If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

How sad is this?

Best movie of this year hands down!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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.

This is a delightful tale of an orphan born in Newgate prison where her mother was waiting to be hanged. This film is NOT to be confused with the disappointing film, "Moll Flanders", also released in 1996. Gypsies take the infant, Moll, to a small town where she is raised by a wealthy family with two sons. One is her first love, but he passes her to his brother who marries her. After he dies, she marries a businessman, who leaves her when his fortune is depleted. Moll then marries a ship's captain, who takes her to his prosperous Virginia plantation. She learns a shocking family secret so she returns to England alone to begin a new life. She meets and marries again, but this time her true love, Jemmy, is not what he appears. He has no fortune and makes a living as a highwayman. They part and she marries again. When the next husband dies, she is left a pauper. In desperation she becomes a thief. She is imprisoned in the place of her birth, awaiting the a sentence to be carried out. Moll is a survivor. Will she cheat the hangman? I enjoyed this film very much because of its refreshing blend of drama and humor.

You may find yourself watching this entire 4-hour movie all in one sitting like I did. Although it is a Mobil Masterpiece Theater presentation, it is also available on video. If you think you're in for some boring English drama, brace yourself, as it is very fast-paced, erotic, and often shockingly funny. Alex Kingston (now on "ER") delves into this role with a ferocity we rarely see on the screen. Although Moll does many bad things, we root for her the whole way. Diana Rigg is also a hoot as a mother-in-law that reveals herself to be something more. Daniel Defoe's condemnation of society as unforgiving of the monsters it creates is still as relevant today as when it was written. As long as you have an open mind about sex, nudity and immoral behavior onscreen, prepare to be fascinated.

I love this movie, it's excellent. I give it a 10.Alex Kingston is great. Sexy and funny. Her best performance.