David Copperfield

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful adaption
Review: My fears that this would be another Dickensian yawn turned out to be 100% wrong. After a few minutes of this glorious adaption, I was hooked. It has an all-star cast with Maggie Smith, Ian McCellan, Bob Hoskins, Trevor Eve and so on, and they are all so obviously having an absolute ball of time playing up the wonderful characters of the Dickens novel. Even if you know this novel backwards and are jaded with 19th century literature, watch this stunning, compelling version and be rejuvenated. The BBC made a number of marvellous adaptions of classic novels in the 1990s, including Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch and Martin Chuzzlewitt (for the latter, it's hard to imagine a more riveting version of the novel being possible - it's so good), and this version of David Copperfield is up there too. A great way to experience Dickens.

Rating:
Summary: No WAY!
Review: No WAY! This movie su*ks, and because there's a Daniel Radcliffe playing in it!
I'm going to tell the truth, the boy doesn't know how to act that's it!
Thank You, but I'm going out from Amazom.com without this stuff.

Rating:
Summary: David Copperdield
Review: One of the best novels by Charles Dickens
This fantastic TV movie adaption of the grand Dickens story of "David Copperfield" is something all family must have.This Dickens tale is about a young orphan who suffers many hardships and tragedies before finally finding happiness.

Rating:
Summary: Faithful and Entertaining Production of Dickens' Classic
Review: Originally airing in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, I came across this one night during a fit of cable boredom. Thinking it would allow me to kill some time until something "good" came on I started watching. An hour and a half later I was cueing up my home video tape to insure that I would not miss the next night's conclusion! I could not wait to see it! I have read Charles Dickens and I am especially fond of Great Expectations but could never quite throw myself fully into David Copperfield. This is a shame since Copperfield is supposed to be Dickens' pseudo autobiography. I found the photography visual captivating with the feeling of the time period masterful rendered. The acting was great (Hoskins is amusing) with the boy who plays young Copperfield a definite standout. The story finally comes to life and the plot and its intricacies are finally revealed (to those who lack the patience to read the book!). Copperfield is truly a rags to riches story in a very convuluted and ironic manner, very much like life itself. Young Copperfield must make his way in the world after his widowed mother passes away and he is left to the whims of his ill tempered and miserly step-father and step-aunt. How Copperfield goes from being a neglected, uncared for urchin to a well thought of writer will have you watching in fascination. Of course, along the way he has several adventures and makes friends with quite a few colorful and tragic characters. If you haven't had the inclination to actually read this story, this is definitely the video version you should watch. I liked it so much I just have to own the tapes (2 tape set). Enough said. Go watch it now!

Rating:
Summary: Faithful and Entertaining Production of Dickens' Classic
Review: Originally airing in the U.S. on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, I came across this one night during a fit of cable boredom. Thinking it would allow me to kill some time until something "good" came on I started watching. An hour and a half later I was cueing up my home video tape to insure that I would not miss the next night's conclusion! I could not wait to see it! I have read Charles Dickens and I am especially fond of Great Expectations but could never quite throw myself fully into David Copperfield. This is a shame since Copperfield is supposed to be Dickens' pseudo autobiography. I found the photography visual captivating with the feeling of the time period masterful rendered. The acting was great (Hoskins is amusing) with the boy who plays young Copperfield a definite standout. The story finally comes to life and the plot and its intricacies are finally revealed (to those who lack the patience to read the book!). Copperfield is truly a rags to riches story in a very convuluted and ironic manner, very much like life itself. Young Copperfield must make his way in the world after his widowed mother passes away and he is left to the whims of his ill tempered and miserly step-father and step-aunt. How Copperfield goes from being a neglected, uncared for urchin to a well thought of writer will have you watching in fascination. Of course, along the way he has several adventures and makes friends with quite a few colorful and tragic characters. If you haven't had the inclination to actually read this story, this is definitely the video version you should watch. I liked it so much I just have to own the tapes (2 tape set). Enough said. Go watch it now!

