Dickensblog

'David Copperfield,' part two

I think Dickens would have approved of this depiction of the factory. It looks like something out of one of the lower circles of Dante’s Inferno. The Micawbers’ house, on the other hand, seems a bit too nice. But the Micawbers themselves are perfect. And Daniel Radcliffe is little short of brilliant here, especially when bargaining with the pawnbroker like an old hand. Not surprising that he would “go far.”

The robbery and walk to Dover are really hard to watch. This sort of thing is exactly why I can’t bring myself to watch Slumdog Millionaire, no matter how many people recommend it. I can’t even stand to see a little boy getting his things stolen; Lord knows what would happen if I had to watch some of the things that happen to kids in that one.

It’s marvelous to see Maggie Smith again! I LOVE that they kept in Aunt Betsey’s falling down. Mr. Dick looks a little too much like Humpty Dumpty, but he’s very good.

And I really want to know where they got that wallpaper with the birds. That is cool. Even the Murdstones can’t succeed in making that room look dark. And Maggie rocks that scene with the two of them (if I may speak so familiarly of a Dame of the British Empire).

I think this is the first David Copperfield adaptation I’ve seen, and I was wondering if it was possible to find someone who could convincingly play Uriah Heep in all his longness and leanness and disgustingness. Holy cow, they sure did.

And we’re at the end of Part 1, and I think I’ll stop there for tonight, although I believe PBS has finished up by now. I’ll try to get to the rest later this week, or early next week.

Poor Traddles

Can't end the week without our promised passage about Tommy Traddles:

Poor Traddles! In a tight sky-blue suit that made his arms and legs like German sausages, or roly-poly puddings, he was the merriest and most miserable of all the boys. He was always being caned -- I think he was caned every day that half-year, except one holiday Monday when he was only ruler'd on both hands -- and was always going to write to his uncle about it, and never did. After laying his head on the desk for a little while, he would cheer up somehow, begin to laugh again, and draw skeletons all over his slate, before his eyes were dry. I used at first to wonder what comfort Traddles found in drawing skeletons, and for some time looked upon him as a sort of hermit, who reminded himself by those symbols of mortality that caning couldn't last forever. But I believe he only did it because they were easy, and didn't want any features.

He was very honourable, Traddles was, and held it as a solemn duty in the boys to stand by one another. He suffered for this on several occasions, and particularly once, when Steerforth laughed in church, and the Beadle thought it was Traddles, and took him out. I see him now, going away in custody, despised by the congregation. He never said who was the real offender, though he smarted for it next day, and was imprisoned so many hours that he came forth with a whole churchyardful of skeletons swarming all over his Latin Dictionary.

David Copperfield, Chapter 7

Look for more on David Copperfield the movie this weekend!

New 'Little Dorrit' trailer

Much more detailed than the last one!

Courtesy of IAmATVJunkie.com

Aww, I missed it!

"Dickens' desk sells at auction"

And for a mere £433,250, it could have been mine.

'David Copperfield,' part one

My DVD has the old Masterpiece Theater theme. Ah, memories. I hate change, even if it’s only a change in a theme song.

I was right (and so was Helen). Maggie Smith is awesome. I’m sorry they cut out her hitting the doctor with her bonnet, though. And David, by this time, no need for “My great-aunt’s experience with men had not been a happy one.” Like, duh.

Oh, Mr. Murdstone looks all wrong. He ought to be all tall and dark and grim and cadaverous. Trevor Eve looks like he should be playing one of the jollier characters. Emilia Fox is just right as David’s mother, though. (Is there a British period drama she hasn’t been in? She’s like the Claude Rains of the BBC.) Peggotty looks all right, just not red enough. As for little Harry Potter, he is all kinds of cute. Makes it kind of weird that little Em’ly has Hermione hair, though. Barkis is a dear. He looks like an overgrown hobbit.

I like the scenes in and around the old boat. Condensed as it is, they got the atmosphere and the spirit just about right. In fact, though it’s early yet, that seems to be true of most of the movie so far.

Gotta love sending a kid out of town, getting married, surprising him with it, and then expecting him to be excited. The good old days weren’t always good. In related news, I may have to take it back about Mr. Murdstone. He gets a sort of metallic tone in his voice when he’s angry that’s very effective indeed. Zoë Wanamaker is PERFECT as Miss Murdstone. She looks and sounds like she stepped straight out of one of Tim Burton’s darker imaginings. The two of them together are so chilling I can feel the cold coming through the screen.

Whoa, Gandalf is now playing Gollum! Ian McKellen’s Creakle is doing nothing to dispel the chill.

Miss Betsey has the last word

It was a pledge drive. They yanked David Copperfield for a silly pledge drive.

I think we know what Miss Betsey would say to that:

"Bah! Stuff and nonsense!"

What a troublesome world this is!

Well, folks, we've hit a snag. We have three PBS affiliates in this city, and apparently all of them got together and decided that they were going to stop airing Masterpiece for the time being. ALL of them. Not a sign of David Copperfield to be seen anywhere, not even at three o'clock tomorrow morning. I'm making some calls about this tomorrow, and let's hope I get some reasonable answers, because right now I'm thinking things not lawful to be uttered about PBS affiliates.

And unfortunately, David Copperfield was not in my package of screeners, either. So I've summoned Netflix to my aid, God bless it, and should be able to produce a review of the first part by Tuesday night. My abject apologies for the delay.

Let's all be thankful that Little Dorrit was in the package from PBS, at any rate. Should that one be yanked from the air without a word, with no way for me to see it, I could not be held responsible for my conduct.

'David Copperfield' in brief

Original air date: 1999 on BBC One
Starring Daniel Radcliffe (young David), Tom Wilkinson (narrator), Maggie Smith (Betsey Trotwood), Emilia Fox (Clara Copperfield), Pauline Quirke (Peggotty), Trevor Eve (Edward Murdstone), Zoë Wanamaker (Jane Murdstone), Ian McKellen (Mr. Creakle), Bob Hoskins (Wilkins Micawber), Ian McNeice (Mr. Dick), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Uriah Heep), Ciarin McMenamin (older David), Amanda Ryan (Agnes Wickfield), Joanna Page (Dora Spenlow), Oliver Milburn (James Steerforth), Aislin McGucklin (Emily), Alun Armstrong (Dan Peggotty), James Thornton (Ham Peggotty), Patsy Byrne (Mrs. Gummidge), Dawn French (Mrs. Crupp)
Adapted by Adrian Hodges
Directed by Simon Curtis

From the PBS page:

As an aspiring writer, young David Copperfield (Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter films) could never have dreamed up a life story as epic as the one he was about to live. Born to a loving mother, Copperfield has a turbulent childhood at the hands of a cruel stepfather, followed by a rough education in real life at Mr. Creakle's school. Yet, Copperfield is also guided by unexpected goodness — in the forms of servant Peggotty, Mr. Micawber and aunt Betsey Trotwood. As Copperfield matures into manhood, he finds love, experiences betrayal, and reaches beyond the afflictions of his own life to find happiness. Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith and Ian McKellen star in this 2000 adaptation of one of Charles Dickens's most autobiographical novels.

More tonight!