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      A Tale of Two Cities

      1958 1h 57m History Drama List
      Reviews 49% 100+ Ratings Audience Score In the most well-known adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel, Sydney Carton (Dirk Bogarde) is an underachieving English barrister who hopes to redeem himself from the litany of poor choices he's made in his life -- such as his unreturned love for Lucie (Dorothy Tutin), the wife of a virtuous former French aristocrat (Paul Guers). When peasants in post-revolution France take over and systematically dispatch the old guard, Carton's feelings prompt him to risk his life for Lucie's husband. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member ok overall, interesting story for it's time Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Frances H Good, but not as good as the Ronald Coleman 1035 film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/11/16 Full Review Audience Member ok version of this often filmed Dickins' classic Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The Tale of Two Cities The film starts of slow but everything eventually relates. My issue with the film was it became difficult to differentiating between who was French versus English since they were all British or American actors with English sounding accents. A very sad and mellow dramatic ending. The movie presents a good depiction of France during the French Revolution. It presents an accurate depiction of how people of innocent people were killed for no good reason besides a previous title. Not even a court case was provided to prove innocent or guilty. Just nearly guilty. Shows the waist. I never realized that the quotes; "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times" as well as "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." derived from this book. I have known these lines all my life from Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Effective adaptation, great cast--Bogarde is tremendous and at his best!! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member I only read the book a short while ago, so the plot was still very fresh in my mind. I think if I left it a bit longer perhaps I would have enjoyed this a bit more as it felt a bit like just re-reading the book. But I think it was a well-put together film. My only disappointment was Madame DeFarge. I always pictured her as being fat and matronly, and not a young woman. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      A Tale of Two Cities

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (3) Critics Reviews
      Moira Walsh The Catholic World In writing the screen play T. E. B. Clarke has addressed himself to modernizing the speech and attitudes. Unfortunately this does not make the story seem any more plausible. It only makes it seem rather flat. Aug 24, 2023 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine It sticks laudably close to the story and is well worth seeing but Hollywood's 1935 production with Ronald Colman had more emotional impact. Nov 11, 2019 Full Review MFB Critics Monthly Film Bulletin A straightforward adaptation which follows the events of Dickens' crowded narrative with commendable fidelity. The pure excitement of the book is missing, however; and the fault lies mostly with T. E. B. Clarke's reverent but somewhat lifeless script. Mar 2, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis In the most well-known adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel, Sydney Carton (Dirk Bogarde) is an underachieving English barrister who hopes to redeem himself from the litany of poor choices he's made in his life -- such as his unreturned love for Lucie (Dorothy Tutin), the wife of a virtuous former French aristocrat (Paul Guers). When peasants in post-revolution France take over and systematically dispatch the old guard, Carton's feelings prompt him to risk his life for Lucie's husband.
      Director
      Ralph Thomas
      Production Co
      Rank Organization
      Genre
      History, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      May 22, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 57m