Rating: Summary: Absolutely the best version of The Secret Garden! Review: There are newer versions of the movie but my heart will always be with this one. I watched this version over and over, and over again. I suppose that I watched it at least 70-100 times! Of course I did not have a sheet where I tick marked every time I watched it. But, I at least watched it 2 or 3 times a week for a very long stretch. Now, this was not normal behavior for me. I did not like watching movies more than once or twice, but this one was so enchanting and uplifting that I always wanted to experience all of it again. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a classic to watch.
Rating: Summary: Cute Review: I have always loved Shirley Hughes ever sicen I was a child her illistrations are her trade mark and that what makes this vertion of the Secret Garden so cool!!!
Rating: Summary: Wonderful! Review: I absoulutly love this movie. It is so realistic, and Gennie James played the part perfectly. I know having Mary and Colin marry at the end of the movie disturbed some people, but I think it just added to the warmth and vitality of the movie. Even before I read the book, I had a feeling that they were ment for each other. I usually hate mushy parts but in this case there was an exception. I love this movie, and would reccomend it to anyone.
Rating: Summary: The Best Version of Secret Garden! Review: I have read some poor reviews here, but I disagree. The Hallmark Hall of Fame version is my absolutely favorite. Yes, I know the ending is not true to the book, but I am able to forgive that because the rest of the movie is so good. The romantic in me does adore the ending if I forget about the book. It does seem even somewhat realistic as one set of my great-great-grandparents did marry and have children in the late 1800s - they were first cousins! Even if Colin and Mary were first cousins in this movie, it would be entirely conceivable that they marry. I enjoyed this version overall - and much more so than the 1993 version. (In that version, there is an earthquake! I love earthquake stories, but I also love epidemic stories, and Mary's parents must die of cholera. The ending is forgivable, but the cause of death is not!)
Rating: Summary: The Best Version by far Review: I can't believe all the negative reviews this film has gotten. I grew up with the 1993 version and always found it pretty, but a little dull. I ran across this version by chance and was amazed at how much better it was. Sure, the 1993 version has more famous actors and a bigger budget, but it lacks the heart this one has. I loved Gennie James' portrayal, she gave Mary real spirit and it was great to see her character change so much throughout the movie. Dicken was also more as I had envisioned him in the book and Colin was just adorable. The scenery was beautiful and the story was a lot of fun. I didn't notice anything wrong with the acting,I thought the children acted as children are supposed to. As for the ending,it is surprising that she ended up with Colin, but only because in the other versions(and the book) they were first cousins. In this version, it's very in keeping with the story and you really couldn't see it happening any other way. It actually added a new level of enjoyment to the movie for me. So, if you want to see a cold, sterile, "artsy" secret garden, go with the 1993 version, if you want to see a great story that will warm your heart, try this one.
Rating: Summary: A mixed bag Review: Don't get me wrong - this version of The Secret Garden isn't the Worst Movie of All Time - but it has serious problems having mostly to do with the ending.I usually hate spoiler reviews that give away the ending of a movie, but I am going to do that here, for reasons I hope you'll understand, as the epilogue affects the whole spirit of the film. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of the original classic novel, cut the story off before the three main characters grew up - a wise decision that let the readers make up their own minds about what happened next. Unlike other versions, this movie includes an epilogue that reveals what happened to them - always a dangerous decision when one doesn't have the last words from the author herself, but here disasterous. Years later, we meet up with an engaged-to-be-married Mary and Colin. To deal with the somewhat reasonable notion that this might be a bit unlikely with Dickon around, our Yorkshire Angel has been killed off in World War Two. Anyone who knows the story and what Dickon represents understands how outrageous this is. Apparently Hodgson Burnett knew what she was doing the first time around. Stick with either the 1993 or 1940 versions, preferably in that order, unless you're a Secret Garden fanatic who wants all three versions.
Rating: Summary: Worst film version of "The Secret Garden" Review: I saw this version when it was first aired in 1987, and I remember being disappointed with it then as a nine-year-old who had religiously read and re-read the book. The ending was the most disappointing aspect for me (Colin over Dickon? Never!), and now that I'm older I can pick out countless other things that made this movie so bad (most of which other negative reviews here have covered). The 1993 version is the best, and even the version from the 1940's was far more enjoyable than this version of a classic story.
Rating: Summary: A True Classic Review: This is a movie I grew up watching. It's an exquisitly well made film, particularly considering the cast is mainly children. The story stays very true to the book, and the atmosphere is simply undefinably gorgeous! Having has this as a staple in my childhood, I may be a bit partial to it, but in all honesty, there is no other version of this film that comes close to measuring up. This film gets two thumbs up from me. I strongly recommend it!!
Rating: Summary: A Heavenly Story Review: From the beginning, this little girl reminds us of our once young and outspoken selves. You see her go from a headstrong and hurt child to a marvelous woman who wins Colin Firth in the end. Oh that we should all be so fortunate. Buy it for yourself, share it with your children. One of my very favorites.
Rating: Summary: DVD could be better Review: I really like this version of The Secret Garden, and it would rate more stars if the DVD had been better. The transfer appears to have been made from material a few generations removed from the negative. The result is a fairly grainy picture with quite a bit of dirt, dust, etc. and lacking in sharpness, clarity, contrast, and detail. The picture isn't horrible, but it just should've been better--and I expected better from Hallmark. I don't want to disuade anyone who loves this movie from buying a copy on DVD, I just wish companies would stop viewing their films as "product" to sell and start treating them as artistic efforts to be treated with care. To do any less shows a lack of respect for the artists who made the film and the viewers who expect that they will not be given a defective item when they plunk down their money. In conclusion, this is a good movie, but let the buyer beware.
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