A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
| 21 May 1989 (USA)
A Tale of Two Cities Trailers

A pair of lookalikes, one a former French aristocrat and the other an alcoholic English lawyer, fall in love with the same woman amongst the turmoil of the French Revolution.

Reviews
Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
TheLittleSongbird Of the six adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities seen, in personal ranking this one is number 3, number 1 is the 1935 film and number 2 is the 1958 film. The Paul Shelley adaptation is very good on the most part, Chris Sarandon's is decent while the Burbank Films Australia animated adaptation is the only one below average. This mini-series is not perfect, the biggest flaw is the execution of the mob scenes which are under-populated, unexciting and tension-less, almost too polite. Some of the hair-styles are on the wacky and anachronistic side(too 80s-looking). The costumes and sets are accurate and are rendered lovingly, and helped by the fluid photography. The music is haunting, beautiful and emotional, especially in the poignant final scene. There is also a very literate and thoughtfully adapted script and the direction is mostly competent apart from the mob scenes. The adaptation is faithful to Dickens' very concise if initially complicated book while not forgetting to give the storytelling life. The tragedy is very affecting(the ending is a tear-jerker as it should be) and the suspenseful moments quite intense, Cruncher's funny moments are judged well. The acting is good on the most part. James Wilby, Xavier DeLuc and John Mills stood out. Wilby's Sydney Carton is handsome and movingly characterised, DeLuc is dashing and succeeds in not making a far less interesting character dull and Mills is wonderfully sympathetic that you are touched by his presence. Serena Gordon's Lucie is very tender, Kathy Kriegel is a very bat-out-of-hell Madame DuFarge, Anna Massey is perfect as Miss Pross, the Cruncher of Alfred Lynch is sly and hilarious, Jean-Pierre Aumont evokes sympathy too and Jean-Marc Bory is a creepy Evremonde. The idea to mix English and French actors was a great one and it paid off, something that it does better than the other adaptations. In conclusion, not perfect but a very good adaptation on the whole. 8/10 Bethany Cox
nolly_pianolly I just want to say that this movie made a great difference in my life. Sydney Carton (James Wilby) touched my heart with the depth of the look of his eyes. Many times i felt just like him, drunken, wasted & that i did nothing good or useful to be remembered by, no one will weep for me so i guess i felt he's a part of me & that is all because of Wilby's wonderful performance. The music was really really great too. I felt it touched my soul. It made me cry a lot. Every time i see this movie i cry over & over again. Everyone played their roles perfectly that it could have never been better. This is my best movie ever. I just love it & feel it.
carla-13 This is by far the best version of Dickens' Tale. The cast was outstanding.James Wilby really conveys Carton's feelings of hopelessness,alienation,and self-sacrifice.The musical score is moving,the costumes and settings accurate,the story very true to the original.Dickens would be proud!
docp This is without doubt one of the real gems of the British TV scene ever. The story, the characters, the costumes and the acting are all without fault and could never be bettered. Do not pass up the opportunity of seeing this series if it ever should arise. From the opening scenes to the tear-jerking conclusion there is drama, excitement, romance, heroism and self-sacrifice, often several of them simultaneously. It is altogether a most marvellous experience and a real landmark in the history of recorded drama. I don't doubt that Charles Dickens would have been proud to have been associated with it.