25 Finest Charles Dickens Variations, Ranked

Few authors who handed away earlier than cinema itself was invented have confirmed to be fairly as outstanding inside the world of movie as Charles Dickens. The famed English author was born in 1812 and handed away in 1870, with the earliest quick movie (if it may be outlined as such) being made in 1874. All that is to say, there’s clearly no means Dickens would’ve recognized that is what number of of his tales can be consumed and loved, but there has confirmed to be one thing surprisingly cinematic about his tales, concepts, and characters. In any other case, there would not be numerous variations of his works by numerous filmmakers over the previous century or so.

His novels, quick tales, and different publications stay on not simply because such writings are nonetheless studied and skim, but additionally as a result of they’re regularly tailored into movie and typically miniseries. Compiling a number of the finest variations amongst these inevitably results in a number of variations of the identical supply materials, however the totally different approaches to such tales maintain these new spins on outdated tales fascinating. What follows is a set of the perfect and most notable filmed Charles Dickens variations, beginning with the nice and ending with the good.

25 ‘The Pickwick Papers’ (1952)

Directed by Noel Langley

Noteworthy for being the debut novel of Charles Dickens, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Membership is not far off turning 200, contemplating it was printed at first in a serial format all through 1836 and 1837. Regardless of its historic significance inside the Dickens canon, it’s not a massively common story for movie variations, at the least in comparison with quite a few different well-recognized – and regularly retold – tales from cinema historical past.

1952’s The Pickwick Papers additionally is not massively well-known, however it does a good sufficient job of adapting the novel to the format of a function movie. The story, which is a few group of buddies adventuring and reporting on what they arrive throughout, does work higher as one thing that’s serialized, owing to the episodic nature of such a premise, however it’s condensed fairly properly right here, and in beneath two hours at that.

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24 ‘Oliver & Firm’ (1988)

Directed by George Scribner

In the event you look over all of the Charles Dickens variations which have ever existed, it will get just a little uninteresting if you happen to solely keep on with the works that instantly – or extra actually – adapt his tales. So, positive, Oliver & Firm may be very totally different from Oliver Twist, however it works and reshapes issues in fascinating methods, the obvious of them being the truth that many characters at the moment are animals, as an alternative of people.

Additionally, given Oliver & Firm is aimed toward youthful viewers, it does tone down a number of the extra intense components of the unique story, which could function younger characters, however does get surprisingly darkish at factors. Anyway, as far as animated Disney movies go, this one won’t essentially be among the many finest, however it could actually definitely be known as underrated/ignored.

23 ‘Nice Expectations’ (1999)

Directed by Julian Jarrold

When you have great expectations for this late 1990s movie model of Nice Expectations, they’ll hopefully be met… although you do need to strategy it realizing that it was a TV film, as an alternative of a full-blown theatrical launch. Nonetheless, it has a fairly bold runtime that nears three hours, and there are a number of recognizable faces within the forged right here, making it not really feel like a TV manufacturing in a unfavourable means.

Nice Expectations has many characters who come and go, and regularly work together in ways in which shift their particular person standings in life, typically for higher and typically for worse. It’s at all times an fascinating exploration of wealth, class, and social standing, and although it was written way back, a number of the points regarding these themes stay distressingly related, even in fashionable occasions.

Nice Expectations is presently not accessible to stream, lease, or buy within the U.S.

22 ‘The Outdated Curiosity Store’ (1995)

Directed by Kevin Connor

Alongside The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Membership, The Outdated Curiosity Store is one other Charles Dickens story that doesn’t have all too many movie variations, with this 1995 being another TV movie, albeit a great high quality one. It was written a number of years on from Dickens’ debut, and largely facilities on a younger woman and her grandfather pressured to make dramatic modifications of their lives, owing to monetary points.

Like a great many Dickens tales, The Outdated Curiosity Store explores class and paints a sympathetic view of society’s downtrodden, albeit right here, there’s a mild sense of comedy that exists alongside the extra dramatic and severe components. Taken for what it’s, and contemplating it was made on what seems to be a reasonably modest TV funds, this 1995 adaptation of The Outdated Curiosity Store is usually fairly good.

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21 ‘Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas’ (1995)

Directed by Mike de Seve and Mike Choose

Charles Dickens is mostly seen as an aesthetic and perhaps even refined (albeit fairly approachable) author, whereas Beavis and Butt-Head – if you happen to couldn’t inform from the title – is quite lowbrow and crude compared. However Dickens mixed with Beavis and Butt-Head surprisingly properly on this TV particular that simply qualifies for feature-length, because of being over three-quarters of an hour lengthy, known as Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas.

