Years ago when this aired on Baton Rouge's WLPB PBS station it was HEAVILY edited! Only after someone reminded me that it was being re-shown on WYES in New Orleans UNCUT I eagerly tuned in! Totally changed the entire direction of the movie! I don't think stations should be allowed to run cut movies. Show it at a later time but don't hack up good movies, especially a classic just for someones Puritanical nonsense! Have to say...even cut up as it was the first time I saw it, it was still a 10.

It was wonderful,If you are into "English period drama films" with all the gloomy,grey skied ambiance in the backround, this is the movie to watch,based on it's literary counterpart,a novel by Daniel Defoe It's about a woman, and she must live day by day through a struggle, and does many unethical, immoral things to survive, She ends up being sent to prison for her crimes and awaiting a hanging , only to be forgiven and sent to America, In this movie, you will see many "realistic" sexual scenes, and because many of the characters she has these scenes with are very "unattractive people" old men, the like.....It makes the movie quite "realistic" and "believable" for a drama piece,and you can nearly "feel her pain and anguish" If I must say so myself, Even though the movie does at times have a few "happy" moments, they are always the sad moments that follows, hence the "fortunes and misfortunes" of poor Moll Flanders.I cried a few tears for Moll, and the movie gives it a "twist of fate" ending.I liked this version of this film better than any other.

Entertaining but flawed screen version of Dafoe's novel. Kingston is excellent as Flanders and the rest of the cast does well also. The claustrophobic sets and many close-in shots add to the personal (and earthy!) nature of the story.The only problem I have with the movie is the pacing (I didn't read the book, but most movies based on books seem to have this same problem). Some sequences are given too much screen time and other elements are glossed over. The "theme" is given more importance than the story, which is a shame because there are some really good things here.

I've seen this 4-part film at once (230 min.) and surprisingly it wasn't tiring or boring at all. On the contrary, the movie caught my attention readily, as it tells this story very well. Alex Kingston is great in the part of this young woman who struggles to be a wealthy gentlelady, even if it requires surrendering her virtue in any way. It's a wonderful movie and I strongly recommend it.