Little Dorrit (1987 film)
Little Dorrit is a 1987 film adaptation of the 1857 novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.[2] It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin.[3] The music by Giuseppe Verdi was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.[4]
| Little Dorrit | |
|---|---|
Little Dorrit VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Christine Edzard |
| Screenplay by | Christine Edzard |
| Based on | Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens |
| Produced by | John Brabourne Richard B. Goodwin |
| Starring | Derek Jacobi Sarah Pickering Alec Guinness Joan Greenwood Max Wall Patricia Hayes Miriam Margolyes Simon Dormandy |
| Cinematography | Bruno de Keyzer |
| Edited by | Fraser Maclean Olivier Stockman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Curzon Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 343 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,025,228[1] |
The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur Clennam, Alec Guinness as William Dorrit, and Sarah Pickering in the title role.[5] A huge cast of seasoned British and Irish stage and film actors was assembled to play the dozens of roles, including Simon Dormandy, Joan Greenwood, Roshan Seth, Miriam Margolyes, Cyril Cusack and Max Wall.[6] Pickering, in contrast, had never acted on screen; she was cast after writing to the production team claiming to 'be' Little Dorrit.[7] It remains her only screen acting role.
Production
Little Dorrit lasts nearly six hours and was released in two parts, of approximately three hours each.[2] 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.[8] The second film, titled Little Dorrit's Story, took many of the same events and presented them through the eyes of the heroine. Together they represented overlapping chronicles.[9]
Sands Films, the production company that made the film, is run by Christine Edzard, the screenwriter and director, and her husband Richard B. Goodwin.[10]
Reception
Variety wrote "what she (Edzard) has accomplished on a small budget is astounding."[11] and The New York Times noted "The cast is spectacular."[12]
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).[13] Miriam Margolyes won the LA Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Flora Finching.[14]
The Region Two DVD was released in the UK on 27 October 2008.[15]
Full cast
- Derek Jacobi as Arthur Clennam
- Sarah Pickering as Little Dorrit
- Alec Guinness as William Dorrit
- Joan Greenwood as Mrs. Clennam
- Max Wall as Jeremiah Flintwinch
- Patricia Hayes as Affery Flintwinch
- Cyril Cusack as Frederick 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
- Luke Duckett as Young Arthur
In addition, minor roles were played by: Michael Elphick, Arthur Blake, 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
- ^ "Little Dorrit (1988) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com.
- ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Little Dorrit (1987)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ "Little Dorrit 1. Nobody's Fault (1987)".
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Little Dorrit (1987) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Little Dorrit Movie Review & Film Summary (1988) - Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com.
- ^ "Little Dorrit (1988) - Christine Edzard - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ Q&A with the creative team of Little Dorrit - BFI
- ^ "Little Dorrit (1988) - Christine Edzard - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ "Little Dorrit 2. Little Dorrit's Story (1987)".
- ^ Elley, Derek (6 October 1992). "As You Like It".
- ^ "Little Dorrit". Variety. 1 January 1987.
- ^ "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. 5 November 2021.
- ^ "The 61st Academy Awards - 1989". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^ Eugene O'Hare (8 January 2020). Sydney & the Old Girl. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-350-13000-5.
- ^ http://www.sandsfilms.co.uk/shop.html
External links
- Little Dorrit 1. Nobody's Fault at the British Film Institute
- Little Dorrit 2. Little Dorrit's Story at the British Film Institute
- Little Dorrit at the BFI's Screenonline
- Little Dorrit at the British Board of Film Classification
- Little Dorrit at IMDb
- Little Dorrit at Rotten Tomatoes
- Little Dorrit at AllMovie
- Sands Films (production company and DVD)
- Little Dorrit film trailer