david copperfield (1969)

that charles dickens made one of the most powerful contributions to the world of literature, especially that of literature addressing social injustice is unquestionable. in the extraordinary canon of dickens’ work, several titles come to mind as rising above the heady heights of his writing: bleak house, great expectations, and david copperfield would number among my personal favourites.

david copperfield david was first published (as were several of dickens’ works) in a serialized version. released in twenty installments between may 1849 and november 1850, copperfield took two years to prepare and marked the midway point in dickens’ writing career. dickens wrote of tis story, "of all my books, i like this the best. it will be easily believed that i am a fond parent to every child of my fancy, and that no one can ever love that family as dearly as i love them. but, like many fond parents, i have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. and his name is david copperfield. 1869"

the plot of david copperfield is like most of dickens’ writing, a braided tapestry in which details emerge early on that are unravelled and then interwoven through the course of the story. “the story follows the life of david copperfield from childhood to maturity. david is born in england in about 1820. david's father had died six months before he was born, and seven years later, his mother marries mr edward murdstone. david dislikes his stepfather and has similar feelings for mr murdstone's sister jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. mr murdstone thrashes david for falling behind with his studies. during the thrashing, david bites him and is sent away to a boarding school, salem house, with a ruthless headmaster, mr. creakle. Here he befriends jJames steerforth and tommy traddles. for a more detailed overview of the plot read here.

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those of you who are film buffs or appreciate a good story well-told, will appreciate this much more though as today’s film is one of those classics that have just entered the public domain. naturally there have been several versions of this book that have made it onto film. i can remember when this film came out and so it is hard to believe that this film was released almost fourty years ago in 1969. melding powerful cinematography, a suitably dramatic soundtrack, luscious sets and a strong cast led by the the indomitable twin forces of sir laurence olivier, and richard attenborough, this version is imbued with that kind of taut energy that sustains the very best dramatic productions.

david copperfield . . .