Great Expectations | |
---|---|
Written by |
Charles Dickens (novel) Tony Marchant |
Directed by | Julian Jarrold |
Starring |
Ioan Gruffudd Justine Waddell Charlotte Rampling Bernard Hill Clive Russell Ian McDiarmid Daniel Evans Emma Cunniffe Alex Holbrook James Hillier |
Theme music composer | Maurice Jarre & Joe Pereira |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English, Greek |
Production | |
Running time | 168 minutes |
Release | |
Original release | UK 12 April 1999 US 9 May 1999 |
Great Expectations is a 1999 television film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name and was aired on Masterpiece Theatre.
A young boy called Pip stumbles upon a hunted criminal who threatens him and demands food. A few years later, Pip finds that he has a benefactor. Imagining that Miss Havisham, a rich lady whose adopted daughter Estella he loves, is the benefactor, Pip believes in a grand plan at the end of which he will be married to Estella. However, when the criminal from his childhood turns up one stormy night and reveals that he, Magwitch, is his benefactor, Pip finds his dreams crumbling. Although initially repulsed by his benefactor, Pip gradually becomes loyal to him and stays with him until his death.
The production filmed at a number of Kent locations including Sheerness Docks, Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer, Chatham Docks and the River Medway and in Edinburgh.
In 2000, it won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Costume Design, but failed to win Best Design, Best Make Up/Hair, Best Photography and Lighting (Fiction/Entertainment) and Best Sound (Fiction/Entertainment). It had also won the 1999 RTS Television Award for Best Sound in Drama; Best Production Design in Drama; Best Lighting, and Photography & Camera; and was nominated for Best Tape & Film Editing in Drama. It was nominated for, but did not win, the 1999 Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries.