This is my favorite David Copperfield. The reason for its success, in my mind, is how the filmmaker Delbert Mann and the writer of the screen adaptation used the medium of film to truncate this long Dickens novel.
When it opens, David is writing those first lines: "Chapter one. I am born... whether I shall turn out to the hero of my own life, or whether that station shall be held by anyone else, these pages must show..." and crumples the paper and throws it away! He walks the beach, haunted by flashes of memory in a wonderful montage sequence using superimposition of images and sound... the film uses this psychological device of Copperfield's haunting by memories of all those characters now dead, shadows of the past - to knit together the major episodes of the novel. You immediately care about David and want to know his story.
This is a colorful, wonderfully cast adaptation with Robin Phillips an earnest, youthful David, Michael Redgrave perfect as Mr. Peggotty, Ron Moody as Uriah Heep, Lawrence Olivier as the evil Mr. Creakle, Dame Edith Evans as Betsy Trotwood. All these performers bring these beloved characters to life. The music score is terrific as well.
The scene when Uncle Dan finally finds little Emily, rescuing her from a life of prostitution, is so intense and gratifying it will bring tears. But the greatest achievement is the casting of the wonderful Susan Hampshire as Agnes... who has always loved David, who belongs with David... and this version ends with an incredible aerial shot as they finally embrace and you know, at last, they will find happiness together. The success of great novels and great movies is emotional involvement and this certainly succeeds!
Pure joy.
When it opens, David is writing those first lines: "Chapter one. I am born... whether I shall turn out to the hero of my own life, or whether that station shall be held by anyone else, these pages must show..." and crumples the paper and throws it away! He walks the beach, haunted by flashes of memory in a wonderful montage sequence using superimposition of images and sound... the film uses this psychological device of Copperfield's haunting by memories of all those characters now dead, shadows of the past - to knit together the major episodes of the novel. You immediately care about David and want to know his story.
This is a colorful, wonderfully cast adaptation with Robin Phillips an earnest, youthful David, Michael Redgrave perfect as Mr. Peggotty, Ron Moody as Uriah Heep, Lawrence Olivier as the evil Mr. Creakle, Dame Edith Evans as Betsy Trotwood. All these performers bring these beloved characters to life. The music score is terrific as well.
The scene when Uncle Dan finally finds little Emily, rescuing her from a life of prostitution, is so intense and gratifying it will bring tears. But the greatest achievement is the casting of the wonderful Susan Hampshire as Agnes... who has always loved David, who belongs with David... and this version ends with an incredible aerial shot as they finally embrace and you know, at last, they will find happiness together. The success of great novels and great movies is emotional involvement and this certainly succeeds!
Pure joy.