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List Price: $19.95 | | Label: WGBH BOSTON
Salesrank: 13447
Released: October 1, 2002 |
| Our Price: $12.03 |
| Used Price: $7.95 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The classic David Copperfield was not just Charles Dickens' favorite work. It has been the most popular of his books since it was first published 150 years ago. Micawber, Peggotty, Betsey Trotwood, Uriah Heep, Mr. Creakle, Mrs. Crupp, and Mr. Dick... never were so many of Dickens' famous and vest-loved characters gathered together in just one of his works.
They are all brought to life by a world-class cast including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone), Oscar-winner Maggie Smith (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), Bob Hoskins (Hook), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Bullshot) and Pauline Quirke (The Elephant Man) in this sparkling adaptation.
The most autobiographical of Dickens' work, David Copperfield often echoes the writer's own life. It tells a moving story of David's journey from birth to maturity, a journey which inextricably links his life with some of Dickens' most colorful and extraordinary families.
Special DVD features include: Cast list; Masterpiece Theatre poster gallery; access to David Copperfield Web site featuring production notes, interviews with the cast and crew, a Dickens timeline, a guide to the featured characters, and more; scene selection; English audiotrack; and closed captions.
One one DVD9 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Widescreen (Anamorphic)
Description of David Copperfield:
A year before he played his first Quidditch match as Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe cast his spell on audiences as young David Copperfield in this stellar British miniseries based on Charles Dickens's classic novel. Vastly superior to the 2000 American-made miniseries (which gave us Michael "Kramer" Richards as Micawber), this impeccable production, originally broadcast on ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, is an embarrassment of riches, with a cast that includes Oscar® winner Maggie Smith (Radcliffe's Potter costar) as the indomitable Aunt Betsey, Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings) as sadistic teacher Mr. Creakle, a wonderful Bob Hoskins (Oscar nominee for Mona Lisa) as the debt-ridden Micawber, Trevor Eve as David's loathsome stepfather Mr. Murdstone (he believes in "firmness" with a vengeance), and Nicholas Lyndhurst as the scheming clerk Uriah Heap. Holding his own with this formidable ensemble is Ciaran McMenamin as the adult David, whose soap opera existence spans an idyll-shattered childhood, unscrupulous villains, tragic romance, and a hard-won happily-ever-after. Rich with incident and populated by some of literature's most memorable characters, this production does full justice to one of Dickens's most beloved and oft-told sagas. --Donald Liebenson
David Copperfield Reviews:
Great Movie! 
2009-09-24 - This is BBC at its best! Davie Coperfield has an excellent cast of characters and is indeed a delight to watch. One of the nice things about the film is that it is shorter then a lot of BBC's epic dramas. I have enjoyed the Jane Austin and Charles Dickens epics which I've watched over the years but this shorter film was nice for a change. Part of what made the film was the colorful characters like David's Aunt Betsy. I hope BBC does some more of these great classics.
David Copperfield
2009-09-13 - This was an excellent production. The casting of characters were extraordinary. I enjoyed it very much and watch it over and over again.
Dickens - Great Prose
2009-07-22 - Dickens has become my favorite author of all time. His novels are still relevant to this day - 150 years or so after they were written. It takes a bit of time to settle into the formal style of 19th century British writers, but once you get into the flow, the stories are great, the characters come alive in sparkling clarity, and not one plot element is left hanging. Long reads? Yes, definitely, but well worth the time and effort. I would wager that you will be sorry to see the book end if you persevere. Why were these books such drudgery to read when assigned in school? Maybe it takes some years in the world to appreciate what Dickens left for us.
A wonderful adaptation in every way! 
2009-06-19 - David Copperfield is my favorite book- (along with the Razor's Edge). I've read it at least 10 times in the past 20 years. I've seen all of the film adaptations and this one is simply excellent. It stays true to the book in every way and the actors are true to the way Dickens wrote the characters.
I do wish that Steerforth had been a bit stronger- he is so pivotal in the story and his sexuality needs to be quite pronounced. I did feel the portrayal of Rosa Dartle with her scar was excellent. A lot had to be left out from the book of course, but I think the screenplay choices were sound. And... what better advice for these times than Mr. MiCawber!
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
Maybe the executives at AIG missed this book in high school.
Dickens' work always reminds me that nothing EVER changes. Humans are humans- only our settings change. I would kick Mr. and Ms. Murdstone myself if they walked into my room! The actors really got this one right.
I don't think an American version of this story would every make it to the screen. They would try to pretty up the actors and give it a Hollywood spin- only the British can get it right and they did.
(Please excuse my character name spelling- you would think that after all of the readings I would remember!)
Julie A. Fast
David Copperfield
2009-05-26 - This movie was very good and true to the facts. The acting was great.
Loved it.
Norma Warren
