Rating: Summary: This is not written by a groupie!!! Review: ... I just watched this movie and I really enjoyed it. I found it to be a a good interpretation of the book by Mark Twain. yes there were bits that were left out and then there were bits that were changed, (Like Huck's age, to accomadate the age of Elijah Wood). But I found the movie to be well shot, the script well written, and well cast. Elijah Wood may have been young for the part, but he played it well. The important thing to remember, is that this is someone elses interpretaion of the book, this is someone else telling the story the way they saw it. I reccomend it to anyone who is not going to get their nose bent out of joint because it is not an exact cinematic representation of the book.
Rating: Summary: My Favorite family film Review: A great performance by Elijah Wood. Get the DVD, and enjoy the extras, especially the AUDIO COMMENTARY.
Rating: Summary: One of the greatest movies ever made! Review: Elijah Wood plays Huckleberry Finn, a young boy growing up in the pre-Civil War South. Huck's father is a drunken troublemaker, and is rarely around. The boy has been taken in by two kindly old women who are trying their best to civilize him, but aren't having an easy time of it. Huck lives for freedom and adventure, and the river is constantly calling his name. His best friend is a slave named Jim (Courtney B. Vance), and the two look out for each other, more-so with every passing day. When Huck's father Pap returns for the boy one night, having heard that he's inherited a nice some of money (for those days), the boy is desperate to escape. Trapped and left alone the next day in his father's run-down cabin, Huck escapes and fakes his own "murder." He takes a boat to Jackson's Island, where no one lives and hardly anyone visits, and there he runs into his old friend Jim! The two best friends go swimming, fishing, and have a generally great time, when Jim tells Huck that he's run away and is planning to head down river and then up to the free states. After a personal struggle with the idea of playing abolitionist, a dangerous thing to do, Huck agrees to help his friend escape slavery. The two soon find themselves heading down the river, but at a faster pace than they had expected. They have discovered that Jim is wanted not only for being a runaway, but also for being Huck's "murderer." Huck and Jim have several interesting experiences throughout their journey, including getting mixed up in a tragic family feud, nearly getting caught several times, and teaming up with a pair of con artists known as the King and the Duke (played wonderfully by Jason Robards and Robbie Coltrane). It's here where they meet three lovely sisters (Anne Heche, Laura Bundy, and a young, and very cute Renee O'Connor) and decide to help the girls at their own risk, rather than go on with the cruel scam they were being forced to act out by the two conmen. I'm soooo happy this wonderful film has come to DVD. This is a perfect film in so many respects. The casting is perfect, the camera work is gorgeous, and the spirit of adventure, friendship, drama, and fun is portrayed perfectly in every scene. True, this is not very similar to the book, Tom Sawyer isn't even mentioned. For a perfect interpretation of the book in the form of a wonderful film you need to get the version starring Patrick Day, which is only on VHS right now as far as I know. You'll want to get the 2 tape version if you can find it, rather than the edited 1 tape version. But while I love the Patrick Day version, this one is by far my favorite. It captures everything I feel a Huck film should, in a shorter, more exciting and to the point story than the book tells. True, it's been Disney-fied, but being a Disney fanatic, I don't mind at all. My feeling is they usually improve the stories they take on. This film is loaded with adventure and friendship, which is the main reason I'm such a Tom and Huck fan, and Elijah Wood really shines in the starring role. His chemistry with Courtney B. Vance is perfect! I had nearly worn my VHS out by the time this film came to DVD. The extras are nice, but there aren't THAT many. It could have delivered more in that department. But remember that this is a Disney DVD, and one they seem to have given low priority, so I'm just glad it's been released on DVD and has any extras at all. My favorite film of all time, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, was given zero extras, and Hocus Pocus, another fave, also had none if I recall correctly. Anyway, I definitely recommend this film for families, Tom and Huck fans, and just pretty much everybody! It's a perfect movie for a rainy Saturday night, baking something sweet and cuddling with someone special.
