Great Expectations 2011/2012: Battle of the Miss Havishams

Great Expectations 2011- 3 part miniseries with Gillian Anderson

Released Christmas 2011 in the UK, this gorgeously filmed television miniseries in 3 one hour long installments was quite well received by the British public for the most part. We in North America get to watch this one on PBS over 2 Sunday nights in April (April 1st and 8th).

Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham: Great Expectations 2011

The wondrous Gillian Anderson (whose Lady Deadlock from Bleak House 2005 stays with me yet) has been cast as the youngest looking Miss Havisham ever. If anyone can pull this off, I'm betting on her. However, one wonders with a Pip as beautiful looking as Douglas Booth, why doesn't she just tidy up the place, throw on a new frock and go after Pip herself? Sorry...Great Expectations, not Cougar Town!

The incredibly gorgeous Douglas Booth as adult Pip

What do you think of our young hero ladies? No wonder Douglas Booth is being heralded as a teen heart throb in the UK. Maybe he can get a whole new generation of females to read Dickens, which is never a bad thing!

Oscar Kennedy as young Pip in Great Expectations 2011

As seen in the photo above, the cinematography is breathtaking so I would watch it for this alone, but apparently David Suchet's Jaggers is pretty impressive too.

Estella and Pip dancing in Great Expectations 2012

This is something for us to look forward to when we are waiting for spring and a good way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham Great Expectations 2012

And if that wasn't exciting enough for Dickens's 200th Birthday, there is a theatrical release scheduled for sometime later in the year of yet another adaptation of Great Expectations. I'm holding my breath on this one, as it is a big story to squeeze into a 2 hour film. On the other hand, with Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and Ralph Fiennes as Magwich, it has a certain appeal already. Add to that director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and various Harry Potters) and Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) as Pip and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) as Jaggers and you have my attention. Fingers crossed on this one friends!