Compare the opening scenes of two film versions of Great Expectations and review how effective they are in creating and atmosphere of tension

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Compare the opening scenes of two film versions of Great Expectations and review how effective they are in creating and atmosphere of tension.

Great Expectations is one of the greatest novels in the “book world”, which follows the life story of ‘Pip’. Great Expectations was one of the best Dickens novels. It is known all over the world. It is translated in other languages so people everywhere can enjoy the work of Dickens. The story is about a boy called Pip. He is an orphan boy left with no one but his evil sister (or that’s the way he sees it). He is shown as an innocent and somewhat naive young boy who is a little immature.

“I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly”

 We learn much more about Pip throughout the story and follow him on his journey to become his dream of a perfect gentleman to gain social class.

The book was followed by 2 main films. One was directed in 1944 by David Lean. This was the first adaptation of the book into film since the book had been written in Dickens time. This film was then replaced by the BBC version in 1997, as it was meant to of been “improved”. The big age gap in the two films has a big role in the films. This is because in 1944 something that was considered then to be the latest technology in filming then would be old school to the people of 1997. So the amount of available technology plays a role in the camera shots, colour, special effects and scenery. Both of them create tension but which one does it best?

The first scene in the novel is used to introduce the main characters and tell us (audience) about the setting and scenery. The mood created within the opening of the scene is negative and a little tense. The novel begins with a dramatic opening on the bleak, boring Kentish marches. This sets the tone immediately. The setting moves from the opening Kent marshes to the dull graveyard. The grave yard is described “Bleak place, overgrown with nettles.” This setting its self causes the story tension because it is dark and mysterious. So both films have a great starting point to use and elaborate the dialogue and the text to create more tension.

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In the book Dickens uses the scenery to its greatest by creating tension by using gallows. (Structures that people got hung on) This cause’s great tension because this gives the audience the feeling of death is in the air. This could symbolise that as Pip is going past each gallow a part of his old life is dying away and he is leaving his old life for a new one. The idea of the story was also a good idea because a marsh land gives the mind a felling of something getting swallowed up. This might reflect Pips ...

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