'Great Expectations' rounds off London film festival

An all-star film adaptation of Dickens' classic novel "Great Expectations" will round off the London film festival this year, marking the 200th anniversary of the author's birth, organisers said on Thursday.

Starring Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch and Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, the film will see Jeremy Irvine play Pip, an orphan who is catapulted out of poverty and transformed into a gentleman by a mysterious benefactor.

Directed by Mike Newell and scripted by "One Day" author David Nicholls, the film will make its European premiere at the festival on October 21, before hitting British theatres on November 30.

Both Fiennes and Bonham Carter, whose partner Tim Burton will kick off the festival with his animated film "Frankenweenie", are expected to attend.

"I'm proud that our new version of Great Expectations should be presented this year, the bi-centenary of Dickens' birth," said Newell, who directed "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

"I've tried to make a film that is true to the theatrical vividness, energetic characters and high colour that he is loved for, while mining the deep seams of emotional cruelty and madness that underlie one of Dickens' darkest-shadowed stories," Newell said.

This year's British Film Institute (BFI) London film festival runs from October 10-21, and the full lineup will be announced on September 5.