

The Personal History of David Copperfield
From rags to riches... and back again.
A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, colour and humanity.
TMDB
6.4/10
559 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $15.6M
- Box office
- $11.6M
- Language
- English
- london, england
- based on novel or book
- affectation
- orphan
- 19th century
- zealous
- candid
- dover
- satirical
- inspirational
- sentimental
- whimsical
Top billed cast


















Behind the camera
Director
Music
Produced in
United Kingdom, United States of America
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
Gallery












Videos
Release dates
IndiaIN
- TheatricalU11 Dec 2020
United StatesUS
- Theatrical (limited)PG28 Aug 2020
United KingdomGB
- PremiereBFI London Film Festival1 Oct 2019
- TheatricalPGIncorrectly listed as 15 - BBFC site says PG: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-personal-history-of-david-copperfield-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00otcymjq24 Jan 2020
- Digital / OTT15 Jun 2020
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalPG2 Jul 2020
CanadaCA
- PremiereToronto International Film Festival5 Sept 2019
- TVSuper Écran 29 May 2021
BrazilBR
- Digital / OTT1027 Jan 2021
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical117 Nov 2019
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-1218 Sept 2020
FranceFR
- Digital / OTT26 Jan 2021
GermanyDE
- Theatrical624 Sept 2020
- Digital / OTT628 Jan 2021
- Physical611 Feb 2021
GreeceGR
- TheatricalΚ16 Jul 2020
HungaryHU
- Digital / OTT1213 May 2021
Frequently asked questions
The Personal History of David Copperfield was released on 7 November 2019.
Audience reviews
3- M8/10
Manuel São Bento
6/14/2020
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Based on Charles Dickens' novel, The Personal History of David Copperfield is the first Armando Ianucci's film I ever watched. I didn't really know much about this movie besides its stellar cast. I'm not the biggest fan of biographical works. Usually, I find them too constricted to the genre's formulas, and if I don't…
- S8/10
SWITCH.
7/22/2020
This has really been a banner year for the period film. We've had Gerwig's spectacular 'Little Women', Autumn de Wilde's wondrous adaptation of 'Emma.', and on television, the bombastic imagination of 'The Great'. Armando Iannucci's 'The Personal History of David Copperfield', even with its flaws, sits beautifully beside them. This film left me giddy with joy, my eyes filled with tears, leaping from my seat with ever…
- C5/10
CinemaSerf
3/28/2022
I'm not Armando Iannucci's biggest fan so saw this at the Opening Gala of the London Film Festival with some trepidation. Unfortunately, I wasn't pleasantly surprised. Dev Patel does bring some charm to the proceedings, but the attempts at comedy in this retelling of Dickens' classic just don't work for me at all. Ben Whishaw and Tilda Swinton appear to be fish out of water and whilst it is good to see Hugh Laurie ba…
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