Product: A Tale of Two Cities (Masterpiece Theatre) (2001)
Rating: 5.0
Brilliantly acted, and faithful to the text
A classic novel can have strong characters, elegant English, deep philosophy, a good historical setting, engaging dialogue or a gripping plot. A Tale of Two Cities has all six, and has them in abundance! It's the 19th century's "crème de la crème" and suffers few rivals. It is a far, far better novel than any I've ever read. For this reason, no screen adaptation will ever do justice to the original words as set on paper or narrated on CD.That said, Arthur Hopcraft & Philippe Monnier have done an outstanding job. France's history has always held a fascination for me personally. By the age of 21, I'd TWICE spent Bastille Day in France. Even back home in Ireland I vividly recall July 1989 when "Revolution Fever" was in the air. What excellent timing to coincide this film's release with the bi-centenary of the storming of the Bastille! Among the acclaimed cast is the irreplaceable John Mills. Having stolen the show as Pip in the 1945 "Great Expectations", he turns up 44 years later only to excel himself again - this time as the learned banker Jarvis Laurie. Other lead roles are played by Xavier Deluc (Charles Darnay), James Wilby (Sydney Carton), Serena Gordon (Lucie Manette), Jean-Pierre Aumont (Alex Manette) and Kathie Kriegel (Therese Defarge).So bake a little garlic bread, crack open your best Rhone Valley Shiraz, then put your feet up for three-and-a-half hours of sheer entertainment pleasure. It's impossible to over-recommend this movie.