Figure 1.--This American version of "Great Expectations" is set in Florida during the 1970s. This is where Finn, the Pip character, first see Miss Haversham's run down estate.

The American version of the Dickens film, starred Ethan Hawke, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Robert De Niro. The film was a modern update and set in the United States during the 1970s through 90s. We first see Pip now styled Finn as a bright, but very poor orphan being raised rather neglectfully by his loose sister. He is about 10 years old and living in a backwater southern fishing village. His sister soon runs off leaving him with her boyfriend, Uncle Joe. While sketching fish in the shallow Gulf waters, Magwitch, the escaped convict played by Robert De Niro lunges out of the water and seizes Pip. Actually it could not happen as portrayed as no one could sneak up on a person in the Gulf shallows, but it was suspenceful. He forces Pip to help him escape. Jeremy James Kissner plays Finn as a child. He wears realistic "t"-shirts, cut-offs, and short striped tube socks. When he dresses up to go see Miss Haversham, he wears a button up shirt and slacks. A mediocre film at best, but the Jeremy did a good job as Pip in the first part of the film. He is appropriately wide eyed, but because of his circumstances, not very innocent. Like most modern updates, the modern setting seems out of place for the historic novels. Pip in this version becomes an artist. Acclaimed Italian artist Francesco Clemente actually created the drawing and paintings displayed in the film.

Filomology

There have been four major film adaptations of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.

Cast

The 1998 American version of the Dickens film, starred Ethan Hawke, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Robert De Niro. Jeremy James Kissner plays Finn as a child. A mediocre film at best, but Jeremy did a good job as Pip (Finn) in the first part of the film. He is appropriately wide eyed, but because of his circumstances, not very innocent.

Plot

The film was a modern update and set in the United States during the 1970s through 90s. We first see the Pip character, styled as Finn in this adaptation, as a bright, but very poor orphan being raised rather neglectfully by his loose sister. He is about 10 years old and living in a backwater southern fishing village. His sister soon runs off leaving him with her boyfriend, Uncle Joe. While sketching fish in the shallow Gulf waters, Magwitch, the escaped convict played by Robert De Niro lunges out of the water and seizes Kip. Actually it could not happen as portrayed as no one could sneak up on a person in the Gulf shallows, but it was suspenceful. He forces Pip to help him escape. Pip (Finn) in this version becomes an artist.

Figure 2.--Finn's sister dresses him up a bit when he is to go see Miss Haversham. She wants him to dance, but Finndraws a portrait of Estelle instead.

Costuming

Pip (Finn) wears realistic "t"-shirts, cut-offs, and short striped tube socks. This dark forest green was one of the popular colors for both cu-offs and camp shorts at the time. Finnwears short white socks. The knee-length white socks with colored bands were more popular at the time. When Finn dresses up to go see Miss Haversham, he wears a button up shirt and slacks. Like most modern updates, the modern setting seems out of place for the historic novels.

Art Work

Acclaimed Italian artist Francesco Clemente actually created the drawing and paintings displayed in the film.

Dicken's Novel

The film is true to the Dickens novel. Pip is both the central character and narrarator of Dicken's masterpiece Great Expectations. No author has created more classic boy characters as Dickens. He narriates the book through the eyes of the adult Pip, even though Pip is a young boy at the beginning of the book. As a boy, Pip was strongly influenced by his guardians, Joe Gargery and his wife, Mrs. Joe. Joe instills a sense of honesty, industry, and friendliness in Pip, while Mrs. Joe does a great deal to contribute to his desires and ambitions through her constant emphasis on pomp and property . The film begins with a verbatim narration of the books first two pages, "My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. ...."

Classic British 1946 Version

The classic, richly textured film version of Great Expectations is generally considered to be the David Lean English version in 1946. Most critics believe this to be the finest adaptation of the Dickens novel. Unfortunately the fine old black and white films are known primarily by film buffs and not the general public. CThe cast included John Mills, Alec Guinness, and Valerie Hobson. Anthony Wager played Pip. Young Kip is beautifully played as a sweet, innocent boy by Anthony. The costuming seems reasonavly accurate Pip came from humble circumstances and would have been dressed very plainly as a boy. The film is true to the Dickens novel, beginning verbatim narration of the books first two pages, "My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip. ...." The visual impression of Miss Havisham's grand but decrepit house filled with cobwebs is stunning. Lean's depiction was extremely relevant in 1946. Dickens was a noted critic of Victorian society and the social inequities. Britain after VE Day had defeated Churchill and elected a Labour Government and in 1946 was in the process of remaking British society. This film is not meerly the best film adaption of Great Expectations, but some film critics put it on the list of the greatest films. HBC would not go that far, but it ceratinly is a fine film.

Created: March 20, 2003
Last updated: March 20, 2003