The Personal History of David Copperfield
A total , out - of - left - line of business critical darling , The Personal History of David Copperfieldhas received near - universal acclaim for its sassy and humourous take on a done - to - destruction Dickens story . Armando Iannucci ’s casting of Dev Patel ( Slumdog Millionaire ) is a welcome pane of diversity that belies an earnest fondness for and understanding of the source material that really demonstrate how pliable and timeless Dickens remains to this day .
Though anyone with a high school sheepskin likely encountered ( and detested ) Dickens as assigned version , his novels are well have as leisure , andThe Personal History of David Copperfielddistills the Dickens charm for easy ingestion . Though some movie / television adaptation are a piece stuffier than Iannucci ’s version , there ’s a plenteous chronicle of Dickens on motion picture just mature for the sampling . Below , we list ten of our favorite .
David Copperfield (1935)
When his female parent become flat , David Copperfield ( Freddie Bartholomew ) forsake his abusive stepfather ’s ( Basil Rathbone ) home and instead grows under the care of Mr. Micawber ( W.C. Fields ) and later finds a felicitous dwelling life story in his gentle Aunt Betsey ( Edna May Oliver ) . When he make maturity , David gets involve in the affairs of the nubile Agnes Wickfield ( Madge Evans ) and does all he can to disentangle her home from the clutches of a blackmailing villain ( Roland Young ) .
Far more traditional than Iannucci ’s motion picture but no less terrific , George Cukor’sOscar - nominated classic features an insanely iconic mold and is an early mellow - water supply mark for Dickens adaptation .
Great Expectations (1946)
base orphan Pip ( John Mills ) make out into impossible riches via an unnamed helper in this adaption of one of Dickens ' considerably - screw novel . As he come of long time and gets ever tight to becoming a gentleman and discovering the individual responsible for his fortune , he romances the standoffish Estella ( Valerie Hobson ) and gets to know the iconic Miss Havisham ( Martita Hunt ) , an cured , jilted thread maker drive to foolishness by the abandonment of her fiancee as a young woman .
Mike Newell ’s 2013 take on this ofttimes - told floor was buzzy ( especially for Helena Bonham Carter ’s play as Havisham ) , but could n’t best the abject idol of thisDavid Leanclassic , which is frequently cite as the all right of all Dickens motion picture .
A Tale of Two Cities (1958)
English barrister , Sydney Carton ( Dirk Bogarde ) crossbreeding paths Charles Darnay ( Paul Guers ) , an blue blood on the running play as rotation grips France . Having once hold Charles and jealous of his romance with Lucie Manette ( Dorothy Tutin ) , Sydney puts away his envy to assist the fugitive in obviate execution .
Jack Conway ’s 1935 intervention ofCities , may be better affect , but this 1958 reading well captures the full sweep of Dickens revolution heroic .
Oliver! (1968)
In this all - singing , all - dancing adaptation ofOliver Twist , the titular waif escape a brutal orphanhood and finds a jury-rigged family in a large number of adolescent petty criminals headed by the Artful Dodger ( Jack Wild ) and lorded over by an senior wise man in crime , Fagin ( Ron Moody ) .
pretty dated though undeniably infective , thisbelovedmovie musical was nominated for a gobsmacking eleven Academy Awards ( taking home Best Picture and Best Director , among others ) and , via a poll of actor , directors , writers , producer and critic , was ranked the 68th greatest British film ever made by Time Out mag .
Scrooge (1970)
Of all the familiar Dickensian plots , A Christmas Carolis the one least in need of rehashing : the tight Ebenezer Scrooge ( Albert Finney ) is chatter by a mathematical group of intent who remind him what it means to be a good someone on Christmas Eve .
prompt by what is potential the mostfrequently adaptedDickens work , this passably forgotten 1970 musical take is an interesting bridge between the earlier , more square versions and loose , more convivial films likeThe Muppet Christmas Carol(1992 ) .
Hard Times (1977)
Set in the fictional industrial burg of Coketown , Patrick Allen stars as Thomas Gradgrind , a hard - butt against , ultra - practical self - concerned merchandiser who rule over his children , Louisa and Tom with an branding iron clenched fist . But when he takes in Sissy Jupe , the daughter of a disappear carnival performer , and his children come of age , Gradgrind begins to call into question his rationalistic coming to life .
From Dickens most adapt employment to his least , Hard Timesis a unknown novel that is seldom cited as a favorite , but this four - part miniseries is one of the truest retelling of the author ’s works : retaining the majority of its cast of persona and plotlines while keeping its sharp societal commentary intact .
Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
In this television system adjustment of the last of Dickens ' picaresque novels , the ailing , elderly Martin Chuzzlewit ( Paul Scofield ) is hound by his mealy - mouthed and toadyish relation who see his declining wellness as an chance to seize control of his estate .
WhereasHard Timesmay be a bit moody and glacial for some , this BBC - produced miniseries found on another unpopular Dickens novel is an absolute joy from start to finish .
Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Nicholas Nickleby ( Charlie Hunnam ) and the eternal rest of his family unit are scatter to the wind after the death of the Nickleby patriarch . After escaping an tyrannical school operated by principal Wackford Squeers ( Jim Broadbent ) with his pal , Smike ( Jamie Bell ) , Nicholas locates his screw ones and must save his sister from Sir Mulberry Hawk ( Edward Fox ) , a villainous wooer who attempt her hand in union .
Before he became a household name withSons of Anarchy , Hunnam headlined this blithe and charming Dickens adaptation that tip as intemperately on its comedic capacity as its more substantive thematic cloth .
Bleak House (2005)
In this adjustment of Dickens series , a cast of role get hold themselves affected by a Byzantine legal subject in which a testate has created a series of conflicting will .
FeaturingGillian Anderson(The X - Files ) , Carey Mulligan ( An Education ) , and Charles Dance ( Game of Thrones ) , is ultimately far less miserable than its title would suggest , rely heavy on melodrama , stylisation , and a more modern tone to craft one of thebest - of - all BBC menses dramas .
Little Dorrit (2008)
Amy Dorritt ( Claire Foy ) work intemperately to substantiate her phratry in the absence seizure of her Fatherhood , who is in lockup in a London debtors prison . When the Word of her boss ( Matthew Macfadyen ) takes an interest in his father ’s business , he key that his and Amy ’s bequest ’s may be mysteriously intertwine .
achiever of seven Emmy Awards , this much - decorated miniseries was an other vocation highlight for Claire Foy and deserves to be take in by both Dickens die - hards and the uninitiated .
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