| Little Dorrit | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Little_Dorrit_VHS.jpg) Little Dorrit VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Christine Edzard |
| Screenplay by | Christine Edzard |
| Based on | Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens |
| Produced by | John Brabourne Richard B. Goodwin |
| Starring | Derek Jacobi Sarah Pickering Alec Guinness Joan Greenwood Max Wall Patricia Hayes Miriam Margolyes Simon Dormandy |
| Cinematography | Bruno de Keyzer |
| Edited by | Fraser Maclean Olivier Stockman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Curzon Film Distributors |
Release date |
|
Running time | 343 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,025,228[1] |
Little Dorrit is a 1987 film adaptation of the 1857 novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens.[2] It was written and directed by Christine Edzard, and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin .[3] The music by Giuseppe Verdi was arranged by Michael Sanvoisin.[2]
The film stars Derek Jacobi as Arthur Clennam, Alec Guinness as William Dorrit, and Sarah Pickering in the title role.[4] A huge cast of seasoned British and Irish stage and film actors was assembled to play the dozens of roles, including Simon Dormandy, Joan Greenwood, Roshan Seth, Miriam Margolyes, Cyril Cusack and Max Wall.[5] Pickering, in contrast, had never acted on screen; she was cast after writing to the production team claiming to 'be' Little Dorrit.[6] It remains her only screen acting role.
Little Dorrit lasts nearly six hours and was released in two parts, of approximately three hours each.[2] The first part was subtitled Nobody's Fault, an allusion to one of Dickens' proposed titles for the original novel, and the story developed from the perspective and experiences of the Arthur Clennam character.[7] The second film, titled Little Dorrit's Story, took many of the same events and presented them through the eyes of the heroine. Together they represented overlapping chronicles.[8]
Sands Films, the production company that made the film, is run by Christine Edzard, the screenwriter and director, and her husband Richard B. Goodwin.[9]
Little Dorrit was listed in the BFI's "ten great British films directed by women" in 2014.[10]
- ^ "Little Dorrit (1988)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ a b c "BFI Screenonline: Little Dorrit (1987) Credits". Screen Online. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Little Dorrit 1. Nobody's Fault (1987)". BFI. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Little Dorrit Movie Review & Film Summary (1988)". Roger Ebert.
- ^ "Little Dorrit (1988) - Christine Edzard - Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
- ^ "Q&A with the creative team of Little Dorrit - BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Little Dorrit (1988) - Christine Edzard - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
- ^ "Little Dorrit 2. Little Dorrit's Story (1987)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018.
- ^ Elley, Derek (6 October 1992). "As You Like It". Variety. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ "10 great British films directed by women". bfi. 24 April 2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.