A Tale of Two Cities (1980)

good back-story, and good acting

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A reasonably good interpretation of the Dickens classic, which sticks to the book quite well.Some of the acting was excellent, in particular Chris Sarandon who was perfectly cast as Sydney Carton / Charles Darnay. His portrayal of the complex Carton in particular was very clever and convincing. Cushing also was well cast as Manette and played it perfectly, while Kenneth Moore delivered his role competently was one would expect.Unfortunately the film is marred by poor, low budget 1970s television production and art direction values. It is mostly unconvincing in its portrayal of the revolution, especially the action scenes. One of the problems with early television adaptations, especially those by the BBC from the 1960s and 70s, is that they think "dramatising" means simply adding pictures to text. They assumed that if you were faithful to the events and dialog, and dressed people up in period costume, then you've done a good job. The storming of Bastille seems like a routine amateur theatrical depiction, where the extras clearly had a minimum of choreography and direction. There just weren't enough revolutionaries to create a convincing atmosphere of chaos and terror. These problems were further exacerbated by the stereotyping and poorly acted roles of the key revolutionaries Monsieur and Madame Defarge.The ending has one notable and moving scene - the meeting and very brief love encounter between Carton and Seamstess before the guillotine, again made possible by the Sarandon's excellent portrayal of Carton.At the time of writing the film is currently available in a boxed set of three DVDs in the "Best British Classics" series in Sweden. The the series is designed for Swedish audiences but the films are in English with the option of subtitles. A quick search on the Internet on Google.se for "Best British Classics" should give you some hits.

I really enjoyed this movie back in 1980. It was a required movie to watch for my history class. I see there are several others who enjoyed the mini-series also. I don't remember the name of the main character. All I really remember is that it was a Dickens' novel and that I did enjoy it. Actually seeing the movie made me realize what the French Revolution was about and why it is such an important part of our history. Now a teacher is wanting to show it to her world history class at school. They are beginning to study the French Revolution. This teacher would love to show it in class. Does anyone know how we can get hold of a copy of the 1980 version? Or if there's not a copy of it do you know how to have it put on TV again as mini series? I don't really know how or where to get a copy of this so any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you for your help

Seeing as how this was made for television,we need to judge this particular production and the standards required for that medium.For the most part,the cast is very competent.Indeed,Peter Cushing does better as the doctor than ANYONE else that I've seen.Carton,Darnay,Lucy,and the supporting parts are all quite capable.And Kenneth More does a fine job as Mr. Lorry.(Has anyone ever commented on the fact that he's starting to sound and look like Basil Sydney?)Robson is a worthy successor to Oliver.I had trouble recognizing Suchet as Barsad.The actor playing Defarge come across as depressed and somber,and this isn't quite right.Defrage is a hulking,wounded,inarticulate animal,caught between love and loyalty to his former master,and devotion to his cause.And Madame Defarge is a fat,flabby,clumsy,nasty snake,lacking the fire of Blanche Yurka.Her scenes at the fight and fall of the Bastille were totally unconvincing.And why did they trim down the role of Jerry Cruncher?That sly, funny rogue is perfect for the talents of that splendid character actor George Innes.Still,it's a worthy effort,and a nice way to see a new slant on the story.

The actor for Carton and Darnay needed more emotion, in the movie you could notice his fake and really poor English accent. Carton towards the end should have more emotion. He is the protagonist in the movie. Other than that the other charecters do a good job especially the actors and actresses who play Lorry, Dr. Manette, Miss Pross, Lucie, and Mdme. Defarge. Also Mr. Defarge and the Marquis are too English. Mdme Defarge played by a Englishwomen acts in the character's rude French way. Pretty Good movie, does actually bring a tear or two.