Main Cast: Alec Guinness, Derek Jacobi, Cyril Cusack, Sarah Pickering, Joan Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes
Release Year: 1988
Country: UK
Run Time: 360 minutes
Plot
Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Seldom does a film harmonize cinematography, performances, and script as skillfully as this highly acclaimed 1988 adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel, Little Dorrit. The movie is a two-part, six-hour drama centering on the fate of the bankrupt Dorrit family living in a debtor's prison at Marshalsea across the Thames River from central London. Director Christine Edzard, the daughter of two painters, turns London into a canvas of gloomy grays and sullen shadows to suggest the plight of the main characters. Appropriately, the dismal setting contrasts markedly with the cheer and optimism of the title character, Little Amy Dorrit, played superbly by Sarah Pickering as a ray of light emanating from the darkness. As Arthur,Derek Jacobi masterly undergirds the first half of the film, revealing little touches of humanity and sensitivity that Dickens felt were necessary to redeem corrupt and cruel Victorian England. In the second half, the venerable Sir Alec Guinness (as Amy's father, William Dorrit) uses the extraordinary subtlety of his acting talent to show how sudden freedom and fortune change Mr. Dorrit into a callous parvenu bent on rising in society. Director Edzard, who also wrote the script, is faithful to the plot of the Dickens novel. What's more, her backdrops and costumes are historically accurate, having been thoroughly researched and duplicated. Remarkably, she made the movie on a small budget through Sands Films, a company she and her husband operate. In so doing, she demonstrates that a good story and well-developed characters have far more appeal than glitzy budget-busters weighted down with special effects. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Max Wall - Flintwinch; Amelda Brown - Fanny Dorrit; Daniel Chatto - Tip Dorrit; Bill Fraser - Mr. Casby; Roshan Seth - Mr. Pancks; Roger Hammond - Mr. Meagles; Sophie Ward - Minnie Meagles; John Savident - Tite Barnacle; Edward Burnham - Daniel Doyce; Eleanor Bron - Mrs. Merdle; Michael Elphick - Mr. Merdle; Robert Morley - Lord Decimus Barnacle; Alan Bennett - Bishop; Celia Bannerman - Milliner; Anthony Benson - Unlucky Skittle Player; Donald Bisset - Enthusiastic Weighty Gentleman; Moya Brady - Fiddler's Daughter; Ronnie Brody - Broke Tenant; Joanna Brookes - Shirtmakers' Daughter; Brenda Bruce - Duchess; Gerald Campion - Mr. Tetterby; David Cardy - 3 Thimble Man; Jonathan Cecil - Magnate from the Bench; Richard Clifford - Jerry; Arthur Cox - Stage Carpenter; Rosalie Crutchley - Wife of the Magnate from the Bench; Leon Davis - Fraudulent Groom; Alison Dowling - Pretty Milliner; David F. Doyle - Pepper, Apprentice; Luke Duckett - Young Arthur; Susan Field - Mr. Tiffin; Ian Gelder - Rev. Samuel Barnacle; Howard Goorney - Bob, the Turnkey; Billy Gray - Stage Doorman; Arthur Hewlett - Physician; Alfred Hoffman - Old Couple; Ian Hogg - Butler; Harold Innocent - Mr. Rugg, Legal Adviser; Johnny Irving - Worker; Tony Jay - Doctor; Edward Jewesbury - Magnate from the Lords; Julia Lang - Henry Gowan's Mother; John Levitt - Quarrelling Debtor; Ian Lindsay - Capt. Martin; Leonard Maguire - Knowledgeable Debtor; Betty Marsden - Mrs. Phoebe Barnacle; John Scott Martin - Faded Involvent; Mollie Maureen - Mr. F's Aunt; John McEnery - Capt. Hopkins; Murray Melvin - Dancing Master; Gerald Perreau-Saissine - Mr. Dubbin; Imogen Millais-Scott - Mrs. Bee; Malcolm Mudie - Officer; Brian Pettifer - Clarence Barnacle; Olivier Pierre - Hotel Manager; David Pugh - Mr. Parker, a Creditor; Paul Rhys - Bright Young Gentleman; Eric Richard - Sir George Wills; Danny Schiller - Reveller in the Slap Bang; Ruth Sheen - Society Lady; Tusse Silberg - Lady at Concert; Liz Smith - Mrs. Bangham, Midwife; Marcel Steiner - Whistler; David Stoll - Hesitant Weighty Gentleman; David Thewlis - George Braddle; John Tordoff - Waiter in the Coffee House; Pip Torrens - Henry Gowan; David Trevena - Tidily Buttoned Man; John Warner - Bootmaker; Harry Webster - Pickton; Christopher Whittingham - Mr. Plornish; Heathcote Williams - Dr. Haggage; Elijah Wood - Greedy-Eyed Old Man; Mark Arnold - Boy; Stuart Burge - Head; John Harding - Ferdinand Barnacle; Patricia Hayes - Affery; Mark Knox - Print Seller's Clerk; Charles Reynolds - Mrs. Timms; Dermot Crowley - Mr. Simpson; Eric Francis - Old Nandy, Mrs. P's Father; Kate Williams - Mrs. Greasby; Malcolm Tierney - Bar; Ron Russell - Elderly Gentleman; Elizabeth Archer - Lady at Concert; Sally Ashby - Society Lady; John Atkinson - Baron; David Bale - Lucky Skittle Player; Morwenna Banks - Georgina; Charlie Bartle - Mr. Battens; Fred Beauman - Flower Seller; Amanda Bellamy - Housemaid; Odette Bennett - Fanny's Maid; Katherine Best - Lady Visitor; Christopher Birch - Cautious Weighty Gentleman; Sophie Brew - Lydia; Alan Bungay - Principal Messenger; Mike Carnel - Lonely Debtor; Sarrina Caruthers - Little Dorrit as a Child; Ricky Cave - Tip at Age 12; Nadia Chambers - Agnes; Dawn Charatan - Mrs. Ismay; Johnny Clayton - Fiddler; Terence Connolly - Mr. Fogg, a Creditor; Laura Cox - Orange Juggler; James Coyle - Horace Kinch; Janice Cramer - Young Flora; Harry Cross - Little Dorrit as a Child; Richard Cubison - Mr. Simpson's Friend; Yvonee D'Alpra - Motherly Lady; Joan Dainty - Broke Tenant's Wife; John Dalby - Mr. Jobling; Chris Darwin - Fraudulent Groom; Terry Day - Mrs. Hurt; Robert Demeger - Mr. Braddle; Cordelia Ditton - Mrs. Braddle; Simon Dormandy - Sparkler Merdle; Michael Eaves - Narrow Faced Man; Jackie Ekers - Dancer at Theatre; Maurice Elliot - Snuggery Gambler; Beth Ellis - Mrs. William Barnacle; Cyril Epstein - Mr. Strong's Friend; John Fahey - Seller of Second-hand Furniture; Alan Foss - Mr. Bead; Cate Fowler - Woman at Dance; Lee Fox - Richard Barnacle; David Foxxe - Mr. Mivvins; Irene Frederick - Mrs. Pitt; Jenny Galloway - Polly; Jack Gittings - Old Gambler; Richard Graden - Slingo; Seymour Green - Tailor; John Halstead - Mr. Mortimer; Rebecca Ham - Dancer at Theatre; Christopher Hancock - Customer in the Coffee House; Richard Henry - Smiles, Foreman; Anthea Holloway - Society Lady; Gwenda Hughes - Mrs. Dorrit; Charles Hunter - Mr. Mortimer's Friend; Joanna Hurley - Fanny as a Child; Steve Ismay - Worker; Darlene Johnson - Mrs. Robinson; Sidney Johnson - Print seller; Arthur Kelly - Reveller in the Slap Bang; Judy Laister - Anxious Wife; Nadine Large - Lady at Concert; Stanley Lloyd - Mr. Wrosley; Doris Littlewood - Old WIfe; Fiona MacAlpine - Dancer at Theatre; Diana Malin - Mr. Casby's Maid; Ramon Martino - Gruff Fellow; Joanna Maude - Second-Hand Furniture Sellers' Wife; Amanda Maxwell - Dancer at Theatre; Tom