Adapted from Charles Dickens’ novel. Two men, one an aristocrat and one a drunken lawyer, fall in love with the same woman during the early stages of the French Revolution.
‘Remember always that there is a man who will give his life for you–or anyone you love.’ This promise is made by the handsome but dissolute lawyer Sydney Carton to the beautiful Lucie Manette on the eve of her wedding. Lucie loves only her husband, who has renounced his hated family name of St. Evremonde–and with it, his connection with the corrupt French Aristocracy–to live quietly with his new wife as Charles Darnay. Exiled to London, away from the mounting horror of the French Revolution, Darnay and Lucie settle into a happy life caring for her father Dr. Manette. But when Paris erupts in flames and the mob overthrows the old order forever, there is a debt of honor that Charles must pay. To pay it, he must return to France–at the peril of his own life…
Shown on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.
Starring James Wilby, Xavier Deluc, Serena Gordon, John Mills, Anna Massey.
Included in the BBC Classic Drama Collection as DVD 41.