A part of this particular is a comedic riff on A Christmas Carol, whereas the opposite a part of it serves as one thing of a spoof of the considerably Dickens-ish (however not Dickens-written) It’s a Wonderful Life. You get the themes of these tales shining by means of, however all with some dopey, crass, and customarily humorous humor thrown in for good measure, making for a enjoyable and distinctive watch that may nonetheless be thought of, at the least partly, a Dickens adaptation.

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20 ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ (1947)

Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti

Nicholas Nickleby (or The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby) was considered one of Charles Dickens’ earliest novels, and was initially printed in a serialized format, like a lot of his works. Narratively and thematically, there are positively components that make it really feel Dickensian (Dickens is a type of uncommon creatives whose style has inspired an adjective), although with regards to variations, Nicholas Nickleby is rather less well-represented than different tales by Dickens.

This 1947 adaptation is up there with probably the most well-known and is devoted to the unique work insofar because it focuses on being a drama and telling, in a simple method, a narrative concerning the titular character’s wrestle to supply for his household after the patriarch out of the blue passes away. The actual fact a model of this story retold in such an outdated movie nonetheless holds up means that perhaps Nicholas Nickleby deserves to have a number of extra high-profile movie variations.

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19 ‘Oliver Twist’ (2005)

Directed by Roman Polanski

Alongside Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist is one other extremely regarded story by Charles Dickens from a comparatively early level in his writing profession, with each being printed in month-to-month installments through the late 1830s. It is secure to name Oliver Twist the extra common of the 2, with regards to variations, and it is even one which’s impressed a sequel miniseries of kinds as lately as 2023, with The Artful Dodger.

The general enduring nature of Oliver Twist means it is one story that does not want an excessive amount of of an introduction, following an orphaned boy who falls right into a gang of criminals and finds himself dealing with some harsh realities of life at a really younger age. This 2005 adaptation won’t be one of many perfect, however it works pretty properly general, and is maybe most notable for having a compelling villainous flip from Ben Kingsley, right here taking part in Fagin, who oversees the gang of younger criminals the titular character will get concerned with.

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18 ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ (2002)

Directed by Douglas McGrath

Maybe the perfect model of Nicholas Nickleby can be this one from 2002, and it is subsequently price looking for out for anybody who desires to expertise the story with out studying it in its authentic type. It is a greater manufacturing than the aforementioned The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, and has its justifiable share of well-established actors in supporting roles, together with the likes of Christopher Plummer, Nathan Lane, and Jim Broadbent.

It is also residence to considered one of Anne Hathaway‘s earliest movie roles (only one yr on from 2001’s The Princess Diaries), and stars a pre-Sons of AnarchyCharlie Hunnam within the title position. The story of household struggles, monetary hardships, and having to come back of age whereas coping with troublesome circumstances continues to be taken severely, however there’s just a little extra humor discovered on this 2002 adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, which in the end helps steadiness every thing out tonally.

17 ‘Oliver Twist’ (1922)

Directed by Frank Lloyd

1922’s Oliver Twist reveals that even during cinema’s earlier days, filmmakers have been nonetheless properly conscious that there was one thing inherently cinematic to be discovered inside Charles Dickens’ work. Given this one’s from the early Twenties, it’s a silent movie, so it sticks to the fundamentals so far as the basic story goes. However given the younger age of the protagonist, the genuinely impactful stakes, and the universality of the themes on the coronary heart of Oliver Twist, a lot of the affect continues to be felt, even with out spoken phrases.

Past standing out for being a silent adaptation and one with a runtime of 70-ish minutes, 1922’s Oliver Twist additionally feels noteworthy for having two well-remembered stars of the silent age in lead roles. The protagonist is performed by Jackie Coogan, who was the child in Charlie Chaplin’sThe Child, in addition to Uncle Fester in The Addams Family. Moreover, Lon Chaney – most remembered for starring in numerous silent horror classics – performs Fagin.

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16 ‘Scrooged’ (1988)

Directed by Richard Donner

Admittedly, Scrooged takes extra liberties with its supply materials than many Charles Dickens variations, particularly as a result of it updates A Christmas Carol to the late Eighties, properly over 100 years after when the unique A Christmas Carol is about. Nevertheless, as will turn out to be clearer and clearer afterward, there are many Christmas Carols out there, so the actual fact Scrooged is just a little totally different tonally and setting-wise inevitably helps it stand out and really feel just a little more energizing.