Rating: Summary: Excellent! Review: Elijah Wood's portrayal of Huck Finn is beyond brilliant. He was amazing! He had everything down. He was adorable as Huck Finn. I think that Mark Twain would be impressed, but I don't know what he would say about it. Maybe he's not impressed, but that's not the point right now. This film was incredible, I've loved it ever since I was a little kid. I was 9 when this film came out, I'm 19 now, and I'm still a BIG Elijah fan. Courtney Vance (Jim) did a fantasical job portraying the slave Jim. I don't think this film would've been any better than it all ready was. This has always been one of my favorite movies. I'm so glad that I finally have gotten it on DvD.
Rating: Summary: Hott as Fire!! Review: Everybody reading this interview should(if not already done...) should go to the nearest blockbuster or hollywood video, and have an Elijah Wood marathon. He is the most amazing actor I have ever seen ... o-m-g even in The Lord of the Rings that was the most amazing movie I have evr seen... even after reading the books!! So if you don't believe then you can just stay at home watching re-runs of the Brady Bunch and before they were Rockstars,but take my advice... You wont be sorry!!! P.S. He is soooooooo totally a hotty 2!!!
Rating: Summary: You can't improve upon perfection Review: I am an adult, a writer, a lifelong fan of Mark Twain and his works, and a fan of Elijah Wood's since The Adventures of Huck Finn first appeared in theaters. As others have said before me, the movie was not created to be identical to the book. Personally, I wouldn't want it to be. Then what would be the point of reading the written word after that? The movie was *based* on the complex and detailed novel by Mr. Clemens (Twain). Due to the nature of the medium, the movie could not possibly incorporate every aspect that a story of such depth could include and develop. But the movie, of it's own device, did have depth and complexity; humor and drama. It maintained much of what we expected to see in going to a movie about the infamous Finn, but included also an number of sometimes amusing, sometimes intriguing twists. It was complex but clear, meaningful and intelligent yet also fun and enlightening. And the acting could not be surpassed. Courtney B. Vance and Elijah Wood were a charming pair. Wood earned critical acclaim for his incredible ability to utterly embody a character - even at his young age. But he's been surprising critics and audiences alike with his immense skill since he was, I'd estimate, five or six years old. To have cast any other in this challenging role for such a young performer would have greatly reduced the strength and emotion of the film. Ultimately, the writing, the acting and the fact that it was based on such a solid story to begin with pulls this movie together as one of the most beautiful, most moving and inspiring films to have been produced prior to it's release and even in all the time since. It unquestionably does more honor to the novel it was based upon than any other versions of the story that have been made, in my opinion. It absolutely made an impact on me. It's a favorite. Right up along side other such intense movies as Powder and the recent made-for-tv version of Joan of Arc with Leelee Sobieski. Pay little heed to any big-headed critic who tells you otherwise; this is one you'll enjoy and remember.
Rating: Summary: One of the best movies of all time! Review: I can't believe there are actually people who don't like this movie! It is quite possible my favorite movie and I am a movie Fanatic! This movie vastly improves the originally story and yet is true to it in many ways. This movie could not been better, unless they mentioned Tom Sawyer now and again, that might have been a nice. One of the best movies of all time!
Rating: Summary: One of the best movies of all time! Review: I can't believe there are actually people who don't like this movie! It is quite possibly my favorite movie and I am a movie Fanatic! This movie vastly improves the originally story and yet is true to it in many ways. This movie could not have been better, unless they mentioned Tom Sawyer now and again, that might have been nice. One of the best movies of all time!
Rating: Summary: Very good, cute movie! Review: I couldn't even tell you how many times I've rented and watched this movie! This has been one of my favorite movies since I was a kid! I'll be watching this a whole heck of a lot more now that I own it. I think this movie would be good for anyone to watch!
Rating: Summary: Fine as a movie-Poor representation of Twain's novel Review: I don't believe those who criticize the movie are necessarily of the opinion that it is a poor movie; I think it is a fine movie for kids. However, it does not do justice to the novel. No one should think that this movie comes close to depicting the story of Jim and Huck's adventures. Two of the best elements of the novel, Huck's realization (slow but sure) that Jim is human and Mark Twain's mockery of the people on shore, are simply not conveyed by this, or any other, video. Again, as a movie, it's a fine story, but it certainly fails to develop the Huck-Jim story, the most important storyline in the entire novel.
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