Other Titles • Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theatre: David Copperfield
Synopses for David Copperfield (1999)
1.
From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-A very talented, experienced British cast, colorful period costumes, and period scenery will catch students' attention and bring to life Dickens' classic. The spirit of the characters and mood of the story are retained despite the omission of some scenes and changing the sequencing of others. The writers of the script have included many of Dickens' own words. The actors' British accents are easily understood. Author and New York Times columnist Russell Baker introduces each episode, telling about a few characters or briefly summarizing what has gone before. Creative camera techniques heighten the drama in scenes such as making a tall man appear even taller to the child David. This wonderful presentation enables students to meet and remember extraordinary literary characters. In addition, history classes can use this video for units on Victorian society.-Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
(1 vote)
2.
Like a fine gourmet meal, the BBC's 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield has something to suit every taste: a well-paced screenplay that keeps the tale bowling along without losing the delights of some of Dickens' most sparkling dialogue; a rich gallery of characters; and a cast which features many of Britain's favourite actors. There is, of course, plenty of high comedy but some very tight direction checks any tendencies to over-ripe performance. The whole production is tightly integrated: from David's idyllic if cloistered childhood with his beloved mother and their devoted servant Peggotty, through the shattering arrival of a sadistic stepfather, rescue by his eccentric Aunt Betsey Trotwood and a journey into maturity where his very innocence makes him the unwitting agent of tragedy before all is resolved. Ciaran McMenamin is the mature David, his youthful face increasingly clouded by the gathering of experience. Trevor Eve oozes evil as his stepfather Mr Murdstone, ultimately neutralised by Maggie Smith's Aunt Betsey, a comic performance of true genius that gives frequent flashes of the vulnerable human being beneath. In other inspired pieces of casting, Nicholas Lyndhurst's incubus-like Uriah Heep haunts every scene he's in, and Pauline Quirke's Peggotty exudes the motherly warmth that sustains David during his darkest moments. Three hours of classic drama heaven. --Piers Ford
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