Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #885 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-08-21
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Formats: PAL, Full Screen, Colour
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Synopsis
British character actor Lionel Jeffries both directed THE RAILWAY CHILDREN and adapted its screenplay from the novel by E. Nesbit. Dinah Sheridan plays the mother of three children who must live in reduced circumstances when her husband (Ian Cuthbertson), a government official, is arrested on a false charge of treason. The kids adapt rather well to their new environment, a community located on the edges of a railway. They befriend a kindly porter (Bernard Cribbins) and a wealthy gent (William Mervyn), both of whom strive to prove their father's innocence.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful film, wonderful acting
The Railway Children is essentially a film about people who are not afraid to care about each other without expecting anything in return. The story probably seems to many people today to be an unlikely fantasy. Is it really possible that a group of children would take the time to go around town and collect birthday presents for some guy who works on the railway? Well, when you consider the film is set over 100 years ago, it's quite possible. What else did kids have to do with their time when the most advanced consumer product was the pocket watch? The day was still 24 hours long but there was no TV, mobile phones or boy bands to waste your time on. Back then, people probably had the time to be kind to each other and they could do it without fear of being scammed.

The children's acting is extraordinarily good. Jenny Agutter shines in her first major film role and Sally Thomsett is the most natural child actor I've seen to date. The adults do a good job too with Bernard Cribbins at his best as the railway guy whose pride gets the better of him.

The DVD is fine but not great; there are no extras at all and the picture is a bit smudgy in the night-time scenes. It is however quite clear in the bright daytime scenes with no noticable grain.

The film is presented in 1.66:1 format (15:9) which is not wide enough for a 16:9 screen and leaves dark bands at the left and right. However, according to the Internet Movie Database this is exactly the format the film was made in so this is more a note than a complaint.

Notwithstanding the lack of extras on the DVD, the film is so good that I'd still advise you to buy it. If I had a time machine, I'd forget the future and I'd go back there, to a time when children waved at trains and got excited by a paper-chase.

Quite Simply, the BEST Children's Film Ever Made
The above summary says it all, really. "The Railway Children" is truly children's cinema perfection... but don't think this is one just for the kids! This film evokes an era of innocence, honesty and simplicity that maybe never actually existed, but does so without being saccharine-sweet.

The acting and the direction are first class, and the film is shot through with both extreme humour and beautifully moving moments. How hard-hearted would you need to be to fail to be moved by Roberta's birthday party, and not stifle a tear or a sob during the almost unbearable 'stop-motion' daughter and father reunion scene?

Whether "The Railway Children" can have an impact on children who have been raised on films such as "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life" is open to debate. But to deny them the opportunity of seeing such a genuinely enchanting piece of film-making is little short of a crime.

So often, we hear the phrase, "this is one to treasure"; in this case, it truly is. Buy it... NOW!

A movie to be enjoyed by children of all ages, from 6 to 60!
Actually, make that from 6 to infinity! When I first watched this "flick" as a first run at the local movie-theatre I was enchanted by it. (I think I immediately developed a crush for Jenny Agutter that I've never actually lost!). The story, the cast and the setting just combined to produce a beautiful production. Much later it popped up on TV and once again I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recently I spent some time searching for a VHS copy so that my children could share my experience and I was delighted to find that "The Railway Children" is still available; I immediately ordered it. This is a movie that should be seen by everybody, no matter how old we are, and one that should be forever available for purchase. I gladly recommend it without any hesitation whatsoever. (BK)