Rating: 
Summary: IN HER PRIME AND HOLDING HER OWN ON DVD
Review: Maggie Smith is the elegantly pert Miss Brodie, a 1930s Edinburgh school marm of immense panache, charm and wit in a film that's sort of a cross between a female version of "Goodbye Mr. Chips" and "To Sir With Love." Smith's performance easily commands "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" beyond cliche and its theatrical trappings as she becomes the ultimate self-deluding spinster to whom Mussolini is a treasure on par with the Mona Lisa, and passionate love is but a taboo. Dame Brodie marks her existance on over-inflated romantic notions about art and beauty. Adapting from the novel by Muriel Spark, director Robert Neame keeps the pacing sweet and nimble, touching on all the right points without dwelling on any of them. Also in the cast are real-life husband, Robert Stephens as Jean's married lover and Celia Johnson who is marvelously insideous as the hostile headmistress. The film score by Rod McKuen may have been Oscar nominated but it betrays its 60s origins and really pigeon-holes the film as a production of that decade instead of seeming a vital tableau of the 30s.
THE TRANSFER: Fox has done a marvelous job remastering "Miss Brodie" on DVD. Colors are lush and nicely balanced. Black levels are deep and solid. Contrast and shadow levels are bang on. Some of the long shots suffer from pixelization which breaks up fine detail and there is also a very small trace of age related artifacts. These do not necessarily distract. The audio is stereo. Though dialogue does not sound natural it is nevertheless very clearly presented. The score - in all it's twinkle-twinkle get down of 60s flashback is amply displayed.
EXTRAS: An audio commentary and very sparce stills gallery. It really is a mystery to me why Fox's continues to benchmark certain catalogue titles as part of their Studio Series when their attention to suppliments continues to grow more scant by every release. Just call this a general release and be done with it. There's nothing special apart from the film to recommend such titles as part of a special series.
BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the top ten movies ever!!!
Review: Maggie Smith, who in my opinion is the most talented movie actress of the age, delivers here her greatest performance. Her acting and this movie are a triumph. There's simply nothing like it in the whole of cinemotography. No one can really "become" the character as successfully as Mrs. Smith. The film depicts the story of a Scottish schoolteacher who essentially teaches fascism and the ideals of romantic and artistic beauty to her "girls". Notice as you view the film Ms. Brodie's teaching method is not only very advanced but also very modernly autocratic. She takes her opinion as the only plausible and reasonable standard fit to hold and impresses her philosophy upon her girls. Though you feel the intensity of Ms. Brodie's humanity, you cannot but accept the dangerous quality of her thoughts and actions. I don't wish to bore you by recounting the plot- the film does that well enough itself. Let me just further explain the movies method of intensification. One, Ms. B is an extreme contrast to her fellow teacher's and her environment's standards. Two, Sandy's- and the others'- initiation (growing up) is in a dilemma: live life by Mrs. Brodie's values or by her own. The film really is superb and should be seen by anyone who enjoys fine storytelling intertwined with superior acting and complex characterization and themes. Other films that I strongly recommend are "Darling" (1965), starring Julie Christie in an Oscar-winning performance, "Tom Jones" (1963) with Albert Finney (another Oscar-winner), "The Third Man" (1949) starring Cotton and Welles, and "The Seventh Seal" by Ingmar Bergman- the Shakespeare of cinema.
Rating:
Summary: LOVE & SPITE IN 1932 EDINBURGH.
