David Copperfield

My first thought was, why another adaptation? The BBC version was pure poetry in motion. Why ruin it's memory with this garbage version? It seems that creativity and research are no longer used in the world of film making. The quest for greed; producers with no experience and/or talent, lend their ugly hand in remake after remake of stories that have been told over and over again. Come on Film World, let's be more original and do what film making is supposed to do: ART and CREATIVITY.

Having seen other adaptations besides reading the book, I kept watching this travesty in hopes that it would get better, but it didn't. Americans need to keep their accents and not "fake" an English one. Networks need to remember that there is too much competition to become sloppy in adaptations or becoming too creative with the "Classics". This drives away viewers who spend their dollars on advertisers' products and what credibility does it give them for future productions. David Copperfield was totally lost in this production and never grew, never matured. Dora was delicate and somewhat spoiled in past productions, not this simpering, whiny, pathetic creature that you wanted to slap into life. Agnes was a mere shadow of what she has been in the past, just enough backbone to recognize her character. Sally Field was disappointing as she tried to fake an English accent as Aunt Betsey Trotwood. Her past works have shown she is capable of an award winning performance, but not this time. Anthony Andrews' character of the mean stepfather became cartoon-ish as we saw his character reappearing in the story. His part was written as if the screenwriter wanted to give the stepfather his comeuppance. Don't waste the time to even schedule the VCR if you missed it, because there wasn't anything to miss.

This adaptation of "David Copperfield" did have some strengths, but for the most part was disappointing. Some scenes were good, such as the savage beating Mr. Murdstone gives to young David, cut with scenes of the mature David flinching as he remembers the blows. Uriah Heep was a truly Dickensian villain, slithering and oiling his way into a position of power. But Mr. Micawber was spoiled by the extremely eccentric accent of Michael Richards, and Sally Field was just not English enough for Betsy Trotwood. Her shouts of "DonkEEEES!" sounded like Minny Pearl. A story like this must naturally be abridged for the screen, but that's no excuse for omitting important storylines like the Steerforth/Little Em'ly/Rosa Dartle situation and instead inventing a new one, like Mr. Murdstone as a sort of marital vampire whose destruction is the turning point of David's life. Despite some good performances and scenes, this is not a memorable "David Copperfield".

How do you cut and structure David COPPERFIELD? If I recall correctly, the TV version back in 1969 made it a passage through grief to maturity. This one makes it the shaking off of a curse. Murdstone is a destroyer of women, and he sends David off to a training that will inevitably make David-- as it makes his hero Steerforth-- another such destroyer. From time to time David as narrator reminds us that he is making the mistake of succumbing to expectations, but in the end he successfully rebels. It's not the original, but it's not a bad take on the story.

Micawber has a similar triumph near the end of the story, and it's a shame that he wasn't allowed to shine in that triumph without the distraction of Michael Richards' physical comedy. Up to that point the Krameresque bumbling was not unwelcome, certainly a better alternative than trying to compete directly with the legendary W.C. Fields interpretation. Micawber's accent was odd, though, and it was mixed with unadulterated Kramer interjections.

And you can hardly expect a yank to effectively portray a character so intrinsically British as Betsey Trotwood (Bridget Jones was not the norm)... Sally Field's accent was thus naff, and the acting poor, reminiscent of Hepburn as Doolittle.

But sorry I thought that Eileen Atkins was superb as ever, as Miss Murdstone, and Hugh Dancy .... not only is he stunningly beautiful but he played the part of David the elder, magnificently.

David Copperfield, the book, is a relatively large tome, and TV movies do not allow for all minute points to be covered.

I liked it anyway. For what its worth LOL