GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Great Expectations, like London itself, can be re-visited many times without losing its charm. A fine mixture of comedy, romance and mystery makes it a splendid choice for audio rendition. This version has been much abridged; the simplified plot closely parallels David Lean's splendid 1946 film. Accomplished British actor Tom Baker's widely varied vocal charac-terizations are brilliant. (The most memorable is that of Magwitch.) He is less successful, however, with the "straighter" roles. Above all, he has not fully captured the appeal of Dickens's narrator, the mature Pip, and this proves a definite, though not fatal, flaw. B.R. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAR 93]