This film is part of Rentals
Great Expectations
The first of David Lean’s two Dickens adaptations is one of the finest British literary interpretations and one of the most acclaimed of all British films.
Period drama 1947 118 mins
Director: David Lean
Overview
The first of David Lean’s two Dickens adaptations is one of the most acclaimed of all British films. The story of a young man whose moral progress is shaped by two crucial childhood experiences: the traumatic encounter with Magwitch, an escaped convict, and his association with the eccentric Miss Havisham and her protegée Estella.
At 38, John Mills may have been the oldest onscreen Pip but he’s also the most impeccable, capably supported by a fine cast of British acting talent including Martita Hunt (Miss Havisham), Alec Guinness (Herbert Pocket) and Jean Simmons (Estella). David Lean and director of photography Guy Green’s highly cinematic interpretation was awarded the Academy Award for Best Cinematography upon its release, and has since been voted the fifth greatest British film in BFI’s 1999 poll. Restoration supported by The David Lean Foundation.
Contains mild violence and scary momentsRelated
Period drama
The Nightingale The Nightingale
Period drama 2018 136 mins Director: Jennifer Kent
A young Irish convict enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker in her quest for vengeance, in this ferociously powerful revenge drama from Jennifer Kent (The Babadook).
Du Barry Was a Lady Du Barry Was a Lady
Comedy 1943 101 mins Director: Roy Del Ruth
Thanks to a drugged drink, the world of a 1940s nightclub is transported to 17th-century France...
Jabberwocky Jabberwocky
Comedy 1977 106 mins Director: Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam's first feature as a solo director, here gloriously restored, is a riotous tale of monsters, true love and medieval manners.
Show Boat Show Boat
Period drama 1936 114 mins Director: James Whale
By far the best film version of Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern’s landmark stage show.
Barry Lyndon Barry Lyndon
Period drama 1975 185 mins Director: Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick charts the rise and fall of an 18th-century charlatan as an acerbic study of self-destruction amid social ritual.
The Belle of New York The Belle of New York
Musical 1951 81 mins Director: Charles Walters
Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen dance above the rooftops of New York.
Kermode introduces
Fanny and Alexander Fanny and Alexander
Drama 1982 181 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Bergman’s magisterial and sumptuous portrait of a 20th-century Swedish family.
Love Exposure Love Exposure
Comedy 2008 237 mins Director: Sion Sono
Japanese cinema's enfant terrible, Sion Sono, unleashes this demented, whirlwind tale of cults, love, violence and perversion.
The Kreutzer Sonata The Kreutzer Sonata
Drama 2008 96 mins Director: Bernard Rose
Bernard Rose updates Tolstoy's tale about the corrupting power of sex and jealousy, with Danny Huston as the wealthy husband of a beautiful, famous pianist (Elisabeth Röhm).
A Northern Soul A Northern Soul
Documentary 2018 73 mins Director: Sean McAllister
Acclaimed filmmaker Sean McAllister (A Syrian Love Story) returns to his hometown of Hull to profile local resident Steve Arnott, a struggling warehouse worker who harbours his own creative dream of breaking into hip-hop.
La Notte La Notte
Drama 1961 122 mins Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni's masterpiece stars Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau as a couple re-examining their emotional bonds.
The Old Dark House The Old Dark House
Comedy 1932 72 mins Director: James Whale
A group of weary travellers arrive at a spooky mansion with a madman on the loose, in this classic horror-comedy from James Whale (Bride of Frankenstein)
Featuring John Mills
When the Wind Blows When the Wind Blows
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 84 mins Director: Jimmy Teru Murakami
A middle-aged couple prepare for nuclear war in this humorous and macabre cautionary tale, adapted by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) from his best-selling book.
Brown on Resolution Brown on Resolution
War 1935 71 mins Director: Walter Forde
Walter Forde’s 1935 war drama stars a young John Mills as the illegitimate son of a naval officer who brings down a German cruiser in WWI.
The October Man The October Man
Drama 1947 95 mins Director: Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker directs John Mills and Joan Greenwood in this mystery noir about an amnesiac implicated in the murder of a young woman.
The Green Cockatoo The Green Cockatoo
Action and Adventure 1940 64 mins Director: William Cameron Menzies
From an original scenario by Graham Greene, this is a neat crime thriller about a girl (René Ray) who witnesses a murder, becomes a suspect herself, and gets mixed up with a sleazy Soho gangster (John Mills).
Scott of the Antarctic Scott of the Antarctic
Historical drama 1948 110 mins Director: Charles Frend
This tale of adventure and daring was one of Ealing Studio’s most ambitious features, beautifully shot by Jack Cardiff with a Vaughan Williams score.
Flame in the Streets Flame in the Streets
Drama 1961 93 mins Director: Roy Ward Baker
John Mills stars as a progressive union leader who is confronted with his own internal prejudices when his daughter brings her West Indian boyfriend home.
Featuring Jean Simmons
Hamlet Hamlet
Drama 1948 153 mins Director: Laurence Olivier
The first British film to win the Best Picture Oscar remains one of the strongest examples of Shakespeare on film.
Uncle Silas Uncle Silas
Drama 1947 98 mins Director: Charles Frank
Gothic chiller based on the novel by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Jean Simmons stars as an heiress pursued by her unbalanced uncle and his perverted son.
Directed by David Lean
Doctor Zhivago Doctor Zhivago
Romance 1965 200 mins Director: David Lean
An epic romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago is one of cinema’s great love stories.
Oliver Twist Oliver Twist
Period drama 1948 116 mins Director: David Lean
Arguably the essential Dickens adaptation, David Lean’s evocative portrayal of Victorian London in sooty black and white features Alec Guinness as a memorably sinister Fagin.
New
First Love First Love
Comedy 2019 108 mins Director: Takashi Miike
A terminally-ill boxer, a runaway call girl, a double-crossing drugs heist and a gang war; Takashi Miike doesn’t do things by halves.
The Peanut Butter Falcon The Peanut Butter Falcon
Comedy 2019 97 mins Director: Michael Schwartz
Effortlessly charming buddy movie about a young man with Downs Syndrome (Zack Gottsagen) in pursuit of his dreams, with Shia LaBeouf.
Official Secrets Official Secrets
Thriller 2018 112 mins Director: Gavin Hood
Gripping political thriller with Keira Knightley as the intelligence officer who discovers a plot to rig a UN vote on the eve of the Iraq war.
Scandal Scandal
Historical drama 1989 114 mins Director: Michael Caton-Jones
A fictionalised account of the 1963 ‘Profumo Affair’ that rocked the government of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Starring John Hurt, Joanne Whalley, Bridget Fonda, Ian McKellen and Leslie Phillips.
End of the Century End of the Century
Romance 2019 84 mins Director: Lucio Castro
A chance encounter reconnects two men in this heart-breaking lament on love, lust and missed opportunities.
Chained for Life Chained for Life
Drama 2018 91 mins Director: Aaron Schimberg
Made by and starring disfigured people, Aaron Schimberg’s dextrous, darkly comedic film-within-a-film makes you think about cinematic representation without offering simple resolutions.