Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens the greatest author of the Victorian era.  This is his penultimate completed novel and it depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip.  It.s a coming-of-age story with themes of wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil, and was an enormous success when published in 1861. 

It’s not only remained extremely popular but the novel retains good ratings among literary critics and in 2003 it was ranked 17th on the BBC‘s The Big Read poll.

Great Expectations has also attracted a great many film and TV producers over the years but despite them having very starry casts most have been savaged by the critics and ignored by the public.. In 2012 director Mike Newell, with an adapted screenplay by David Nicholls, lined up stars Helena Bonham Carter, Jeremy Irvine, Holliday Grainger, Ralph Fiennes, and Robbie Coltrane for his version.  A very disappointed reviewer pointed out  it’s not clear what this re-do adds except another line to these actors’ resumes.   He also added While Bonham Carter definitely plays Havisham as younger, though, she still resorts to a lot of eyepopping faces, as if she were back in a Tim Burton movie. 

Alfonso Cuaron version in 1981 didn’t fare any better even though they moved the action from 19th-century England to present-day Florida and New York.  None of it impressed the critic Ruthie Stein who wrote   (Anne) Bancroft’s performance is so over the top it’s amusing. She dances around a decaying Florida mansion as if she’s on something. At least she seems alive, which is more than can be said of the rest of the cast.

So far the definitive version is still unquestionably  David Lean’s in 1946 with a cast that included John Mills and Valerie Hobson.  Bernard Miles, Jean Simmons, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt and Alec Guinness.  The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, winning two of them, and is not only regarded as one of Lean’s best but is on the British Film Institute‘s Top 100 British films of all time.

Now Lean’s version may finally be surpassed as it has just been announced that it is about to be filmed again with Olivia Colman starring in the iconic role of Miss Havisham, a wealthy recluse who lost her mind after being jilted at the altar.  In our book, this multi-Award winning British actor will be perfect in the role. This latest version is written and executive produced by Steven Knight, the writer, and director behind  Locke  and Hummingbird. 

This mini-series produced by  FX and BBC  also stars Fionn Whitehead as Pip, the young orphan who finds himself with a mysterious nameless benefactor, and Shalom Brune Franklin (BBC’s The Tourist) as Estella, Miss Havisham’s beautiful but cold ward, who she’s raised to be heartless towards men.   It streams on HULU on March 26th  … we cannot wait.