Oh DAMN!!!! This blasted missing character again! When, oh WHEN is this place going to get an Edit feature or a Preview feature... preferably both?

Interesting lineup! Ashley Judd with a French accent sounds scary. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with half of the actors mentioned. I see Jerry Cruncher as a more prosaic type, such as Steve Buscemi. Someone with a decent sneer who's a bit of a sleazeball, anyway. Lucie Manette's role calls for an ingenue type, such as Gwyneth Paltrow.

The thought Gwyneth Paltrow with a French accent is down right mortifying. What a horrible thought. There's also the problem of her not even looking remotely French, not even as a brunette would she look convincing. I do thouroughly agree with Lucie Manette being cast with an ingenue.

The name of Darnay's attorney and Carton's employer is Stryver. I have never heard of Steve Buscemi. Michael Richards can probably handle the seriousness (and mild vileness) of Cruncher; he certainly has the unkempt, loutish look down pat... Michael Palin would probably be a more serious worry than Michael Richards. If people would have trouble taking "Cosmo Kramer" seriously, what would they think of a Python playing Dr. Manette? But again, I am sure he is capable of playing the role convincingly. As to who the others are: As dangerous as it is to assume things, I will assume that Anthony Hopkins and Patrick Stewart need no introduction. Maury Chaykin currently plays the title role in A&E's A Nero Wolfe Mystery TV series. Bob Hoskins has played wide and varied roles: I first heard his name associated with the title role (Mussolini) in the mini-series Il Duce. He has played dramatic roles (the cab driver in Mona Lisa comes to mind) and screwball comedy (Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Super Mario Brothers, the latter with John Leguizamo) and, as the voice of Gus Gooseman in Balto, both. (Checked IMDb: He has also played Sancho Panza in Don Quixote, Nikita Khrushchev in Enemy At The Gates and Smee in Hook He seems to specialize in fiendish dictators; apart from Mussolini and Khrushchev, he has played Manuel Noriega and J. Edgar Hoover! ) Kathy Bates: Misery, Dolores Claiborne, Fried Green Tomatoes; she has made her name (and won at least one Oscar) by playing tough old broads. Mme. DeFarge would be somewhere between Dolores Claiborne and Annie Wilkes... Pierce Brosnan: Remington Steele and the last three James Bond movies. Also in The Fourth Protocol Taffin, Mrs. Doubtfire and a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. Colin Firth: Let's see, if you've been at the Spring longer than three days, you will know who Colin Firth is, whether you want to or not... Val Kilmer: The Ghost And The Darkness, The Saint (a great movie if you can forget that he's supposed to be Simon Templar; more the screenwriter's fault than his...), Heat (where he does not get overshadowed by Al Pacino, Robert deNiro, Jon Voight, Hank Azaria and Ashley Judd...) and, unfortunately, Top Gun (nominally, this movie stars Tom Cruise, it really stars Tom Cat) Mollie Sugden: Are You Being Served?. This is all I know her from. She was saturated with double entendres in that show, maybe about half of them being references to her cat... I thought of her for two reasons. First, Mrs. Pross always struck me as being somewhat comical, although willing and dutiful. Second, I could easily imagine the fight between Miss Pross and Mme. DeFarge as being between Ms. Sugden (as Mrs. Slocombe) and Ms. Bates (as Annie Wilkes). However, as Ms. Sugden turns 80 this year, she may not be such a great choice after all. A shame...

Possible alternative for M. Ernest DeFarge: Jean Reno

Don't know him, either!

Let's see: "The Professional", "The Visitors", "Just Visiting" (English-language remake of "The Visitors"), "Ronin", "French Kiss" (playing the cop hunting down Kevin Kline)... More on him at: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Reno,+Jean

O.K. I now know who Steve Buscemi is, having watched Reservoir Dogs and Desperado. This man is NOT Jerry Cruncher material. He's more weasely than brutal; he's too small, too smart, and too pathetic-looking. Jerry Cruncher, from how I read A Tale of Two Cities is a mildly more comical and less brutal version of Bill Sykes. Maybe Daniel Day Lewis? Or Michael Madsen, for that matter?

Daniel Day-Lewis, yes. Or Jeremy Irons.

It is a tale known well, filmed many times over the years, but never better than this early black and white version from the MGM Studios, David O. Selznick producing. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"-- Charles Dickens juxtaposes England and France, George and Louis, tradition and revolution. One of the most beloved of Dickens' stories, finding not only countries and conditions compared, but also two individuals thrown up in stark contrast to one another: -- the dissolute barrister Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman) and the young, somewhat callow aristocrat Charles Darnay (Donald Woods), both in love with Lucie (Elizabeth Allan), daughter of a victim of the French Regime. Their lives intertwine until the violent revolution that overtook an entire nation engulfs them all as well. from http://nytimes.com