Adapting a literary classic to the screen is a no-win game. Intellectuals hate you. And the non-literary public has no idea what the big deal is about. So what is it that attracted the young Mexican director, Alfonso Cuaron, to attempt something like this, knowing that the critics lie in wait, eager to prove that Hollywood is once again behaving in a shameless manner toward high literature? Here are the answers Cuaron gave me when I put that question to him.

Cuaron was approached for the 1998 Twentieth Century Fox version of Great Expectations largely because he had already directed, with great success, the adaptation of another beloved classic, A Little Princess. He began his career in 1991, with a Mexican feature, Solo con tue pareja (Love in the Time of Hysteria). This promising first film landed him a gig on the prestigious television series, Fallen Angels. Next in line was A Little Princess, the success of which (both box-office and critical) procured him a strong foothold in Hollywood. Coincidentally, part of Cuaron's preparation for A Little Princess included multiple screenings of David Lean's adaptation of Great Expectations. What he had yet to learn was that his Princess would be far more Dickensian than his Great Expectations ever had the chance to become.

When Cuaron first received the script by Mitch Glazer, he was daunted by the title alone.