"I have come back, Miss Havisham..."

One of the finest adaptations of a Dickens novel--or any novel, for that matter--is David Lean's 1946 version of Great Expectations, which CineVerse enjoyed discussing last evening. A roundup of the major talking points follows:

WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT THIS FILM VISUALLY?

·       The exaggerated, gothic sets, which evoke a look of German Expressionism and borrow elements from classic horror films, as evidenced by several key set pieces: the graveyard; the haunted house (Ms. Havisham’s dark, decrepit mansion); the grim barrister’s  office, decked out with death masks of clients who have been hanged; the London apartment where the stranger Magwitch visits Pip on a dark, stormy night; and the courtroom sentencing chamber where poor wretched souls are condemned to death.

·       It condenses major portions of the novel down to strong singular shots, sequences and montages: it tells much of the story visually without dialogue or exposition.

o   Consider the montage sequence where Mrs. Joe is being cruel to Pip and shouting at him, only instead of hearing the word “Pip,” we hear a shrill horn

o   The sound design on this film is outstanding; the howling wind is virtually a character unto itself

·       Lean has a proclivity for carefully composed shots and dramatic visuals within the frame, with the elements within it carefully sorted to attract the eye to the center.

·       The first half is shown from the perspective of the young Pip

o   via forced perspective sets (bringing the ceilings down closer to the actors, and glass mattes to portray the storm-filled sky)

o   via a wide angle lens, all to put you in the shoes of the young Pip so you see these visuals from his awed, impressionable young point of view.

o   via tracking shots and point of view shots (e.g., the close-ups of the cow and the creepy tree)

WHAT STANDS OUT ABOUT THE STORY AND THE CHARACTERS?

·       Pip is the main protagonist, but he’s like the straight man in a comedy team—a character who is often a surrogate for the audience and not the central originator of the action; his personality is not altogether that interesting

·       Instead, this tale’s strength lies in its colorful supporting characters, who have such a strong influence on Pip’s life, as brought to life by the fine supporting cast.

ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT THEMES EXAMINED IN THIS FILM?

o   High ambitions and self-advancement: Pip and those around him have “great expectations” about his future.

o   Class, money, and social promotion are less important than conscience, loyalty, compassion and love: Pip is disillusioned by his dreams of becoming a gentleman; he feels unsatisfied by the achievement.

o    He learns that a man’s real worth is through his good deeds, faithfulness, warmth and kindness—as taught to him by Magwitch, who has lasting inner value and worth despite being a wanted criminal.

o   Victorian society is filled with inequalities: this is a class system where the rich live a life of privilege and entitlement and the poor and miserable don’t have many opportunities.

o   The motif of doubles is prevalent in the film, though less so than in the book: there are two disabled women (Ms. Havisham and Mrs. Joe), two escaped convicts, two hidden benefactors (Magwitch and Jaggers), and two adults who aim to guide children according to their wishes (Ms. Havisham and Magwitch).

THIS ADAPTATION OF THE ORIGINAL NOVEL ELIMINATES AND CONDENSES SCENES AND CHARACTERS. DOES IT BOTHER YOU WHEN A GREAT WORK OF LITERATURE IS ALTERED FOR A MOVIE VERSION?

o   It’s nearly impossible to stay completely faithful to the original source material of a long, sprawling novel when you only have a couple of hours to tell the story.

o   Lean proved that he can tell this basic story cinematically with this adaption and again in 1948 with his version of “Oliver Twist.” He said in an interview: “Choose what you want to do in the novel and do it proud. If necessary, cut characters. Don’t keep every character, just take a sniff of each one.”

o   This film tacks on a more romantic, idealized ending than the original novel had. According to Wikipedia: The original ending has Pip, who remains single, briefly see Estella in London; after becoming Bentley Drummle's widow, she has remarried. It appealed to Dickens due to its originality: "[the] winding up will be away from all such things as they conventionally go." Dickens revised the ending so that Pip now meets Estella in the ruins of Satis House. Dickens also changed the last sentence from "I could see the shadow of no parting from her." to "I saw no shadow of another parting from her." for the 1863 edition of the novel.

DOES GREAT EXPECTATIONS MAKE YOU THINK OF ANY OTHER FILMS IT MAY HAVE INSPIRED?

·       Sunset Boulevard, in how Norma Desmond is a creepy old woman who hosts a younger man

·       Several horror films that were influenced by the high contrast lighting, forced perspective sets and gothic visual atmospheres achieved

·       Wuthering Heights, another romantic drama with dark, gothic touches

OTHER FILMS BY DAVID LEAN

·       Brief Encounter

·       Blithe Spirit

·       Oliver Twist

·       Bridge on the River Kwai

·       Lawrence of Arabia

·       Doctor Zhivago

·       Ryan’s Daughter

·       A Passage to India