Rating:
Summary: re-makes
Review: PBS should not get into making re-makes of fine productions (if I'm not mistaken, previously done on Masterpiece Theater). While a reasonably good movie, not nearly as good as the one a couple of years ago, which I would like to purchase. Much was left out which made the Dickens story so very complex. I guess the "dumbing down of modern times" continues, but pick on modern stories, then, rather than make people think this was the story that Dickens wrote. But -- still -- not nearly as bad as the recent "Woman in White" remake.

Rating:
Summary: The real star is not Daniel!
Review: The BBC adaptation of David Copperfield is nothing short of excellent. The one thing that makes it so terriffic is the role of young David played by Daniel Radcliffe. Daniel is more recognized as the beloved wizard Harry Potter. This movie was a wonderful start to his career. The movie also has some great names sharing the credits including Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins and Zoe Wanamaker. If you want to see a movie with Britan's finest in action, see David Copperfield.

Rating:
Summary: Radcliffe makes the movie!
Review: The BBC adaptation of David Copperfield is nothing short of excellent. The one thing that makes it so terriffic is the role of young David played by Daniel Radcliffe. Daniel is more recognized as the beloved wizard Harry Potter. This movie was a wonderful start to his career. The movie also has some great names sharing the credits including Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins and Zoe Wanamaker. If you want to see a movie with Britan's finest in action, see David Copperfield.

Rating:
Summary: David Copperfield is family entertainment of a high order.
Review: The first half of David Copperfield was good enough, I think, to please Dickens himself. This is due in part to the excellent portrayal of young David by Daniel Radcliffe, who provides just the right amount of spunk and vulnerability to do justice to the character. Treavor Eve is also excellent as David's nemesis, his stepfather, Murdstone. Just a look from Eve's Murdstone is enough to frighten David first into silence and then, as he is being savagely beaten for failing his lessons, into instinctive rebellion, biting Murdstone's hand. For this crime David is sent to Murstone's blacking factory in London. The blacking factory is a dreadful place and would certainly have broken David's spirit and ruined his life if it were not for the introduction of Mr. Micawber, his guardian in London, exceptionally well played by the talented Bob Hoskins.

This great novel is filled with a variety of subplots, many of which are included in the film. Three that are worth mentioning are David's flight from the blacking factory and his journey to his Aunt Betsey Trotwood, beautifully performed by the great English actress Maggie Smith. Aunt Betsey takes David in and champions his cause in a dramatic scene where she throws out Murdstone and his sister Jane from her home. Aunt Betsey then takes David to live with a lawyer and his daughter Agnes and the lawyer's evil clerk Uriah Heep, who pretends to be humble yet never stops scheming to steal everything the lawyer owns. In another great scene, Macawber, now working for Heap, confronts the villain as a Heap of infamy. This dramatic encounter is the climax of the film. Lastly, another story worth mentioning concerns David's nanny Peggotty. She and her family are betrayed by Steerforth, a boy that befriended David in his first school and who saved him from the dreadful headmaster Mr. Creakle, wonderfully played by Ian McKellen.

Unfortunately, when David grows up the story loses some of its force and energy. The adult David, Ciaran McMenamin, is the weakest actor in the cast. Even so, the story is well dramatized that I found myself engaged from beginning to end.

David Copperfield is a long book and four hours is not quite enough time to do it justice, but what the producers have included is done well and will certainly give viewers a good sense of the exceptionally varied and entertaining cast of characters in a story, somewhat autobiographical, that Dickens himself considered his favorite and best work. This film is family entertainment of a high order. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: "David Copperfield" - Pretty good
Review: The movie was overall pretty good. The story in the movie stayed close to the book, with the exception that several characters such as Dr. Strong, Thomas Traddle were eleminated from teh story. Which I thought was a bit odd, because these characters were great to the story. It is argued that David Copperfield himself is rather a dull character with no strong personality and that what makes Dicken's book wonderful are the David's surrounding characters. This argument was well presented in the movie because the actor who played adult David Copperfield had a relatively dull camera time than rest of the roles. He didn't seem to have much freedom to express any of his emotions in front of the camera. My favorite character is David's aunt Betsy Trotwood, both in the book and in the movie. The actress was very good.

I recommend this movie to everyone who likes the book.

Purple_Garden