Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This movie is based on the classic by Muriel Sparks, and the book is as well worth reading as the movie is watching, particularly if you didn't like the ending in the movie. In the book, Miss Brodie never really knows who betrayed her, and the book doesn't actually depict her betrayal as being quite as "tragic" as her betrayal in the movie. Also, in the book, you see Sandy as an adult retreat to a convent, where you are given the impression that she "hides" from life and struggles with an inner desperation---possibly due to Miss Brodie's influence at such a young age. This is a very "psychological" movie and difficult to understand. You wonder whether Miss Brodie is really just an innocent, flamboyant spinister with a gift for teaching, who truly doesn't understand the "danger" of her teaching or it's impact on these little girls. Or you wonder if she knows exactly what she's doing. You also wonder whether she actually likes men, or women (or maybe little girls?) Sandy is also a very complex character, and she's the realist in the story and ultimately much smarter than Miss Brodie. She goes from fascination with Miss Brodie as a little girl to "understanding" as an adult, and even as she betrays her, you are left with the impression that she still loves her (and hates her) and will ultimately never be free of her. The last line of the movie is haunting when you hear Miss Brodie's words, "Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life." This movie clearly depicts what is possible with children, and what impact a truly great teacher can have.
Rating:
Summary: A movie of persuasion by ignorance and innocence
Review: This movie shows how truely we can become so influenced by our ignorance and innocence. Even though it was in the 1930's, it proves that no matter what age we live in, there can always be somebody that can contol civilization without us knowing. We would even welcome such ideas and ideals such as what Miss Brodie taught to her "little girls". When I saw this movie, I was amazed at how well each person fit their charater. I was captivated by Brodie's teachings, her persuasion, her charm, even her looks. Everyone was in that dull, lifeless uniform while she shined like a rose. I pitied Brodie when she was betrayed by her favorite student, Sandy, the one she was particularly interested in. It seemed as if she couldn't figure her out. I believe that this movie is a great classic, orriginal, and even modern for our times. This movie deserves more than the five stars.
Rating:
Summary: top notch character study
Review: This movie, for which Dame Maggie Smith won an academy award, may be one that you have never heard of, but it is well worth seeing. The story takes place in the 1930's in Edinburgh, and centers around a schoolteacher, her two loves, and her favorite "girls", each of whom has a characteristic that she seeks out in them. While the plot may not sound that facinating, the characters in the story are GREAT, they really make the movie come alive. Maggie Smith's performance is stunning!
Rating:
Summary: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Review
Review: This was a very impressionable film, for all viewers to enjoy. I highly reccomend this film, to anyone who loves exellent dramas, and or independant films.
Rating: 
Summary: A frustrated spinster......
Review: Towards the end of the movie, as her world started to fall apart, she was told that she was a frustrated spinster. In the movie, Jean Brodie is clearly a frustrated woman, seeking love but rejecting it. She pines for her lost love, Hugh, in WWI action but it is never revealed what there was between them. There are several great performances in this film, set in 1932 in Scotland at a private girls school. Maggie Smith does a tremendous performance as a strong willed and independent minded teacher, determined to do her own way of teaching, regardless. She won an Oscar for it, and it is clear why. Pamela Franklin does a great job as a student who becomes her foil, and some of the ending dialogue is particularly strong as they clash over Jean Brodie's firing. Jean Brodie lived in a world of unreality but couldn't see that. Jean Brodie seemed to either steer her students to perform to their potential, or send them crashing. She kept referring to herself as being in her prime. Commentary by the director, who gives insight into the making of the film, and by Pamela Franklin, who was 19 when the film was released in 1959. The weakness in the extras (and there are only a few extras) are the still shots in the gallery. The shots seemed to be a real mish-mash, without context and some of people not really involved in the film. This is a good DVD to have if you enjoy a strong performance from Maggie Smith and is certainly a classic movie.
Rating:
Summary: Maggie Smith and Celia Johnson Triumph
Review: We went to a sneak preview one night and that was when they did
not tell you what it was. We had seen the play so when they
told us it was THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE we hooted and hollered.And from the opening scene we knew it was a a real treat.
I was sad that the movie came out early in the year because those
movies are usually ignored at Oscar time but this time they remembered Maggie Smith who won her first award. Equally good
is Celia Johnson as the headmistress who personifies conservative
education. She nearly steals the whole thing from Maggie. The
Brits gave her and Maggie their Oscar equivalent. Gordon Jackson
who later achieved wide fame as Hudson on UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS
is delightful. Jane Carr who played Mary McGregor later appeared
on NBC sitcoms. Over the years this has been a favorite movie
of mine and I hope the dvd will be letterboxed. It certainly should be. This will be a most welcome additon to my dvd library
and hopefully many other fans.
Rating:
Summary: Give me a girl and she is MINE for LIFE!
Review: What an amazing movie about a teacher and her students! Maggie Smith walks away with the Oscar easily in this her PRIME performance. It is the story of an influential and free spirited teacher who's ideas might be dangerous for the time she lives in. The whole cast is great, and the movie oozed Hollywood grandeur even though it came out of London. This is what DEAD POETS SOCIETY and MONA LISA SMILES should have been!
The DVD is a classy affair with a pretty good transfer of a movie this old. Grain and dirt appear, but it looks and sounds better than it ever has. The commentary with director and actress that played Sandy is awesome, and filmschool worthy! And the price makes it a value! Truly a classic!
Rating:
Summary: Great film
Review: What do you get when you cross great writing, a great story, an excellent cast, and one of the world's greatest actresses? This film. It's certainly one of the most unusual films ever made, and especially when you consider WHEN it was made. I didn't see the initial release many years ago, but can only imagine what the American public made of a teenage girl in a married, much older, man's bed. Maggie Smith carries the film and her reputation on this one alone should seal her claim to best actress in the world. It doesn't get any better than this.
Rating:
Summary: Great film
Review: What do you get when you cross great writing, a great story, an excellent cast, and one of the world's greatest actresses? This film. It's certainly one of the most unusual films ever made, and especially when you consider WHEN it was made. I didn't see the initial release many years ago, but can only imagine what the American public made of a teenage girl in a married, much older, man's bed. Maggie Smith carries the film and her reputation on this one alone should seal her claim to best actress in the world. It doesn't get any better than this.
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