Rating: 
Summary: A mix between classic and ridiculous obsession
Review: I'm not sure if any movie better displays the way girls obsess over popular "stars" than this unknown classic. Besides the fact that Sellers doesn't always pull off the brooklyn as a sophisticated artist accent, and the fact that the music is just too happy, it's a really good movie; absurd but good. Angela Lansbury can be a mother from hell? no. She plays that part to the hilt, probably because she's just like that. And the two girls acting is so natural, it feels like they're not even acting, and that is pleasant. The girls are really natural, and they blend together like they really are sitting in their living room just having fun. Great displays of crazy giddy school girls, and overall a really good flick.
Rating: 
Summary: Unforgettable portayal of two adolescent girls coming of age
Review: "The World of Henry Orient" was, and remains, a landmark film in every way. Its portrayal of two high school girls coming of age in Manhattan, and their obsession with a 3rd rate pianist, is far more than a madcap comedy. True to the Nora Johnson novel on which it is based (she wrote the screenplay, as well), it is an unforgettable portrait of a friendship, a city, and a particular time in the life of an adolescent girl which rings hilariously--and painfully--true. In particular, Merrie Spaeth's perfect-pitch performance as the guileless Marian Gilbert is deeply touching, funny, entirely believable and perfectly nuanced. As a girl growing up in New York City, "Henry Orient" inspired in me a spirit of adventure and freedom which is as exhilarating now as it was when the film first appeared, in 1964. I own the video, and my young daughter is already completely addicted to it. Elmer Bernstein's (To Kill a Mockingbird) music is terrific, by the way. This is a classic! If you haven't seen it, do. If you have, see it again! It holds up beautifully.
Rating:
Summary: An Enchanting Orient
Review: For starters, Peter Sellers does basically a glorified cameo here as the lothario pianist who is the object of affection of two smitten teenage girls(at no time in the movie does he and his tormentors appear in the same frame). That said the two girls, Merrie Spaethe and Tippy Walker, are utterly charming as the love-struck teenagers. The parents (Angela Lansbury, Tom Bosley, Phyllis Thaxter) do admirable work here as well. New York City looks great particularly in the scene where Walker walks through snow-covered Central Park on Christmas morning. A gripe about Sellers' performance: What kind of accent was he affecting. I'm assuming he was trying for New Yawk but I had a hard time imagining him playing stickball on the streets of Brooklyn as a kid.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant oddity
Review: George Roy Hill's THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT is an absolutely one-of-a-kind work that almost defies categorization. It might be considered a kind of comic antecedent to HEAVENLY CREATURES: two well-to-do young teenagers from broken homes find solace in their mutual fantasies of a second-rate celebrity pianist, the libidinous and scheming Henry Orient (Peter Sellars). Innocently following him all over Manhattan, they unwittingly wreak utter havoc in his life, especially in his attempts to seduce a nervous suburban housewife (inspiringly played by Paula Prentiss).Mostly the film is a kind of paean to girlish infatuation, and allows Hill to show his great gift with younger actors (Merrie Spaeth and Tippy Walker as the teenagers are extremely winning). The latter part of the film--involving Walker's fraught homelife with her ineffectual welathy father (Tom Bosley) and his cuckolding and disagreeable wife (Angela Lansbury)--becomes a bit melodramatic, and yet it remains very memorable nonetheless. It evokes a kind of wealthy Eisenhower vision of Manhattan that doesn't exist anymore and may never have existed, the same Manhattan evoked in J. D. Salinger's novels where a teenage girl can safely wander Central Park at night unmolested and where two women who can afford to share a large two-story brownstone in Greenwich Village can be despised as "middle class." The film is more amusing and evocative rather than outright funny: still, it has one of the funniest "shaggy dog" sequences of all American films from this period--the great "Jayne Mansfield" sequence, which has an absolutely terrific payoff you'll remember for quite a while afterwards. (Prentiss was never funnier in her whole career than here.)
