Great Expectations (1989 film)

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Great Expectations
Directed by	Kevin Connor
Written by	Charles Dickens (novel) John Goldsmith
Starring	Jean Simmons, John Rhys-Davies, Ray McAnally, Anthony Calf, Kim Thomson, Adam Blackwood, Anthony Hopkins
Music by	Ken Thorne
Cinematography	Douglas Milsome
Editing by	Barry Peters
Distributed by	Buena Vista Television
Release date(s)	1989
Running time	303 min. (6 60-minute episodes)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
IMDb profile

This article is about the 1989 film adaptation of Dickens' novel. For other uses, see Great Expectations (disambiguation).

Great Expectations is a 1989 British miniseries based on Charles Dickens' novel of the same title.

Jean Simmons, who played the role of the young Estella in the 1946 movie, played Miss Havisham in the 1989 version. Other key roles include John Rhys-Davies as Joe Gargery, Ray McAnally as Jaggers, Anthony Calf as the adult Pip, Kim Thomson as both young and adult Estella, Adam Blackwood as Herbert Pocket, Anthony Hopkins as Abel Magwitch, Niven Boyd as Orlick and Susan Franklyn as Biddy. Having the same actress play Estella as a child and adult provided a smoother transition in following the character than in some adaptations.

This version was studied in any argument about the usefulness of the miniseries format in production of classical works. The format, running five hours, enabled much more of the original story to be filmed than other versions, allowed the restoration of significant characters omitted in other versions, such as Orlick and Wopsle, and the better examination of the roles of other characters, such as Biddy, Drummle, Miss Havisham and the adult Estella. The result is more understandable plot development, and the revelation of themes of the work that tend to be obscured in shorter versions, such as class striving and the values of character vs. wealth. This version takes relatively few liberties with characters and plot turns, and adheres closely to Dickens' published ending.

It has only been released in VHS form in the U.S.