Put Down the Book: These Are the Best Movie and TV Adaptations of Charles Dickens Novels

The first film based on a Charles Dickens novel was a version of David Copperfield, released in 1913. In the years since, the prolific author has never ceased to be an inspiration for filmmakers—dozens of adaptations of his work have made their way to the screen (both big and small) from black-and-white classics like A Christmas Carol to modern-day movies like this month's The Personal History of David Copperfield. And he isn't just popular at the movies; it can seem like every time we turn around, there's another prestige Dickens series streaming for six or eight or 15 dramatic parts on the BBC. But which are the best to watch? Here are our picks.

Helmed by legendary director George Cukor (who was recently portrayed in Netflix's hit show Hollywood), this 1935 MGM masterpiece stars W.C. Fields in the titular role. With a stacked ensemble cast of major actor from the time, like Freddie Bartholemew, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Lionel Barrymore (the evil banker in It's A Wonderful Life).

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Charles Dickens’s 1943 novel about a miser getting his comeuppance is one of the most adapted books of all time, but you may well not have seen the vintage 1938 version, which is available to stream now. Scottish character actor Alastair Sim stars as the mean-spirited Ebenezer Scrooge, who’s forced to mend his ways after being confronted by three increasingly malevolent spirits during Christmas Eve, who show him his past, his present, and his grim future.

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This 1968 movie musical is based on a stage show that was adapted from Oliver Twist, and is (for good reason) many viewers' first introduction to the story of a charming young orphan turned pickpocket. The Carol Reed-directed film, which includes musical numbers like "As Long as He Needs Me" and "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two," was nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 1968 and took home six, including Best Picture.

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If you've always felt like what A Christmas Carol needed was more music, this is the Dickens adaptation for you. Director Ronald Neame's 1970 musical stars Albert Finney as Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser who's famously visited by a series of ghosts one Christmas Eve and wakes to find his outlook on life (and the holiday season) altered forever.

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Pretty much any Dickens movie requires a large cast—so many characters, so much drama—and this 2002 adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby has a stellar lineup: Nathan Lane, Christopher Plummer, Anne Hathaway, and Alan Cumming all star, with Charlie Hunnam in the title role. After Nicholas Nickleby's father dies unexpectedly (having lost all of his money) Nicholas, his mother and his younger sister, Kate, are forced to give up their middle class life in Devonshire and travel to London to plead for help from their wealthy, but cold, uncle Ralph.

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A contemporary update on A Christmas Carol, this 1988 Bill Murray comedy takes Dickens's story and tweaks it. Ebenezer Scrooge becomes Frank Cross, a harried TV executive, and the Ghost of Christmas Past is reimagined as a taxicab driver. The movie, which also stars Alfre Woodard and Carol Kane, has developed of a cult following around the holidays—it's something like an anti It's a Wonderful Life—and even more than 30 years after its release remains a perfect example of the timelessness of Dickens's tale.

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Referred to as "the most spectacularly be-costumed movie of its era" by one T&C editor, this 1998 adaptation stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Ethan Hawke, and Robert De Niro. Director Alfonso Cuarón famously moved the story from London to New York—and gave a few key characters new names—but these departures don't diminish the power of the story, and in fact help underscore the timelessness of Dickens's work.

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Carey Mulligan, Gillian Anderson, and Timothy West lead an all-star cast in this 15-part adaptation of Dicken's 1852 novel about a rogue's gallery of characters tied together tangentially by some questionable wills. It's a visually lush production that gives new life to the twisting, turning, totally absorbing story—and it hit big with audiences and critics alike, earning 10 Emmy nominations.

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Gillian Anderson and Douglas Booth lead an all-star cast in this three-part adaptation of Great Expectations—written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Brian Kirk—that aired on the BBC in 2011. The series, which gave the story a visually lush depiction of Dickens's story albeit with an ending that veered a bit from what purists might have expected, was a hit, earning four Emmy Awards for categories including art direction, cinematography, and costumes.

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This upcoming adaptation from Armando Iannucci (creator of Veep and director of In the Loop and The Death of Stalin) is humorous, energetic, and stylish. With Dev Patel in the leading role, plus star turns by Hugh Laurie, Benedict Wong and Tilda Swinton, it gives a fresh facelift to one of Dicken's most beloved stories. The film debuted in London this January, and premiered in the United States in August.

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