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Great Expectations

Play trailer Poster for Great Expectations PG-13 2012 2h 8m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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68% Tomatometer 79 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A humble orphan becomes a gentleman with help from a mysterious benefactor.
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Great Expectations

Great Expectations

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Critics Consensus

Not the best version of the oft-filmed Dickens classic but far from the worst, Mike Newell's Great Expectations breathes just enough life into the source material to justify yet another adaptation.

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Critics Reviews

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Annlee Ellingson Los Angeles Times It is skillfully made and adeptly performed; even so it doesn't really add anything to the canon. Nov 10, 2013 Full Review Mary Houlihan Chicago Sun-Times This Great Expectations is an absorbing addition to the roster of Dickens films that continues our 21st-century fascination with the worlds created by a 19th-century storyteller. Rated: 3/4 Nov 8, 2013 Full Review Barbara VanDenburgh Arizona Republic Director Mike Newell approaches the sprawling bildungsroman with a stiff formalism, sacrificing all cinematic excitement for the sake of exalting great performances. Rated: 3/5 Nov 8, 2013 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site It is an intelligent and moving version of the book, with a good deal to say in its own right. Feb 12, 2021 Full Review PJ Nabarro Patrick Nabarro Bar running through the dense plot at a rate of knots, it's not obvious what Newell or adaptor David Nicholls' 'take' on the proceedings actually is. Rated: 3/5 Feb 3, 2019 Full Review Joseph Walsh CineVue Designs have an elaborate Pater-esque quality with an 80s Adam Ant twist, in a contemporary turn on Victorian garb. These elements work. Rated: 3/5 Aug 23, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Georgan G After the 1946 amazing version of this classic novel, I feared this film would not be as worthy. However, this movie is a delight, with amazing cinematography, plot and acting. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/21/24 Full Review Mike d Loved every minute of this! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/28/23 Full Review steve d A fantastic take on one of my all time favorite books. Not to be missed. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review isla s This is a good, old character drama. The story is mildly intriguing and there are some interesting characters present. Its a fairly typical Victorian set period drama I suppose, with some sentimentality, the odd surprising moment and so on (I haven't personally read the Charles Dickens book its based on). The music is a bit cheesy I suppose (although that can be excused given its age) but for what it is, its good. I'm not sure I'd expressly recommend it as such, no. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Ralph Finnes is always good doing creepy loner Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is a terrible bastardization of Dickens' story, complete with zero character development whatsoever. Casting is all wrong, save Ralph Fiennes's portrayal of Abel Magwitch, and Olly Alexander shining as Herbert, though he is sadly made a far less important character in this adaptation. Helena Bonham Carter seems perfectly cast as Miss Havisham but falls flat in her interpretation of the character. An entire major plot point and villain was left out of this movie, and we are never given insight into the development of the friendship between Pip and Herbert which was a substantial factor in Pip's development as a protagonist. Skip this, read the book instead if you have not. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Great Expectations

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A humble orphan becomes a gentleman with help from a mysterious benefactor.
Director
Mike Newell
Producer
Laurie Borg, David Faigenblum, Elizabeth Karlsen, Emanuel Michael, Stephen Woolley
Screenwriter
David Nicholls
Production Co
iDeal Partners Film Fund, Main Street Movie Company, BBC Films, Lipsync Productions, Doco Digital, Unison Films, Number 9 Films
Rating
PG-13 (Some Violence|Disturbing Images)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 30, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$203.9K
Runtime
2h 8m
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