Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #789 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-10-25
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, Romanian, Bulgarian
• Dubbed in: Dutch, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Filmed before (and quite nicely) in 1949, Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story was remade for this admirable 1993 release, executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. Splendidly adapted by Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson, the film opens in India during the early 1900s, when young Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is orphaned and sent to England to live in Misselthwaite Manor, the gloomy estate of her brooding and melancholy uncle, Lord Craven (John Lynch). Because the uncle is almost always away on travels, struggling to forget the death of his beloved wife, Mary is left mostly alone to explore the estate. Eventually she befriends the young brother of a staff maid and Lord Craven's apparently crippled son, who has been needlessly bedridden for years. Together the three children restore a neglected garden on the estate grounds, and in doing so they set the stage for a moving reaffirmation of life and love. Filmed with graceful style and careful attention to the intelligence and cleverness of young children, The Secret Garden is that rarest breed of family film that transcends its own generic category, encouraging a sense of wonder and optimism to become a rewarding experience for viewers of any age. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Agnieszka Holland's adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic fairy tale, THE SECRET GARDEN is a highly entertaining family picture that is overflowing with gorgeous imagery. Ten-year-old Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is a spoiled rich girl living in colonial India with her aloof parents who frequent elegant parties and leave her with servants who attend to her every whim. When her parents are killed, however, Mary's life changes drastically. She's shipped off to England to live in the enormous manor of her father's friend, Lord Archibald Craven (John Lynch), and his invalid son, Colin (Heydon Prowse). Lord Craven, a miserable recluse since his wife's death, ignores his son and leaves the household management to Mrs. Medlock (Maggie Smith), an ironhanded authoritarian. In this cold environment, the children, with help from spirited maid Martha Sowerby and her younger brother, Dickon, manage to find happiness in a special garden hidden away for years. Beautifully shot by Roger Deakins, Holland's film is a visual feast that captures the fantasy like tone of the book without sacrificing any of Burnett's original vision. Zbigniew Preisner's magical score adds another lovely dimension, making this a film that individuals of every age can enjoy.

Customer Reviews

Great for the Kids - and I quite like it too
I bought this for the kids (6 and 3 years old). It's one of those well known stories which has been superbly brought to life on DVD. I bought this DVD(along with a few others), because these titles are such a refreshing change to the Disney Classics and modern animated (although superb) Shreks of this current era. Somehow there is still no substitute for real children actors in real life settings when the performances are directed and produced as well as this. The kids watch at least one of these productions every week (I bought The Little Princess and Black Beauty at the same time). I recomend that you purchase these type of DVD for what they are - Greatly acted childrens stories from a seemingly never to come back age of innocence - brilliance at an affordable price.

The Secret Garden
"The Secret Garden" is a well-known and well adapted children's story taken from the original novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. In this version the well loved story gets the big screen treatment as it is splendidly tailored and produced into an excellent and very enjoyable film for the whole family.

There are two things that I think makes this film stand out. One is the wonderful performances of the child actors in it. None of them are the cute as button starlets we normally have presented to us, which normally sicken as much as entertain. But these are genuinely nice kids, which you can easily relate to, and therefore we're all the more hooked into their experiences and hang on their words and actions. The four young actors who stand out for special mention are Kate Maberly as Mary Lennox, the poor little rich orphan girl sent to live with her uncle, Heydon Prowse as the sickly Colin Craven, Mary's secret cousin, Laura Crossley as the kindly maid Martha who befriends Mary, and my personal favourite Andrew Knott as Dickon, Martha's brother and friend to all the animals.

The other reason is the simply superb performance by Maggie Smith. Always guaranteed to put in a good turn, she is simply miles above the other adult actors and really does give the film that extra little sparkle that really makes it stand out.

All in all, this is a fantastic piece of traditional children's storytelling, but what makes this really special, is the story for children will appeal to all ages, and in this time of crash, bang, wallop action, it's really great to get some decent "watch as a family" film treats.

A wonderful adaptation...
I enjoyed this adaptation very much. The book has been a favourite of mine ever since discovering it quite by accident at the age of ten, and the thing I liked best about this adaptation is that it does not jar with my memories of the book at all. The feeling of enjoyment and pleasure was almost the same. Those changes which are made are minimal, and the casting excellent. I would recommend this film to anyone who has ever loved the book.