Review: Miss Brodie is the kind of teacher who wants to inspire her "gurls" rather than teach them; she's the kind of teacher little girls get crushes on...As Muriel Spark's witty, fey and romantic crackpot teacher, Maggie Smith does a magnificent job conveying comedic elements of mimicry, affectations and sheer snobbery: Miss Brodie is so entertaining that we become entranced by this Scottish lass with a jumble shop mind - she's very funny. It becomes hard to accept her as a dangerous influence when the plot turns dramatic, but her scene where she states that she's "PROUD"! copped her the AA. Celia Johnson has a genuine triumph as her adversary, Mrs. Mackay, and Robert Stephens does a lot with his role as her art instructor lover. Jay Presson Allen wrote the script from his stage version, and the film was rather too conventionally directed by Ronald Neame. Unfortunately, Pamela Franklin's big confrontation scene is something of a disappointment (the fault goes back to the original novel). Overall, however, the film is a fey and rather unique treat for those who enjoy character studies of eccentric people. The song JEAN was a huge pop hit when released by the artist OLIVER back in 1969.
Rating:
Summary: A woman in her prime.
Review: Miss Jean Brodie is in her prime and has two lovers, Teddy Llyod and another man, I forget his name, who spends time with her at Crammond on the weekend. She tells her students, who are all female, romantic versions of history that come from her own perspective. Unfortunately, she sends one of her students to her death after convincing her to fight alongside with her brother in the war with Franco. One of her students, who she has always trusted, betrayed her by telling Teddy all about her from what she knew and I guess word got round to the Board of the Governors and she was kicked out. Ms. Brodie tried to escape from reality into her own world of fantasy and it seemed as if she was doing well, until one of her students saw through her.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful characters, moving story
Review: Of course, like everyone else, I was supremely impressed by Maggie Smith's performance. Even more than that, though, I was dumbstruck by the performance of the young Pamela Franklin as Sandy, the "dependable" girl. She stole the movie by stealing every scene she was in. I saw this movie by chance one night, and it has stayed with me ever since. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes a deep and thought-provoking story and memorable characters.
Rating:
Summary: The Wierdness of this movie cannot be surpassed
Review: Ok first I will say that I did like the movie. Second, it was one of the strangest films that I have ever seen in my life. The acting in this film was amazing but there were parts of the story that I just did not enjoy. I did not like that Sandy ended up with the art teacher. It moved the plot along but I could have done without that. I loved the scene where Sandy tells Ms. Brodi that it was she who told. The reverb of "Assassin" off the walls was truly haunting. The movie in all was very good but definatly not in my top 50.
Rating:
Summary: Maggie Smith's Prime
Review: Originally played on the London stage by Vanessa Redgrave, then on Broadway by Zoe Caldwell, and finally (in 1969) by Maggie Smith in the film version, Miss Jean Brodie rates as one of the great fictional characters of the 20th century. The film of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" may strike some as too theatrical and Maggie Smith's performance a bit over the top. For all others, and I consider myself in this group, the movie is "The Prime of Miss Maggie Smith" and a five-star treat. Think of this movie as "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" meets "Auntie Mame" but with a sinister edge. Only one question: When will we get the DVD???
Rating:
Summary: The Prime of Miss Maggie Smith
Review: She shows astonishing range in this film, masterfully navigating the contradictions of a troubling, charismatic and possibly mad woman. I'm not given to hyperbole, but I'd rank this among the five or so finest performances ever by a film actress. It's funny, but this film was a financial bust when it was first released in 1969, and yet it endures. Goes to show, cream eventually does rise.
Rating:
Summary: Best Britisher-Goes-Bonkers Movie?
Review: Smith shows us the real secret of acting-- to celebrate the madness of her character and sweep everyone right along with her, without apology or hesitation.Admittedly, the idea of a non-conformist in a strictured world may be worn out, but to see Miss Jean Brodie's madness come to full flower in the "slide show" scene is just unbeatable.
Rating:
Summary: Maggie Smith's Oscar-Winning Tour de Force!
Review: Smith's bravura performance in the title role is a delight, as are all those by her supporting cast...especially versatile, pretty Pamela Franklin. It's a gem of a film and the special features include the charismatic and interesting RONALD NEAME and FRANKLIN's enjoyable commentary.
For some reason on the DVD case, the running time is incorrect and Director Neame is listed as "Robert."
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