À Beira do Cadafalso

This is a straightforward version shot in black and white with some location shooting at Loire Valley in France.

Pinewood Studios is used effectively enough, it is uniformly well acted and Bogarde gives an effective enough performance as the lead and a young Christopher Lee is a hiss-able French Aristocrat.

The story deals with the strands of the two most notable characters in the novel by Charles Dickens. Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a French aristocrat who turns his back to the life of wealth and privilege but falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution when the reign of terror begins.

Carton is an English barrister with a taste for drink who attempts to redeem his misspent life out of his unrequited love for Darnay's wife.

There is not much humour in the film because of the subject matter but the pared down story does do the film justice.

"A Tale of Two Cities" is based on the novel by Charles Dickens. The story is not focused on the plight of the poor in Victorian England as with many of Dickens' novels, but rather an exploration of France prior to and in the wake of the French Revolution.

The nice thing about this film is that it has a sense of the scope of the history it portrays but also tells a personal story with connected people from England and France. The essential story concerns a hunted French aristocrat, an English barrister and a French woman whom they both love. These characters are not only linked to each other but to the French Revolution via the French aristocrat. The film shows the indiscretions by the aristocrats, the desperation of the beggars in Paris prior to the Revolution and but the arbitrary actions of Committee of Public Safety after the Revolution equally well. The transition with the storming of the Bastille was handled well. Importantly this film is in the end a very touching tale of self-sacrifice.

Dirk Bogarde is Sydney Carton, the English barrister of the story. Bogarde is effective at portraying Carton's transition from a comical though shrewd drunkard to a man that achieves a degree of nobility (pardon the pun). Dorothy Tutin and Paul Guers were also solid leads Lucie Manette as Charles Darnay. Donald Pleasence has a relatively small but memorable role as the profiteering spy Barsad. Christopher Lee is well-suited to his oft-played role as a villain, who in this case is a haughty and despicable French aristocrat. Rosalie Crutchley's performance as Madame Defarge also deserves note. Defarge is a truly chilling woman, and Crutchley brings out the transition from quiet glaring knitter to overwrought Reign of Terror fanatic very well. "A Tale of Two Cities" tells a personal story of a group of characters and self-sacrifice but also how France replaced its former repressors with new ones.

Though I gave the 1935 version of Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" a higher rating (before seeing this version), I'd have to say that this film, directed by Ralph Thomas, is probably better for the most part. This movie, done in black and white, captures the atmosphere of the Dickens novel - the filth and the cruelty - beautifully. No Hollywood gloss here. The cast is strong: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Donald Pleasance, Ian Bannen, Christopher Lee, Alfie Bass.

Though Sydney is one of Ronald Colman's great roles, it also proved to be a great role for Dirk Bogarde. As much as I love Ronald Colman, he can't quite help but come off as noble, whereas, you really could believe that Bogarde was a drunk and a waste before his final moments. Both men had the great gentleness required for the role. The end of this particular adaptation is very simple and beautiful.

I highly recommend both versions. This one, I think, is closer to the Dickens novel.

This is a classic film version of one of Dickin's classic novels. Arguably his best novel (though the critics tend to dismiss it - it has a straightforward plot and structure), it translates into an exceptional film.

For those who don't know the story, it concerns the fortunes of the Manette and St Evremonde families at the time of the French revolution. In a Romeo and Juliet type situation, Charles Darnay (alias St Evremonde) loves Lucie Manette, whose father Darnay's uncle had wronged. Now living in London, neither can escape the terrible events in Paris, and they are drawn to a climatic conclusion as the guillotine falls on aristocrat and commoner alike.

The real hero of both novel and film is Sydney Carton (Dirk Bogarde), an English lawyer who initially defends Charles Darnay against a charge of treason, and later comes to love Lucie, now married to Darnay. The conclusion of the story, for Sydney Carton at least, is both tragic and inspiring, and Mr Bogarde certainly does justice to the role.

I've yet to see the Hollywood Classic, but I doubt it do a better job that this British version, which makes you feel that you've taken a step back in time and are really a part of those best of/worst of times,

Dirk Bogarde is his usual superb self as Sidney Carton, and I also liked Paul Guers's performance as Charles Darney. I can't say that I cared for Dorothy Tutin all that much. Nothing against her acting skills, but in all honesty, I'd have preferred a Lucy Manette whose voice did not get on my nerves. Oh well, can't have everything!

Rosalie Crutchley played Madame Defarge with the right amount of menacing determination, her desire for revenge understandable, until she made it an obsession. And Athlene Seyler as Miss Pross was one bad-ass old lady! Rosalie didn't stand a chance!

Worth watching, no doubt about that!