Product: A Tale of Two Cities (Masterpiece Theatre) (2001)
Rating: 5.0
Worth watching. Worth owning.
Within my admittedly limited experience, Masterpiece Theater dramatizations of great books are well produced and faithful to the original. This is no exception.Well, Dickens's famous opening lines, "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times," etc. do not come at the beginning of the production but are inserted into a monologue by Sydney Carton shortly after the start of the second DVD. Otherwise, the plot, details, and characters seem much the same as I remember from when I last read the book several years ago.My wife and I bought this set to help a young friend who is close to graduating from high school at a public school and therefore has problems with reading comprehension. We are well satisfied that she can watch this, then read, and perhaps profit in several ways.Anyone looking for dazzling FX and computer-generated panoramics will be disappointed. This was made on a budget for television in 1989.Otherwise, it is a capable -- sometimes very good -- and certainly a moving production. I think Dickens would have approved.