Rating: 
Summary: Miracle Worker
Review: ...When I watch I saw Helen has no manner at all. and then this Annie taught her sign language. Helen's so smart. But at the end her bad manners came back but after that she was able to said water but not really water maybe wa.. wat...wa.. wate... and then no more. In our textbook the title is Out of Darkness. I wonder why??
Rating: 
Summary: The Remake
Review: After I watched this movie, I still like the original 1962 better. Why? Because it has more emotional impact in it, and it has really funny scenes like the "feeling emotions on faces" the original has. The "battle of wills" is more tame in this (the Disney version) one than the original. I've noticed they left out some really good scenes that was from the original.
This version from Disney is ok. The actress who played Anne Sullivan did good, but I like the original James (Helen's half-brother) better than this one. The little girl who played Helen in this version is not as good as Patty Duke, but she did well.
If I had a choice, I'd pick the original. But this is good to watch too, if you want to see both versions, even though it is MUCH different than the 1962 movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Remake
Review: After I watched this movie, I still like the original 1962 better. Why? Because it has more emotional impact in it, and it has really funny scenes like the "feeling emotions on faces" the original has. The "battle of wills" is more tame in this (the Disney version) one than the original. I've noticed they left out some really good scenes that was from the original.
This version from Disney is ok. The actress who played Anne Sullivan did good, but I like the original James (Helen's half-brother) better than this one. The little girl who played Helen in this version is not as good as Patty Duke, but she did well.
If I had a choice, I'd pick the original. But this is good to watch too, if you want to see both versions, even though it is MUCH different than the 1962 movie.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than The Original!
Review: As soon as I found out it was comeing to DVD, I pre-ordered it on video and DVD! Thats how much I liked it! The acting was superb! Hallie Kate Eisenberg is perfect as Helen because I know a blind girl who walks the same way! But the real star is Alison Elliott as Annie! Helen Keller is a blind and deff girl. Her brother is jealous that she gets all the attention and her father is ready to send her to an assylum against her mothers wishes. They compromise and hire Annie Sullivan to teach Helen some manners. Not only does Annie teach her manners, but to speak through her hands, earning her title, The Miracle Worker! You'll laugh and cry for the characters! This price is great! I'm just upset that the only special features on this DVD are audio options!
Rating:
Summary: Better Than The Original Version!
Review: As soon as I found out it was comeing to video, I pre-ordered it on video and DVD! Thats how much I liked it! The acting was superb! Hallie Kate Eisenberg is perfect as Helen because I know a blind girl who walks the same way! But the real star is Alison Elliott as Annie! Helen Keller is a blind and deff girl. Her brother is jealous that she gets all the attention and her father is ready to send her to an assylum against her mothers wishes. They compromise and hire Annie Sullivan to teach Helen some manners. Not only does Annie teach her manners, but to speak through her hands, earning her title, The Miracle Worker! You'll laugh and cry for the characters! This price is great and the video is in a clamshell case that will last for years!
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible Horrible Horrible - Disney Ruins Another One!
Review: As you can see by my review title, this movie left me with a wonderful feeling in my stomach...confused?? I was laughing the whole time, and as they say, "laughter is the best medicine." What made this movie so funny? The acting was horrible! Hallie Kate Eisenberg walked as if she was Frankenstien, and her acting in general was completely incompetent. She should stick with what she does best, which is being the Pepsi and Regal Cinemas girl. Alison Elliot tried (I loved her in "The Spitfire Grill" which I highly recommend to all who read this), but given the terrible direction, and the "We're Disney, let's make everything nice and child friendly" aspect of the movie, Elliot played Annie Sullivan as if she was a wimp. As a teacher of American Sign Language I show the original Miracle Worker with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft to my class when we study Helen Keller and her life. My 12 year-old students as an assignment were to compare the movies. They were equally horrified with this version and begged me to only show the original to future classes which I must remind you is in BLACK AND WHITE!! I would like to rename this movie "Frankenkeller and The Miraculously Wimpy Worker" and end my disgust with this movie here. Please watch the original and discourage Disney from ruining our classics by updating them to meet the times. The Miracle Worker is a Period piece set in the late 1800's and should remain as such. If I had a choice this would receive no stars. I do give it one star for making me laugh. It felt good.
Rating:
Summary: CALLING PATTY DUKE!!!!