The always-reliable Invoice Murray stars right here as Frank Cross, who’s principally Ebenezer Scrooge. He is an sad particular person who appears to take out his anger on others, making the world a darker place. It falls on numerous spirits, subsequently, to make him reassess his life and alter his methods, all on Christmas Eve (a time of the yr that typically makes Cross cross). Murray inevitably makes Scrooged just a little funnier than most A Christmas Carol variations, and given it would not completely come on the expense of the drama/coronary heart of the unique story, such an strategy finally ends up working fairly properly.

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15 ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1938)

Directed by Edwin L. Marin

What’s this? One other A Christmas Carol? Higher get used to it – there are numerous ones on the market, and quite a few ones price contemplating with regards to choosing the perfect Charles Dickens film variations. There are such a lot of that there is a Wikipedia web page devoted to only “Adaptations of A Christmas Carol,” and that is not one thing you will see too typically. You need to be speaking dozens – perhaps even a whole lot – of variations earlier than that begins taking place for an authentic work.

Reality be advised, this 1930s version of A Christmas Carol feels just a little underwhelming when watched in the present day, however that may very well be merely the truth that it is older and has been eclipsed by extra fashionable takes. For its time, this 1938 tackle the story was maybe the primary time a non-silent movie adaptation of A Christmas Carol actually bought issues proper, and even if you happen to’re just a little worn out by all these Carols round Christmas, it is nonetheless potential to admire how the novella’s captured in its entirety in just below 70 minutes.

14 ‘Nice Expectations’ (1998)

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

1998’s Nice Expectations joins the likes of Scrooged for instance of a Charles Dickens adaptation that the Dickens purists on the market may contest, given it is one other fashionable replace of a narrative set a lot earlier. The setting replace is much more drastic, as a result of whereas Nice Expectations was launched within the early 1860s (once more, in a serialized format), the story itself had one thing of a interval setting, given it begins within the early 1810s.

These acquainted with Alfonso Cuarón’s later films won’t be too stunned the movie differs from the supply materials, given his Harry Potter movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban, made its justifiable share of modifications to the novel. The approaching-of-age story a few younger man adjusting to maturity continues to be well-told right here, and those that do not thoughts the slight shock of seeing a model of Nice Expectations play out within the ’90s may properly discover a whole lot to love right here.

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13 ‘David Copperfield’ (1935)

Directed by George Cukor

Simply over a century before David Copperfield the magician (as he’d come to be recognized) was born, Charles Dickens wrote the novel David Copperfield, which was launched all through 1849 and 1850. It isn’t probably the most tailored work of Dickens, given it isn’t A Christmas Carol, however it has its justifiable share of filmed variations, with the director of this 1935 model, George Cukor, additionally being the director behind one other adaptation of a frequently retold cinematic story: A Star Is Born.

Like different Dickens novels, this one may be summarized at the least partly as a coming-of-age story, although its titular character’s grownup life can also be explored completely, that means it isn’t completely about rising up. The lengthy and positively eventful lifetime of the protagonist is condensed within the 1935 adaptation, given the unique novel is 600+ pages and this movie clocks in at just a little over two hours, however it’s nonetheless a rock-solid model of the story that retains the necessities wanted for it to be compelling.

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12 ‘A Story of Two Cities’ (1958)

Directed by Ralph Thomas

A strong 1950s adaptation of yet one more revered work by Charles Dickens, 1958’s A Story of Two Cities is an general good movie, even when it would display this to be one of many harder Dickens tales to adapt. Befitting the title, occasions in A Story of Two Cities happen in each Paris and London, with a fancy story that includes love, heartbreak, injustice, and numerous different dramatic issues all going down as revolution (of the French selection) begins wanting like an inevitability.

Given this movie was made within the ’50s, it maybe cannot absolutely seize the darker and extra intense components of the novel in a correctly visceral method, however it works inside its limitations and nonetheless will get the themes it must throughout. And, on the finish of the day, it is exhausting to go incorrect with a film that options the always-great Dirk Bogarde in a outstanding position, whose efficiency right here as Sydney Carton is maybe the movie’s strongest particular person factor.

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11 ‘The Signalman’ (1976)

Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark

1976’s The Signalman is a rarity: an adaptation of a Charles Dickens story that basically would not have too many movie variations. Maybe that is as a result of the supply materials is comparatively temporary, and solely wants the format of a short film to be advised. This model clocks in at just below 40 minutes, and arguably bought issues proper sufficient that there hasn’t actually been a necessity for too many different filmmakers to have a go at their very own variations.

It is atmospheric, works as a slow-burn piece of horror, and is all-around a really partaking method to get a quick however potent dose of old style scares.

It is also a movie that might declare to be the scariest one primarily based on a Charles Dickens story (so long as you do not depend the uncanny and unsettling animated A Christmas Carol from 2009). The Signalman relies round a railway tunnel which will or is probably not haunted, and the psychological torment of the titular signalman who’s stationed close by. It is atmospheric, works as a slow-burn piece of horror, and is all-around a really partaking method to get a quick however potent dose of old style scares.

