A Tale of Two Cities

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A Tale of Two Cities

1935,

2h 8m,

History/

Drama

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93%

14 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

This adaptation of the classic novel by Charles Dickens finds courageous British lawyer Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman) defending French aristocrat Charles Darnay (Donald Woods) from false accusations of treason against England. Carton also becomes enamored of Darnay's beautiful bride-to-be, Lucie (Elizabeth Allan), but she and Darnay marry and begin to raise a family in France. Then, when Darnay falls into the hands of French revolutionaries, Carton once again comes to his rescue.

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Mar 25, 2021

2.5/4

A grand melodrama, filled with big emotions and stirring set pieces, but it's also incredibly dry, which holds it back from standing alongside many other classic Hollywood spectacles of the day.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Feb 12, 2021

3.5/4

It's the richly textured screenplay and the slate of stellar performances that drive this film.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Aug 8, 2020

6/10

A visually portentous film in production design, but I find little moving its historical and romantic drama about social injustice, honorable sacrifice, and impossible love. [Full review in Spanish]

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Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)

Esquire Magazine

Apr 16, 2020

Isabel Jewell, as the seamstress, registers unforgettably in an emotional scene of the sort most difficult to render with restraint. Ronald Colman has attained a fine maturity, and gives real depth to Sidney Carton.

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Ann Ross

Maclean's Magazine

Sep 25, 2019

There isn't much doubt that when the movies discovered Dickens they got hold of Something.

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Christopher Lloyd

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Aug 8, 2011

4/5

Several of the big crowd scenes, especially the storming of the Bastille, are big-budget showstoppers with thousands of extras filling the frame in a way CGI still can't match.

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Leia S

Mar 4, 2019

Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities is done (almost) faithfully here. The drama is inherent in the book/movie's theme, but casting was good and the actors were superior in conveying the urgency of the moment. Dickens is always hard to translate to film because of his lengthy writing style and his superfluousness. They did a good job here, and this 1936 film remains the standard treatment of the work to this day.

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Rey G

Jun 8, 2017

A Tale of Two Cities is an excellent movie. It is about a pair of lookalikes, one a French aristocrat and the other an English lawyer, who fall in love with the same woman during the French Revolution. Ronald Coleman and Elizabeth Allan give fantastic performances. The screenplay is well written. Jack Conway did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama and romance. A Tale of Two Cities is a must see.

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Hermione W

Feb 7, 2015

Ambitious, but faithful to the novel in telling a great story.

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Jack Conway

Director

Ronald Colman

Sydney Carton

Elizabeth Allan

Lucie Manette

Edna May Oliver

Miss Pross

Blanche Yurka

Madame De Farge

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Synopsis

This adaptation of the classic novel by Charles Dickens finds courageous British lawyer Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman) defending French aristocrat Charles Darnay (Donald Woods) from false accusations of treason against England. Carton also becomes enamored of Darnay's beautiful bride-to-be, Lucie (Elizabeth Allan), but she and Darnay marry and begin to raise a family in France. Then, when Darnay falls into the hands of French revolutionaries, Carton once again comes to his rescue.

Director: Jack Conway
Producer: David O. Selznick
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1935, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 28, 2012
Runtime: 2h 8m

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