Pajiba

'Great Expectations' is probably my favorite novel and I wasn't expecting to like the trailer, but it looks really good.

Well let's face it. This is totally unnecessary EXCEPT for Jason Flemyng, who really deserves more work. Beyond that I'll stick to the 1989 miniseries, thankyouverymuch.

Oh, and further huzzahs for Flemyng getting cast as the good guy for once, a.k.a. Dickens's most lovable character. What larks!

Hagrid, Voldemort and Bellatrix Lastrange? This sounds more J.K. Rowling than Dickens.

I think this is one of my favorite Dickens stories. And, come on, who can really read the descriptions of Havisham and NOT think of HBC. I think she gave the novel to her stylist years ago as a model of how she wants to look.

Agreed. HBC is almost too "boardroom" as Havisham.

Oh man, I fucking loved the Ethan Hawke/Gwynneth Paltrow version of Great Expectations. So stylized yet so full of passionate emotion! That was back when I always wanted to rip my clothes off at the sight of Ethan Hawke, but still.

Two things: This was (arguably...and I will argue it) Dickens' least good (cannot say "bad" in a sentence with Dickens) novel and yet they KEEP. REHASHING. THE. SHIT. Why can't we do Tale of Two Cities again? Or Nicholas Nickleby? Huh? --and-- When I was in high school my room was so horrendously crowded with detritus and Mick Jagger throw pillows that my mom refused to enter because "Miss Havisham lives in there."

I love your mother.

There is actually a pretty good version of Nicholas Nickleby (albeit *very* condensed) starring Charlie Hunnam from a few years ago. Worth a look.

Also, Great Expectations is one of Dickens' greatest novels (my personal favorite), in my humble opinion.

Lyssie, I love that version of NN (despite Anne Hathaway). Hunnam is a perfect NN. And I realize I am in the minority about Great Expectations. I totally know it, but there you have it. It's my sister's favorite too and it makes for some really good discussions. We can all agree that Dickens is worthy of myriad remakes, yes? Cheers!

Indeed! Everyone needs more Dickens. I'm glad you like that NN - it was criminally ignored. And I agree that we are definitely due for a good Tale of Two Cities adaptation.

I want a great Hard Times adaptation and a great Tale/Cities adaptation before I kick this mortal coil! I'm mega-satisfied on the GE and OT(Lean) fronts, and the Bleak House front.

Hard Times would be a good one. After a Tale of Two Cities starring Tom Hiddleston as Sidney Carton. MAKE IT SO, Hollywood.

That would make for extra heartbreak. Geesh!

When I first saw HBC in A Room With A View, I thought she was one of the most classically beautiful women I'd ever seen. She seems to have spent the rest of the time trying to make herself as ugly as possible. I kinda get why. My mother got fat to keep men from hitting on her. I think beautiful stars looks scruffy and dirty in an attempt to keep fans away. I don't think it really works.

Didn't Gillian Anderson just do this two minutes ago?

It was TERRIBLE.

Yup, in a three part mini-series for the BBC in 2011.

Dame Gwynie and Ethan Hawke's Great Expectations' cinematography was beautiful and breathtaking.

Remember all those shades of green? Green grass, green trees, green decor everywhere, and the children wearing green. Every shade of green to express every emotion. And that first kiss: green dress with the big great green bow in the back... Reminded me of those Comtess de Ségure books I used to read when I was young. And then the shock at the end... How they beautifully structured DeNiro's role, and did not give it away in the trailer...

This one looks darker, more Oliver-Twist in its lighting, or Bram Stoker's Dracula. Will definitely watch, for who can ever resist the call of that beautiful cracked-out siren Helena.

This one looks darker, more Oliver-Twist in its lighting

... Or more Dickensian? Given that GE, like most of Dickens' novels, are in the grotesque vein, looks like we're getting back to source.

But meh anyways. I bet this new one has nothing on Bleak House (BBC 2005), which for my money is the only Dickens adaptation I've seen that actually gets Dickens (and I say this as a lover of Lean's stuff).

Dickensian?

Who sounds Tolstoyan now? But you would be right, the darker vibe would fit Dickens' telling much better.

Unfortunately for Dickens, I am stuck on the green beauty of Cuaron and Lubezki's vision for GE, and cannot help but expect to be disappointed by any other version, no matter how faithful to the story's original era.

To be honest, it's not really about "era" so much as about "tone." There's no reason "grotesque" can't be set in 2012.

I actually can't remember if I've seen the Cuaron version. I can see scenes from it, but those could be from the trailers. I hate it when that happens.

That is all I remember of the movie now, all the green. And, of course, the soundtrack, which I still listen to.

Oh the soundtrack!!! How can I not associate all that green with the soundtrack.

And even more green, remember that magnificent Donna Karan green dress Gwen wore, that was made famous first by Demi Moore? If only I can find the damn add campaign!