Proof that Ralph Thomas could make a really good movie when he pulled his finger out - he was helped by a decent budget and strong script from TEB Clarke, and of course Dickens' source material. Dirk Bogarde is excellent as the doomed Sidney Carton, all self-loathing charm and dashing looks as he goes to the guillotine. Dorothy Tutin and Paul Guers aren't that crash hot as the married couple for whom he makes the sacrifice - not really worth the effort (he especially is a charmless prat and he looks nothing like Bogarde).
But there's a superb supporting cast including Cecil Parker, Athene Seyler (Mrs Pross), Donald Pleasance, Christopher Lee (loathsome aristocrat), Rosalie Crutchley (Madame de Farge), the guy who plays the guard, Marie Versini (the seamstress, whose instant relationship with Carton was one of the things I always liked about the book - her part feels bigger here). These are all extremely good.
Because the ending is so strong I always forget how much other plot there is in this before Carton makes his sacrifice. It spanks along, with no punches pulled about the horridness of the French nobility, toughness of British "justice" or ferocity about the revolution. Bogarde and others wished it had been shot in colour - I quite liked the black and white photography but colour may have helped it escape the shadow of the 1935 version.
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