Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8126 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-07-06
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Colour, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 116 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Maggie Smith is so witty and commanding in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that you might forget the script paints Jean Brodie as an ultimately self-deluding spinster. Dame Maggie won the first of her two Oscars for playing a teacher in 1930s Edinburgh more in thrall to her romantic notions of art and beauty than the real world (she exalts the Mona Lisa and Mussolini with equal fervour), a cultivator of worshipping "Brodie Girls". Smith's expert playing makes many of the brogue-heavy Brodie-isms worth memorising ("She seeks to intimidate me by the use of quarter-hours") and raises the picture above its generally theatrical style. Real-life husband Robert Stephens plays Jean's married lover; Celia Johnson excels as the hostile headmistress; and Pamela Franklin is the deadpan whistle-blower within Miss Brodie's coven. The dippy music of Rod McKuen helps mark the movie as more of a reflection of the 1960s than the 30s. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

The Excellence of Miss Jean Brodie
This film is simply the 'creme de la creme'. Maggie Smith is superb as the teacher who fascinates and enchants her inner circle of students, 'the Brodie Set', and has the screen presence and acting talent to evoke entirely convincingly the character who declares 'give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life'. The film is witty and entertaining, and although not entirely true to the book, the quality of the acting, by the young girls in particular, more than compensates. Celia Johnson (better known for her starring role in 'Brief Encounter') is also excellent as the Headmistress Miss Mackay, whose aim in life is to rid her conservative school of the radical Miss Brodie. Among the changes in the film, however, is the foregrounding of Miss Brodie's interest in fascism and the effect that this has on the least intelligent of her set, Mary McGregor. Without giving the story away- and I would advice that people read the book so as to discover the true fate of Mary- the film's portrayal of Miss Brodie's destructive influence is perhaps somewhat exaggerated and disturbing. Nevertheless, the film as a whole is just as bewitching as Miss Brodie and a must-see for Maggie Smith fans.

The Creme de la Creme
This film is fabulous, mainly due to Maggie Smith's fantastic portrayal of Miss Jean Brodie. The film now is certainly a camp classic, Miss Brodie rules her class with stories of love, truth and composure. I've never seen such good posture, I thought Smith had swallowed a yard stick. All actors are superb, I especially loved Celia Johnson and Pamela Franklin as the sly Sandy, one of Miss Brodie's 'gels'. The film's insight into Marcia Blaine's School for Girls is a tour de force and recommended for anyone who wants to see an actress who truly is in her 'prime'!

"I am a teacher! First, last, always!"
Maggie Smith won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Jean Brodie, an unconventional and outspoken teacher in a stuffy Edinburgh girls' school, who encourages her students to be just like herself. Miss Brodie proudly says she is "in her prime," and expounds on the glories of a life full of passion and commitment. Miss Brodie is, in reality, a spinster, still sadly attracted to her unscrupulous ex-lover and often living in the past. She has a small group of students she is especially close to, but two of the girls take her instruction too literally, and this leads to tragedy.

Maggie Smith was so young and beautiful when she made this movie! She dominates the screen with her charisma and power. She tosses off many funny and memorable lines of dialogue with her delightful Scottish brogue, and delivers them with righteous indignation and withering glances. Pamela Franklin is excellent as one of Jean's disciples, and Rod McKuen's music is lovely. This film is a must for fans of Maggie Smith.