Watch A Tale of Two Cities For Free

Crappy film

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is really a relatively unsung classic of the 1930s. I could name a few others in that category: Goodbye Mr. Chips and Dodsworth come to mind. When I think of 1930s cinema, I think of unrealistic acting where the characters stand too close to each other, the dialogue comes out too quickly, and there is almost no pause between the lines spoken back and forth in conversation. This film suffers from very little of that. If not for the narrow screen and the black and white photography, it would come off as almost a contemporary movie. A lot of that is due to the star being Ronald Coleman who had one of the best speaking voices that ever came our of a screen actor's mouth. He did not hurry his words.The story comes from Dickens, of course. And it stays pretty true to the book. It remains a gripping movie more than 80 years after its release.

That is alongside the likes of David Lean's Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. A Tale of Two Cities is a classic novel, and is just as classic a film. The costumes and sets are accurate and look beautiful, and the film is photographed handsomely. The music score is stirring, the pace and dialogue are crisp and the direction is never plodding or overdone, just right in fact(an achievement considering the massive crowd scenes). The story is compelling and mostly faithful, with the magnificent Battle of Bastille and heart-rending cut-off of the final scene between Madame La Guillotine and Sydney Carton the standout scenes. The cast are wonderful. Donald Woods is the least effective, but that's more to do with the fact that the rest are so good rather than that he's bad. Ronald Colman gives a performance of great nobility here and Elizabeth Allan does her best as Lucie, the character I always cared for least in the novel. Edna May Oliver is a warm and humorous Miss Pross and Blanche Yurka is a frightening and bitter, yet we also feel some element of sympathy, Madame Defarge. Reginald Owen is his usual solid self, same with Lucille La Verne, and while Basil Rathbone has had meatier roles in other films like Adventures of Robin Hood, Anna Karenina and Romeo and Juliet(let's not forget Sherlock Holmes either) he still makes for an excellent aristocrat. All in all, a wonderful film and one of the finest films adapted from Charles Dickens' work. 10/10 Bethany Cox

With the exception of David Copperfield this is probably Hollywood's most accomplished treatment of a Charles Dickens work. Sumptuously mounted and produced in grand MGM style it has the the perfect voice and charm of Ronald Colman as Sidney Carton, a stalwart supporting cast and magnificently choreographed large scale crowd scenes depicting the out of control energy and fury of the revolt and subsequent reign of terror. Colman's charming cynic wins us over early given he is surrounded by just cause with a Dicken's roster of pompous bores and hypocrites caught up in their own self importance. He drinks and offends but who can blame him. The sardonic wit of the film extends beyond Carton though by way of Dickens "cinematic" descriptive style that sharply conveys through both character and setting distracting dark humor over the grim proceedings by intermingling comic portraits with the sober cruel personages while making incisive social commentary. A laudable supporting cast consisting of Reginald Owen, Edna May Oliver, Billy Bevan, Blanche Yurka's Madame DeFarge and Basil Rathbone's venal Marquis de Evermonde truly do bring the pages to life, though I will admit an Oliver, Yurka death match near the end does take liberties with the tome. Oliver Marsh's photography is commendable throughout whether conveying panorama in the excellently edited storming of the Bastille and raucous courtroom scenes or the tight tension filled cramped ominously lit interiors of cells or the De Farge wine shop. With Colman in the lead and every MGM department clicking on all cylinders Tale of Two Cities remains fresh and vital 75 years later. It is one of those rear films that embraces rather than wrestle with a classic literary work which it does here with grandeur and confidence.

Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" translates extraordinarily well to the big screen. I haven't seen a version of the tale yet that was not well done. The 1935, 1958 and 1980 versions all had something to recommend them and all were faithful to the original story. 1935 gave us the most polished and iconic of all the Sydney Cartons, Ronald Colman. Colman's performance here is extraordinary. Not as abrasive as Dirk Bogarde or Chris Sarandon, this Carton instead is consumed by a wistful depression and thoughts of worthlessness, filtered through the genteel sensibility of an Englishman. Much of Carton's wry gloominess and longing for a better life is transmitted by physical means alone...a sadness in the eyes, a resigned body language. When this physical acting is combined with Colman's wonderful voice, the result is outstanding. Colman insisted on playing ONLY Carton, whereas the same actor almost always plays both Darnay and Carton. I think this works to the film's advantage.The film deftly balances the more intimate human drama with the earth-shaking political upheaval of the French Revolution. You get quiet romance and drama, but also staggeringly huge scenes of the Revolution in full onslaught, including a thrilling march on the Bastille. We see the faults not only of the French aristocrats, but also of the mob of oppressed peasants who overthrow them. In a very strong scene, the aristocrats waiting to die at the hands of the guillotine seem to find the dignity and strength they lacked when in power. "God, forgive those who do not forgive us," begs one noblewoman soon to die. The righteous anger of the peasants, oppressed by the despicable likes of Count De Evremond, is flamed into a blood lust that even claims their own, such as the beautiful seamstress.I've not seen Blanche Yurka in any other part, but she is absolutely striking as Madame Defarge. Tragedy and injustice had turned her into a fanatical sword of vengeance. Her speech to condemn Darnay to the guillotine is an acting tour De force. Every tyranny creates "broken" people like this, who can be as dangerous as the tyrants themselves.The other cast is variable. Elizabeth Allen is gorgeous as Lucy Manette, but seems "precious" beyond belief. As Darnay, Donald Woods is a bland hero. These two are a concession to the "romantic couple" clichés which almost every 30's film demanded. Basil Rathbone is pure evil as Count De Evremond and Walter Catlett has a good turn as the mercenary Barsed. Probably the best of the supporting characters is Edna May Oliver, a real hoot as the starchy proper Englishwoman Miss Pross, who zings plenty of one-liners during the show. I'll bet the theater audiences cheered and roared when she physically stood up to Madame DeFarge.But it's really Ronald Colman who dominates the story, which is as it should be. If you love period films with romance, spectacle and heart, "A Tale of Two Cities" is a no brainer and the 1935 version is certainly worthy of your time.