McCabe - Rough Fellow; Lizzie McKenzie - Drunken Woman; Michael Mears - William's Valet; Robin Meredith - Ruined Speculator; Marilyn Milgrom - Mrs. Hopkins; Robert Mill - Hugh Stilstalking; Ruth Mitchell - Mrs. Plornish; Ken Morley - Mr. Wobbler; Shona Morris - Dancer at Theatre; Patricia Napier - Dolly; Siobhan Nicholas - Mrs. Fray; Guy Nicholls - Mr. Wabe; Arthur Nightingale - Shabby Footman; Sandra O'Rourke - Fanny as a Child; Giles Oldershaw - Imposing Gentleman; Bernard Padden - Newcomer; Diana Paris - Dancer at Theatre; Barbara Peak - Countess; Nat Pearn - Mr. Strong; Donald Pelmear - Mr. Clive; Stewart Permutt - Quarrelling Debtor; Brian Poyser - Treasury; Robert Putt - Mr. Chivery, the New Turnkey; John Quarmby - Circumlocution Office Porter; Pauline Quirke - Maggy, Little Dorrit's Protegee; Trevor Ray - Magnate from the City; Doug Roe - Capt. Martin's Friend; Iris Sadler - Shirtmaker; Lin Sagovsky - Hotel Maid; Cazz Scattergood - Dancer at Theatre; Graham Seed - William Barnacle; Tommy Shand - Mr. Cain; Frank Shelley - Disagreeable Man; Rosemary Smith - Hotel Maid; Marjorie Somerville - Lady by Snuggery; Kathy Staff - Mrs. Tickit; Joan Stafford - Rough Lady; Sam Steer - John Chivery at Ages 4 and 8; Richard Stirling - John Chivery; Carol Street - Woman at Dance; Rita Triesman - Mrs. Tetterby; Betty Turner - Mrs. Kidgerbury; Peter Waddington - Boy at Theatre; Alec Wallis - Discreet Clerk; Jo Warne - Mrs. Chivery, Tobacconist; Anna Whittingham - Plornish Children; Eve Whittingham - Plornish Children; Harry Whittingham - Plornish Children; David Whitworth - James Simms; Tracey Wilkinson - Housemaid; Tim Wright - Hotel Porter; Charles Simon - Sharp Speculator; Arthur Blake - Herbert Smangle
Credit
John McMillan - Art Director, Richard N. Goodwin - Co-producer, Joyce Carter - Costume Designer, Danielle Garderes - Costume Designer, Claudie Gastine - Costume Designer, Judith Loom - Costume Designer, Sally Neale - Costume Designer, Barbara Sonnex - Costume Designer, Jack Smith - Costume Designer, Christine Edzard - Director, Michael Sanvoisin - Musical Arrangement, Michael Sanvoisin - Musical Direction/Supervision, Lord John Brabourne - Producer, Richard Goodwin - Producer, Ronnie Barlow - Set Designer, Neale Brown - Set Designer, Paul Colombo - Set Designer, Hugh Doherty - Set Designer, Peter Feroze - Set Designer, Richard Feroze - Set Designer, Scott Loom - Set Designer, Malcolm May - Set Designer, Mary McGowan - Set Designer, Charles McMillan - Set Designer, Bill Reid - Set Designer, Peter Seatter - Set Designer, John Whybrow - Set Designer, John Tyson - Set Designer, Terry Thompson - Set Designer, Godfrey Kirby - Sound/Sound Designer, Charles Dickens - Book Author
Little Dorrit lasts 360 minutes and was released in two separate parts of approximately three hours each. 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 . The second film, entitled Little Dorrit's Story, took many of the same events and presented them through the eyes of the heroine. Together they represented separate but overlapping chronicles.
The production company which made the film, Sands Films, is operated by Christine Edzard, the director, and her husband, Richard B. Goodwin. The film was nominated for two Oscars: Actor in a Supporting Role (Alec Guinness) and Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) (Christine Edzard). The long awaited DVD was released in the UK on October 27, 2008.
