Great Expectations (1998)

Modernization of Charles Dickens' classic story finds the hapless Finn as a painter in New York City pursuing his unrequited and haughty childhood love.

Director:

Alfonso Cuarón

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel), Mitch Glazer (screenplay)

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ethan Hawke	...	Finnegan Bell
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Estella
Hank Azaria	...	Walter Plane
Chris Cooper	...	Joe
Anne Bancroft	...	Ms. Dinsmoor
Robert De Niro	...	Prisoner / Lustig
Josh Mostel	...	Jerry Ragno
Kim Dickens	...	Maggie
Nell Campbell	...	Erica Thrall
Gabriel Mann	...	Owen (as Gabriel Mick)
Jeremy James Kissner	...	Finnegan at Age 10
Raquel Beaudene	...	Estella at Age 10
Stephen Spinella	...	Carter Macleish
Marla Sucharetza	...	Ruth Shepard
Isabelle Anderson	...	Lois Pope

Storyline

Based on Charles Dickens' timeless tale, this is a story of the love of a man for an unreachable woman. Updated to modern-day New York City, the story concerns a man of modest background who falls in love with a rich girl. But when a mysterious benefactor greenlights the man to make his dreams come true, everything done has the ultimate goal of making Estella fall in love with him.

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Plot Keywords:

estella character | whiskey | love | gulf coast | florida | 

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Taglines:

Let desire be your destiny.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to co-writing, performing, and producing the song "Siren" especially for this film, Tori Amos provided the vocalizations (whistling, breaths, et cetera) that can be heard in the film's score.

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Goofs

While on the subway looking at Finn's sketch book, the blood on Lustig's fingers changes in amount and placement throughout the scene.

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Quotes

Finn: I'm not going to tell the story the way it happened. I'm going to tell it the way I remember it.

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Crazy Credits

The credits are accompanied by images of all the artwork drawn by Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke). They run the entire duration of credits.

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Connections

Version of Monodrama Theater: Great Expectations (1953)

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Soundtracks

Bésame Mucho
Written by Consuelo Velázquez
Produced by José da Silva
Performed by Cesária Évora (as Cesaria Evora)
Cesaria Evora appears courtesy of Lusafrica and B.M.G. France

User Reviews

Either way, a weak flick

A lot of users seem to complain that comparisons between this adaptation and the original Dickens novel are unfair. Well, it's a pretty weak movie, even if you TRY to take the novel off your mind. Everything happens just too fast. The characters are SO shallow, lacking the psychological side which is so important to make drama work. The cast doesn't help either. Fairly good performances by Anne Bancroft and Hank Azaria, but not much more. De Niro is completely lost in the whole picture (pun intended). Will please people looking for a quick, superficial love flick, but stay away from it if you are looking for proper entertainment (even if don't even plan ever reading Dicken's novel).

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Portuguese

Release Date:

30 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Great Expectations

Filming Locations:

Astor Place, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,593,290, 1 February 1998

Gross USA:

$26,420,672

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$55,494,066

Company Credits

Production Co:

Art Linson Productions, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1