiful sets and costumes. I will watch this one again. You won't be dissapointed. If your a vintage period buff movie fan you will love this.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: David Copperfield or Harry Potter!!??`
Review: I enjoyed this film very, very much i thought it was sad, romantic and happy all in 1!!

This movie really moved me and it had some very funny parts and some not so funny!
This movie starts sad then it's happy then sad again and this movie just keeps following this pattern.

The lady who played Peggotty was a great actress who really suited this part, without Peggotty in this movie it would have been pretty Boring!!
Another great actress was the lady who played Betsy Trotwood at the start we all though she was a heartless bitchy old woman but in the end her bitchiness just came from her terrible Heartbreak.
But we can't forget the Best Actor and the main actor the young boy who played David Copperfield!! He was a wonderful actor and when he was sad we all felt his hurt.

This was a great movie but sometimes i thought it was a bit much, when David gets older everyone is in trouble or dying, i think it all happened too quickly, like it was squashed in all at once!!

Is this young boy a better actor in David Copperfield or Harry Potter??!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of those movies you watch on a rainy day...
Review: I found this version of David Copperfield after discovering Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter movies), and decided to just buy it-- I'm very glad I did! It is a made-for-TV movie, but most of the time, I didn't even remember it was! The cast is great- so convincing, I've since started the book, and can really get in to it.
The movie is an even spread of the conflict that Dickens intended, and has a nice sprinkling of humor. It's one of those movies you watch when curled up in a blanket.
The only thing I don't like is the grown up David...


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