Review of Great Expectations

Having not read the book "Great Expectations," I don't feel comfortable discussing its faithfulness to Dickens' novel. However, I think that I can critique its worth as a movie. There are some good performances in it; Anthony Quayle is an effective Jaggers, he has that lawyer's edge, and he does bite his index finger at people (sometimes). Joss Ackland is a likable Joe. But the emotion of the movie is too far below the soaring Jarre score to be compelling. Maurice Jarre's wonderful music is a major reason behind the success of scenes in "Doctor Zhivago" and "Lawrence of Arabia," but of course he is helped by excellent acting and direction(or maybe vice-versa). Unfortunately, neither the acting or the directing is up to that level. With its romantic crescendo, the final scene did make my eyes misty, but I was listening more to the music more than watching the character's interaction. 'Made for television' about sums up the quality of this production.