The Song of the Lark (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)After the horrid job Hollywood did on her novel A LOST LADY, Willa Cather refused to allow her works to be converted to dramatic form--and she put it in her will. But that was before Masterpiece Theater raised the stakes for the transformation of literary classics to film. Now that a few of Cather's works are no longer in copyright, some have been filmed with mixed results. The Masterpiece Theater film, THE SONG OF THE LARK, is the best of the lot, a fine presentation of the story of a young girl who finds her voice when she connects the two things--the western lands and the music--that she loves. This production has the good sense to end the story at its climax, leaving the weaker ending (which Cather herself acknowledged) to the reader's imagination.

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Captains Courageous (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)Captains Courageous DVD
Captain Courageous is updated version of a story by Rudyard Kipling"Captains courageous." (Kipling dollar library for young moderns). In the movie, staring Robert Urich as a fishing boat's captain, and Kenny Vodas as a young, spoiled rich boy who falls overboard from a cruise liner and is rescued by a fishing boat and is required to work if he wants to eat is a great story about growing up.Highly recommended for any family who has a young teenage boy that is not use to minding his manners, respecting his elders, and doing chores as a responsibility.
Warning has a "tear-jerking" ending.
Gunner March, 2008


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Secret Garden (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have now seen two other versions of The Secret Garden, and this one (the first I ever saw) Remains my favorite. The reason is I have a couple problems with the other versions
In the old 1949 Edition, Mary wasn't portrayed correctly. She's supposed to be (at the beginning) a girl with an attitude (for lack of a better way to put it.) She's supposed to be completely emotionally unnafected by her parent's death (according to the book)as they had never attempted to spend time with her. In the old 1949 version, Mary has an emotional outburst upon learning of her parent's death. That is out of charachter. In this version, she's more concerned about the doll she dropped when she was told. Her attitude in this 1987 version seems more in charachter.
In the 1993 version I do not like the way they took the concept of "magic" and twisted it into a seance in the garden. That is extremely out of charachter with the book. When the book speaks of "Magic" it almost hints at miricles/the hand of God. This 1987 movie kept in charachter with that.
Basically, I think this version is truer to the mysterious (in a good way) tone of the book. the manor is beautiful! and the whole scenery is in charachter with the book. The only thing they contradicted the book in was having Mary and Colin not related. In the book they're cousins. But in this version they're unrelated, which is obviously because they have Mary and Colin getting married. The only thing I would change is the actors that played the two boys, Colin and Dicken. They were pretty good actors, but both were too old. Dickon should have been someone more Mary's age, and the actor that played Colin (although he has a sufficient baby face) reveals his real age at the end when he can stand up and walk. Way too tall. Look at the scene with him and his father walking together in the garden. Colin's way to tall to be 10 (his supposed age). Other than that, this is a superb version of the movie, which any Secret Garden fan should own. Hallmark has quality! (insert gold crown here)

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Gulliver's Travels (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)Contrary to popular belief, Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" was never intended to be simply a children's fantasy / fairy tale. Although the Lilliputans are cute as heck, this story has some serious overtones. As a matter of fact, although more subtle perhaps, there are aspects of this tale which are as dark and bitter as the commentaries on humankind written by the likes of Dostoevsky, Camus and Kafka. Jonathan Swift never was a very happy man.
This rendition of Swift's classic is, in a word, fabulous. It reaches to the heart of the message Swift was trying to convey while at the same time is accessible to all. It is also appropriate for a family to watch. I cannot remark enough on just how well done this film was; it would have been so easy to do a half-baked job and let it be yet another ambitious television movie that somehow went awry. I'm so glad that didn't happen here.
In truth, I have never cared too much for Ted Danson. However, in this film he delivers a surprisingly exceptional performance. So much so, in fact, that looking back I can't imagine anyone else as Gulliver. The rest of the cast did a superb job as well, and the inclusion of Peter O'Toole as the king of the Lilliputans was a great touch. (Then again, when can having Peter O'Toole in the cast of a movie ever HURT?) The direction and the way they chose to tell the story was wonderfully done. The soundtrack (written by Trevor Jones, who co-wrote the soundtrack to "The Last Of The Mohicans" among other things) was right on the $$$ for emotionally gripping scenes.
This is the type of ambitious, fervent film-making that studios can be proud of. If one Jonathan Swift were around today, I have no doubt that he could not and would not have asked for a better adaptation of his prose. A GREAT movie!

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Muppet Treasure Island (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've seen all the muppet movies, but this one is my favorite. Granted, the first Muppet Movie had awesome songs by the great Paul Willaims, and the Great Muppet Caper was a terrific spoof on classic Hollywood films. But this movie is different.
I believe it was Brian Henson who said that the difference in this movie is the world that we see. In the previous muppet movies, the muppets were strange creatures living in the human world. But in Muppet Treasure Island, it's the humans who are the odd ones. This is a "Muppet World" through and through. The first clue as to the validity of this statement is the opening credits. The main characters are played by Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, the Great Gonzo, and the other muppets. Not by puppeteers. By muppets.
Despite the fact that the movie stays pretty true to the book Treasure Island in terms of plot, the execution of it is completely wild muppet madness. Anything and everything is made fun of in this movie (including the fact that it's a movie!) For instance, in several of the excellent songs sung by the muppets (and a wonderful Tim Curry playing Long John Silver), the characters make reference to the fact that it IS a musical number.
And speaking of musical numbers, the songs in this movie are absolutely great. My family bought the soundtrack, and they listen to the songs all the time (especially "When You're a Professional Pirate"). And let's not forget the excellent background music by Hans Zimmer, who still knows how to crank out a good old-fashioned film score.
This movie is filled with all sorts of wackiness, right down to the names of some of the charcters (old Tom, real old Tom, Dead Tom), and jokes made in the movie come back later to make them ever funnier ("Dead Tom's Dead! Long John shot him!"). But this movie is more than just great fun. It's a well scripted, well acted, and in general well made film. It's got everything. Action, adventure, romance. And of course, singing. It's great family entertainment, with a lot of heart and a wonderful message about friendship. If you love the muppets, definitely see this movie. Especially if you like the story of Treasure Island...

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Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate tale takes on a life of its own in the hands of the hilarious Muppets(TM)! MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND(TM) -- the Muppets' very first action-adventure -- is the fun-packed, music-filled, high-seas swashbuckler the entire family will enjoy over and over. It all begins when young Jim Hawkins inherits a long-lost map to a pirate's treasure. Jim hires the great ship Hispaniola where he meets the good Captain Smollett (Kermit the Frog) and the evil yet charming Long John Silver (Tim Curry). With adventure in their hearts and treasure chests of gold in their eyes, they set sail on the bounding main only to discover danger at every turn -- including Benjamina Gunn (Miss Piggy), Treasure Island's worshipped love goddess who's dressed to kill! Featuring a rollicking musical score by Academy Award(R)-winning Hans Zimmer (THE LION KING, 1994), MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND is a real gem that "explodes with wit, weirdness, and wildy inventive fun." (New York Post)

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