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10 ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1984)

Directed by Clive Donner

1984’s A Christmas Carol is in the end A Christmas Carol but once more, however this one has a tremendous actor within the lead position, given Ebenezer Scrooge is performed right here by the legendary George C. Scott. And if that is a adequate purpose for this Christmas Carol to be the perfect within the eyes of some, that is comprehensible, as a result of it typically feels just like the lead efficiency inside variations of this story is what makes or breaks issues.

In any other case, different components price noting about this model of an outdated man’s redemption and a Christmassy run-in with numerous ghosts is that it performs issues pretty straight (not a lot outright comedy, musical numbers, or Muppets), and can also be a TV film, that means the manufacturing values aren’t spectacular or something. However they do not actually have to be, and the simple, no-nonsense nature of A Christmas Carol on a funds could properly even assist this adaptation really feel just a little cozier, intimate, and extra down-to-earth.

9 ‘The Private Historical past of David Copperfield’ (2019)

Directed by Armando Iannucci

The latest high-profile filmed adaptation of David Copperfield may properly be the perfect of the lot: 2019’s The Personal History of David Copperfield. This one’s prepared to extend the phrase depend of the title to higher mirror the novel’s authentic title. Nevertheless, it is nonetheless severely (and maybe mercifully) lower down, contemplating the total title (take a deep breath) is: The Private Historical past, Adventures, Expertise and Statement of David Copperfield the Youthful of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He By no means Meant to Publish on Any Account).

The Private Historical past of David Copperfield is not as intensely targeted on being comedic as a number of the works director Armando Iannucci is finest recognized for (together with creating iconic sitcoms like Veep and The Thick of It), however does profit from having a great quantity of comedic aid. It is an entertaining and handsomely introduced model of the story, and likewise advantages immensely from having considered one of Dev Patel‘s finest roles to this point, right here taking part in the titular character.

8 ‘Scrooge’ (1970)

Directed by Ronald Neame

Numerous A Christmas Carol variations are known as, properly, A Christmas Carol, however a bunch additionally go by the title of the lead character: Scrooge. This 1970 adaptation is a type of, and will properly be distancing itself just a little from the unique story due to the truth that this time round, the story is advised within the format of a musical, and an general fairly good one at that.

It is colourful, fairly extravagant, and considerably in-your-face, and Albert Finney actually hams it up within the lead position, relishing the possibility to play such a crotchety but finally sympathetic character. It could be one of many extra outwardly family-friendly takes on the story on the market, owing to the musical numbers and the actual fact it is tonally just a little lighter than another variations (although the most kid-friendly high-profile A Christmas Carol was nonetheless a few many years away; extra on that in a bit).

7 ‘Oliver!’ (1968)

Directed by Carol Reed

Oliver! (1968) is important for being, up to now, the one Charles Dickens adaptation to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Although it’s a model of the story that is introduced as a musical, under no circumstances does this guarantee it is lighter or significantly much less intense tonally than the unique story. If something, the actual fact there are surprisingly whimsical musical numbers all through makes the darker stuff really feel even darker, because the bleakest moments drastically stand out in distinction to the earworm songs.

The argument might subsequently be made that Oliver! feels tonally inconsistent, although others will in fact discover the emotional vary to be a energy, or at the least one thing that makes this one stand out. It is nonetheless spectacular as a large-scale movie musical, and can seemingly attraction to those that take pleasure in old-school musicals of this nature (it was the final of its style to win the Academy Award for Finest Image; it would not be till Chicago, in 2002, that one other musical received the highest prize).

6 ‘A Story of Two Cities’ (1935)

Directed by Jack Conway

Although the premise and themes of A Story of Two Citiescontinue to inspire modern-day filmmakers in typically sudden methods, one has to return to the Thirties to search out the perfect simple adaptation of Dickens’ story. Once more, it is maybe a troublesome one to adapt, however 1935’s A Story of Two Cities does the perfect job out of any movie, and is essentially profitable in contrasting the totally different occasions taking place in London and Paris.

Like several movie adaptation made earlier than a sure time and restricted to a non-epic size, 1935’s A Story of Two Cities tones issues down just a little and may’t completely seize the novel’s scope, however continues to be maybe pretty much as good as a movie of this story will get. It holds up in the present day higher than many movies of its age, and was additionally well-received upon launch, getting a Finest Image nomination on the Academy Awards, although misplaced to the actually worse (and quite bloated) The Nice Ziegfeld.