Rating:
Summary: underrated masterpiece finally on DVD!
Review: Having watched this movie any time TCM showed it on TV, I was so happy to finally see it come out on DVD and in its original aspect ratio -- the only way to see this amazing movie. Fans of the movie Ghost World might want to check out The World of Henry Orient as it is so obviously the template for GW -- although, not as cynical. Henry Orient is a wonderfully nostalgic ode to a New York City that doesn't exist anymore. There is something truly magical about seeing the city as it was back in the '60s. The film captures this magical innocent time when you're a child and how this starts to fade when you grow up in your teen years. The two girls are fantastic as are the adults -- especially Peter Sellers (is there anything this guy can't do?), Angela Lansbury (again, playing an evil, evil lady!), and most importantly, Tom Bosley who plays one of the girls' lovable, understanding dad -- a great performance! This is one of the late, great George Roy Hill's best movies -- beautiful directed and shot that also features an infectious, whimsical score by Elmer Bernstein (recently released on CD)that will have you whistling it long after the movie ends.
Rating: 
Summary: Somnolent
Review: I have read several glowing reviews of this picture, none of which makes sense now having seen the picture. Though I enjoy all the actors, outside of the children, I was unable to enjoy this tedious film. I suppose I was expecting something funny, so that is part of the problem. Peter Sellers fans should beware that he is a focal point of the movie, but most often off screen.
Rating:
Summary: Has not aged well.
Review: I remembered this film as a delight, which it was in the sixties, but now it comes across as forced and manipulative. The characters, who originally seemed so fresh and natural, now seem strained and phony. Sellers stands out, but only because the other actors (including the two young stars) are so bad. If you do decide to purchase this video, buy another version. This is the "wide-screen" (i.e., short height) version and is difficult to watch.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites!
Review: I was delighted to come across so many other rave reviews for this gem that I wanted to add my voice to the others and urge those of you who have never discovered this film to buy or, at least, rent it. Alternately funny and moving, I can only sum up my reaction to say that the film warms my heart, and I watch it frequently if I'm feeling blue. Filled with great star turns as well as a host of wonderful cameos (Paula Prentiss, Bibi Osterwald and Al Lewis especially), the story is filled with countless moments that grab me emotionally, particularly near the end when, one by one, the members of Tom Bosley's family discover the truths about themselves and each other and face the emotional repercussions of these truths.
The two young stars are not particularly great actresses. Better than that, they seem like real young girls on the verge of womanhood. The film evokes its time and place with fondness and affection. I grew up across the country from NYC in San Francisco, and yet I've watched the film so many times that I wax nostalgic for a city in which I've never lived! Go figure.
Finally, I can't say enough about Angela Lansbury. I know how frustrated she was with the studios' constant casting her as villainous mothers, and I hope she achieves her wish of finding a truly satisfying film role before she retires. Still, I hope she knows that her work as one of the few actors to successfully span the worlds of theatre, film and television speaks for itself, and her range and depth of talent is apparent in this, and all her roles. In this film (as in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, one of the best thrillers ever and her greatest film role), she is fearless in her willingness to create a monster who is at once compelling and abhorrent. We understand why she fascinates her husband and daughter at the same time that she repels them. Her villainy is delicious here, and her comeuppance is one of the most satisfying moments in an altogether satisfying film. See it!
Rating:
Summary: Poor quality sound
Review: Lovely 5-star film. Had me laughing aloud many times. But (as has previously been mentioned) the sound quality on this DVD is pathetic. Very hard to hear. One needs to turn volume way up, and maybe use the subtitles too. A great pity.
Rating:
Summary: Poor quality sound
Review: Lovely 5-star film. Had me laughing aloud many times. But (as has previously been mentioned) the sound quality on this DVD is pathetic. Very hard to hear. One needs to turn volume way up, and maybe use the subtitles too. A great pity.
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