Classic kids, or 100 films the kids in your life have to see by 13 or else!
Day 74: Great Expectations (1946)
This movie blew me away when I was in 5th grade. The themes of betrayal, kindness, childhood fears and England during the late 1800s, were so enchanting. The movie was on late. We had just got cable, first on the block. Everyone was asleep, but I stayed up to watch this and could not believe it. The story, the characters were so alive and beautifully rendered. This film of course introduced me to my favorite writer of all time, Charles Dickens. Why we don't read his works in school anymore is somewhat baffling. But, I digress...the film version of this magnificent novel is perfection. David Lean is the director. The same man who was at the helm for Brief Encounter, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago. We meet all of Dicken's lovely characters, Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, Pockets, and the escaped Convict. It's fun to see a young Alec Guinness as Pip's friend, Pockets.
Themes: Conscience, Affection, Loyalty, Class, Ambition, Self-improvement.
Media Literacy questions for kids: Why did the film focus on only certain sections of the novel? Why is the graveyard scene shown from the child's point of view? What does Pip learn in the end?
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