Review: At first it might not have seemed like such a bad idea to remake this movie again. Afterall the story of Annie Sullivan teaching Helen Keller communication is timeless and the 1979 version does prove that remakes can still work. So, if they had to do another one two decades later, why cast the Pepsi Girl in the coveted role as Helen?? I read a review that said her emotionless performance should be nicknamed "Frankenkeller", because she does indeed walk around like a robot! The only good thing about her performance is that she doesn't talk in the film! She is also too graceful a Helen. Patty Duke, and even Melissa Gilbert had a more wild animal like energy to their performances, while Ms. Pepsi seems bored as Helen (or is it that we are just bored at watching her? Would someone give her a Pepsi, please?? I was totally shocked that she didn't start singing at the pivotal water pump scene "The Joy of Wa-Wa"! However, she didn't say anything at all! Where is the emotional wallup that that scene has always brought to us?!On some postive notes: The sets are grand and so are the costumes. Ms. Allison's performance as young fiest Sullivan can almost stand proudly besides Anne Bancroft's Oscar-winning turn as Anne Sullivan and Patty Duke's Emmy-winning interpretation of her. Do yourself a favor and watch the 1962 and 79 versions, ones that didn't rape such a gorgeous tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Good representation of what probably happened!
Review: Compelling!!! The actress who plays Annie was a good pick; I love that she had the same large brown eyes, pug flat nose, & big lips that the real Annie Sullivan had. Two things I'd change, though...the real-life Annie Sullivan was much shorter than the actress & the real Annie's hair was stick-straight rather than wavy like this actress's. The performances were great, esp. the actress who played Helen. Only thing on Helen's actress...the real Helen had blue-ish purple eyes & straight hair instead of the dark eyes & curly hair that the actress has here. The actress who played Kate was realistically depicted right through the coloring. They also left out several of the flashbacks that Annie experiences about her horrible childhood, but the flashback scenes that are shown were nice & vivid & the viewer can feel Annie's fear at each of these flashbacks. All in all, a fairly accurate representation of the play, as accurate as can be squashed onto a video.
Rating:
Summary: I've played this role before and this movie lacks reality
Review: I am 14 years old and have been acting singing and dancing since I was tiny. I do a lot of plays at the prestigeous(sp?) Grosse Pointe Theatre. Recentley (last febuary-march) the theatre decided to do William Gibson's play "The miracle worker". Of course I wanted to try out and I was desperate to get the role because its been a role I've wanted to play for a long time. I auditioned and ended up getting the part of Helen Keller. For four months we rehearsed and finally performed our 10 straight shows. It was the most rewarding experience of my young life. The standing ovations and tears that I saw every night really made me feel like I was doing justice to this fantastic woman by retelling her wonderful and inspiring story. We had a stunt choregraphor and yes we actually hit,pinched,kicked,and threw water on eachother. I had people telling me that I could give Patty Duke a run for her money (although I believe that noone could ever play the part as well as her)! I've seen all three movie versions and I must say that this movie through crumby acting and choregoraphy proved to be the worst out of all of them. The breakfast fight scene leaves much to be said. For performance after performance we smacked and kicked eachother and got many bruises and cuts. We ended up having to wear kneepads especially in the scene where we smashed the porcelian pitcher all over the stage. This girl (the pepsi kid) sat there in this scene like a dud! I'm not saying that she wasn't good in the part because she was and I know how hard it is to play that role so I know how much effort and concentration it takes. But she could have done soooooooo much more throughout the whole movie. Yes the may have been trying to put a modern twist on the movie but that was a bad move. This is one of the most inspiring stories in the world and they should have stuck to the facts and the oringal script! In the pump scene at the end we had a real working pump on stage (with a bucket under it!) and there were people in the audience crying! This girl just didn't do justice to the story. I did like the movie simply because its a wonderful story with or without good and skilled actors. So parents if you want to expose your kids to this uplifting story then wait until the kids are about 8,9,or 10 so you can show them the orginal Duke/Bancroft version. I know most younger children dislike black and white so if you really want them to understand and have a good grip on this story then wait until they are old enough to sit down and watch this movie without complaining of boredom just because it's not in technicolor.
If anyone has any questions about the theatre or Helen Keller feel free to email me..I may be young but I know a TON of facts about Miss Keller and her life from young to old.
~Danielle~
Rating:
Summary: This movie totally sucks!
Review: I cannot believe all the other positive reviews I'm seeing! As usual, Disney has taken a wonderful story and distorted it with fictional information. I am from Alabama and have visited Ivy Green twice. Aside from the obvious disregard for authenticity with the set, they also missed the mark on several facts. Just one example--the Kellers did not have slaves, they had sharecroppers. Slavery had been abolished by the time Helen was born in 1880! No wonder people have such warped images of the South, thanks to irresponsible filmakers like this. The story was great enough to stand on its own without all the changes, just as it has for many years. Disney changes it because they apparently aren't confident enough in their ability to produce a good film. This movie only further proves that. Don't waste your time on this one, parents. If you want your kids to know TRUE history, go for the other films about Helen Keller's life.
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