''Great Expectations'' is a 1999 television film adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

’s 1861 novel of the same name. It was aired on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in the UK, and on '' Masterpiece Theatre'' in the US.

Plot

A young boy called Pip stumbles upon a hunted criminal who threatens him and demands food. A few years later, Pip finds that he has a benefactor. Imagining that Miss Havisham, a rich lady whose adopted daughter Estella he loves, is the benefactor, Pip believes in a grand plan at the end of which he will be married to Estella. However, when the criminal from his childhood turns up one stormy night and reveals that he, Magwitch, is his benefactor, Pip finds his dreams crumbling. Although initially repulsed by his benefactor, Pip gradually becomes loyal to him and stays with him until his death.

Cast

Filming Locations

The production filmed at a number of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

locations including Sheerness Docks, Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer,

Chatham Docks Medway Ports, incorporating the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks is part of Peel Ports, the second largest port group in the United Kingdom. The Ports authority is also responsible for the harbour, pilotage and conservancy matters for of ...

and the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

and in Edinburgh.(2014) "Edinburgh the film set", Film Edinburgh, Page 9

Awards

In 2000, it won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Costume Design, but failed to win Best Design, Best Make Up/Hair, Best Photography and Lighting (Fiction/Entertainment) and Best Sound (Fiction/Entertainment). It had also won the 1999

RTS Television Award The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

for Best Sound in Drama; Best Production Design in Drama; Best Lighting, and Photography & Camera; and was nominated for Best Tape & Film Editing in Drama. It was nominated for, but did not win, the 1999

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Miniseries.

References

External links

* * * * 1999 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1990s British television miniseries Films based on Great Expectations Films directed by Julian Jarrold Television series produced at Pinewood Studios English-language television shows Television shows set in England Television shows based on Great Expectations {{UK-tv-film-stub