Masterpiece Classic: Great Expectations

I watched each episode of this adaptation immediately after reading the corresponding section of the book, so I can say with absolute certainty that it does not follow the source material very well. I always wonder at screenwriters who feel they can improve on Dickens, he gives you most of the dialogue and it is brilliant - so use it...and the plot! The changes made from the book were not just for time compression either, but some were completely unnecessary. I also watched the 2013 version with Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes and it is far, far, more faithful to the book with a lot of original dialogue and fewer major changes. If you want a truer adaptation go with that one.That being said, as a standalone film experience this is fine. It is well acted and visually stunning. It just isn't really Dickens.

If you're a Dickens purist, you'll probably hate this film - it's not Dickens' "Great Expectations" - it's a different take on the classic novel (staying within in the basic framework of the story; major characters, etc.), but it creates a very haunting, atmospheric representation of the novel. Gillian Anderson is memorable as Miss Havisham; Ray Winstone is frightening as Magwitch, and Daniel Booth is a beautiful Pip.. The film accurately portrays the decay of Satis House, Miss Havisham, the forge, the marsh, and London. The film is memorable; it's a different take on Dickens, but its valid.

I recently re-read Great Expectations and this adaptation is a departure from the book in small points but, for the most part, keeps close to the meat of the story. One of my favorite characters in the book, the cheerful and supportive, Biddy, was nowhere in this adaptation. As a writer myself, I can understand that you cannot include everything in a novel in a film, or in this case, a miniseries. The actors were good, especially Gillian Anderson who is wonderful as Miss Havisham.

I liked this version of "Great Expectations" 2011, TV-mini-series, with Ray Winston as Abel Magwitch, and David Suchet as Jaggers. I also liked the "Great Expectations" version 2012, with Ralph Fiennes, and Holliday Granger, a redhead as Estella on the cover. I also like "Great Expectations" 1946, with John Mills, and Alec Guinness. These are all good, and different enough to be interesting even if you have seen the other versions. I have seen a couple of other versions of this title that I did NOT like.

Want suspense, drama, and fantastic acting, this has got it!! Of course being a PBS release says a lot and I've seen several versions of this by other studios as well as having to read the book for High School English (hated the story then) but "Scully" has really proven how well she can act besides for a TV sitcom. I've bought a few more of her movies since them. What surprised me, my husband really liked it too, so it's not a chick flick by any means, the whole family can watch it!

I think that this is absolutely one of the best versions of "Great Expectations" that I have seen to date. I know that some professional reviewers have labeled this made for TV version as pretty bleak and uninspiring, but I guess that depends on what you are looking for. There is nothing "pretty" or "festive" about Dicken's book, so why would a director want to turn it into some kind of pretty and elegant extravaganza like a Jane Austin novel ?"Great Expectations" IS bleak and it is almost as much about the jilted bride, Miss Havisham, as it is about young Pip. I think that Gillian Anderson does a marvelous job at portraying Miss Havisham as a woman who has been totally destroyed by love and now has devoted her entire life to grooming her young prodigy, Estella ,to win the hearts of men and then destroy them. I find her blank stare and listlessness and her delivery of those incredible lines about love and beauty and deception, remarkable. I have actually known people like her, suffering from clinical depression, who act exactly like that. Her line: "Time stands still here, yet everything turns to dust", is a classic line, which exemplfies her feelings that even if you could stop time, beauty will ultimately age and wither and turn to dust.The plot, as in most Dickens works, is complex and convoluted with plots within plots so one does need to pay attention. I think that the director delt accurately with the class distinctions of those days and the abject poverty of uneducated rural people. And he,interestingly enough, displayed that there was good and evil at both ends of the spectrum. This is a marvelous study in human nature, showing how people tend to do themselves in by spending their lives in passivity, merely reacting to situations rather than taking charge of their lives and creating situations that will lead to their success and happiness.

PBS Masterpiece really does great productions and "Great Expectations" was no exception. The characters in this movie were also used in the Dickensian production. Ms. Havisham, Pip and Estella were brilliant characters and the interacting between each character. This movie had a few twists and turns which made it very exciting to watch. I liked the ending even though Pip and Estella didn't get married in the end.

Having thought of the David Lean film as the best of the adaptations I was really looking forward to this version but, once again the BBC have ruined a fantastic novel with their own ideas on what a story should be, and not, what it is. There is very little of the simmering angst of Estella in this film, can't think of anywhere in any version does she fall in love with Pip, when they are children, Pip makes a wet lettuce appear tough, and Jaggers is played appallingly by David Suchet He must regret acting in this codswallop). Molly is having an affair with Jaggers, Magwitch gives Pip a bag of cash that is not mentioned when the protagonist is poor, and Miss Havisham, commits suicide like a Satis wife, after playing a whimpering kitten for most of the film. There are too many appalling moments to mention, buy the Lean film or, if you must, the Bonham Carter version (where was Biddy?) This is probably the biggest abomination since Mary Queen of Scots polluted the screens of Britain, awful, and that is being generous, the one star is for Ray Winston, and the acting of Orlick,

This production was originally broadcast by the BBC as a Christmas Treat for its viewers in 2011. Restricted to three episodes because of the time of year, some compression of the plot is inevitable.My family 'did not like Dickens', so I have never been brought up with him in the way I was with Jane Austen. My impression of Dickens was the groan of my friends who were studying Bleak House for A Level. With the immedicacy of Youth, I wanted shorter plots, not ones that went on for years and years. No Dickens for me then.So the BBC broadcasts of Dickens' novels have been an eye-opener. My husband and I found this three episode version of Great Expectations entrancing and gripping.As a former theatrical cosumier I found the production faultless, and the acting superb. I look forward to watching this again and again. The characters have stayed with me; I long to know more about them, so off I shall go to the book. The only thing - much commented on I know - is the casting of Estelle. But better to have an actress who can act, eh? rather than a pretty face that can't. And her casting was plausible when her parents are revealed.Sarah Phelps, who has written 50 episodes of Eastenders, was an inspired choice to take on the job of writing the screenplay. Already skilled in the art of writing soap opera, she has tackled the task of condensing Dickens admirably.

My daughter is studying this for A level English and this is such an entertaining version of the book that the whole family sat down to watch it. Love it - love Ray Winstone especially (even though he's not playing a likable character!) I thought Miss Haversham was a bit young perhaps, but Gillian Anderson was very good in the part. Best version I've seen, it kept us glued to the end and has increased my daughter's interest in the book - all good!

Love this version - Ray Winstone as Magwitch is totally believable & Gillian Anderson shone as Miss Havisham. The overall production is brilliant and the use of bleached out colour makes for an eerie ambience in fitting with the original book. The ugly face of the English class system is shown to the viewers, warts & all.

I watched this on BBC1 when it was shown and wanted to own this on DVD too. Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Miss Haversham is fantastic, with Ray Winstone playing a menacing part too. If you haven't encountered Great Expectations before, this is a good starting point.