Little Dorrit (film)
Little Dorrit | |
---|---|
Little Dorrit VHS Cover | |
Directed by | Christine Edzard |
Produced by |
John Brabourne Richard B. Goodwin |
Screenplay by | Christine Edzard |
Based on |
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens |
Starring |
Derek Jacobi Joan Greenwood Max Wall Patricia Hayes Alec Guinness Miriam Margolyes Simon Dormandy Sarah Pickering |
Cinematography | Bruno de Keyzer |
Edited by |
Fraser Maclean Olivier Stockman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Curzon Artificial Eye (UK) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 360 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,025,228[1] |
Little Dorrit is a 1987 film adaptation of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin. The music, by Giuseppe Verdi, was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.
The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur Clennam and Sarah Pickering in the title role. A huge cast of seasoned British and Irish stage and film actors was assembled to play the dozens of roles. Among them are Alec Guinness, Simon Dormandy, Joan Greenwood, Roshan Seth, Miriam Margolyes, Cyril Cusack, and Max Wall.
Production
Little Dorrit lasts 360 minutes and was released in two parts of approximately three hours each. The first part was subtitled Nobody's Fault, an allusion to one of Dickens' proposed titles for the original novel, and the story developed from the perspective and experiences of the Arthur Clennam character. The second film, entitled Little Dorrit's Story, took many of the same events and presented them through the eyes of the heroine. Together they represented overlapping chronicles.
The production company which made the film, Sands Films, is run by Christine Edzard, the screenwriter and director, and her husband, Richard B. Goodwin. The film was nominated for two Oscars: Actor in a Supporting Role (Alec Guinness) and Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) (Christine Edzard). The Region Two DVD was released in the UK on 27 October 2008.
Full cast
- Derek Jacobi as Arthur Clennam
- Joan Greenwood as Mrs. Clennam
- Max Wall as Jeremiah Flintwinch
- Patricia Hayes as Affery Flintwinch
- Luke Duckett as Young Arthur
- Alec Guinness as William Dorrit
- Cyril Cusack as Frederick Dorrit
- Sarah Pickering as Little Dorrit
- Amelda Brown as Fanny Dorrit
- Daniel Chatto as Tip Dorrit
- Miriam Margolyes as Flora Finching
- Robert Morley as Lord Decimus Barnacle
- Bill Fraser as Mr. Casby
- Roshan Seth as Mr. Pancks
- John McEnery as Captain Hopkins
- Mollie Maureen as Mr. F.'s Aunt
- Diana Malin as Mr. Casby's Maid
- Pauline Quirke as Maggy
- The film also starred, in minor roles: Michael Elphick, Eleanor Bron, Heathcote Williams, John Savident, Betty Marsden, Liz Smith, Brian Pettifer, Kathy Staff, Ian Hogg, Tony Jay, Julia Lang, Christopher Hancock, Malcolm Tierney, John Warner, Harold Innocent, Edward Burnham, Gerald Campion, Nadia Chambers and David Thewlis.
See also
References
External links
- Little Dorrit 1. Nobody's Fault in the British Film Institute's "Explore film..." database
- Little Dorrit 2. Little Dorrit's Story in the British Film Institute's "Explore film..." database
- Little Dorrit at the British Board of Film Classification
- Little Dorrit at the Internet Movie Database
- Little Dorrit at Rotten Tomatoes
- Little Dorrit at AllMovie
- Sands Films (production company and DVD)
- Little Dorrit film trailer