Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4454 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-03-12
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In adapting his own novel The Cider House Rules for the screen, John Irving sacrificed at least some of the depth and detail that made his humanitarian themes resonate, while the film--directed with Scandinavian sobriety by Lasse Hallström--is often vague about the complex issues (abortion, incest, responsibility) that lie at its core. Allowing for this ambiguity (which is arguably intentional), the film retains much of what made Irving's novel so admired, and like Hallström's earlier feature What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, it's blessed with a generous, forgiving spirit toward the mistakes, foibles, and desires of its many engaging characters.

Central to the story (set during World War II) is Homer (Tobey Maguire), a young man raised in a Maine orphanage, where the ether-sniffing Dr Larch (Michael Caine) rules with benevolent grace while performing safe but illegal abortions. To expand his horizons, Homer follows a young couple (Charlize Theron, Paul Rudd) to do fieldwork on an apple farm, where his innocent eyes are opened to the good and evil of the world--and to the realisation that not all rules are steadfast in all situations. By the time Homer returns to the orphanage, The Cider House Rules--which features one of Caine's finest performances--has run out of steam. The film ends up being memorable more for its many charming and insightful moments than for any lasting dramatic impact. Is Homer fated to come full circle in his kindhearted journey? It's left to the viewer to decide. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Video Description
DVD Special Features

The Making of an American Classic
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Commentary
2.35:1 widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1
English for the Hearing Impaired

From the studio
• The Making Of An American Classic

• Deleted Scenes

• TV Spots

• Commentary

• Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews

It could bring tears to a glass eye!
I didn't know what to expect when I went to see this film at the cinema. I'd never heard of Cider House Rules or even John Irving but this film is brilliant. The performances are also great. Tobey Maguire is perfect as the 'deep' Homer Wells and Michael Caine really does deserve is Best supporting actor award for Dr Larch. His last scene could have brought tears to a glass eye. This movie has a unique quality to it which teaches morals and how to live your life at the same time as being a very enjoyable story with top class characters and a brilliant score. Buy it now!!

Whose rules?
I suppose it is inevitable that, to fit a novel into a two-hour period, much of the detail and even significant parts of the story line must be left out. That is certain the case with The Cider House Rules. John Irving's novel had much more character development, naturally (as a book can always reveal the interior lives of characters much more fully than can any theatrical treatment), but I was a bit disappointed that significant plot developments (such as Homer's relationships away from St. Clouds) were left out. So, in this case, do read the book-you'll be glad you did.

That disclaimer having been made, I thought that the movie was very good. Michael Caine gave his usual wonderful performance, but I was never quite clear what accent he was trying to effect (being someone with a muddled accent myself, I am not really one to criticise on this point). The stories of the orphans of St. Clouds and the women who came for help in one way or another were very poignant. I was moved at the interplay between compassion and concern-the right to life/abortion debate (perhaps the central ideological pivot point in the novel and the movie) is presented in an interesting way, with just a small tendency to get preachy on one side or the other. To a large extent, this is never really resolved; while Homer in the end realises that in the adult world there are rarely black-and-white issues, but rather shades of gray, one does not know in the movie if he is really persuaded to his mentor's view.

The Cider House Rules (referring firstly to the notice tacked to the wall of one of the lodgings) serves as a metaphor for the entire film. Who made these rules? What do they really mean? What purpose do they serve? Can't we make our own rules? I found this metaphor personally meaningful, for, as a theology student, these are questions I ask and am asked on a routine basis. What authority do rules written by others have on me? on society?

This story is also one of vocation, of finding one's life's calling, a pursuit near to my heart as I prepare to enter the ministry. I find that my resistance to being pigeon-holed is similar to Homer's. He resisted the automatic assumption that he was a doctor, only to find in the course of his life that he was in fact called to be a doctor. Often when one tries to run away from a vocation, one runs into its arms in any case.

The different family situations (Rose and her father, the flyer and his, the orphanage) shows that family and community exist on many different levels. The interactions and easy acceptance of these situations is perhaps a bit of a stretch, but the interplay shows that the traditional nuclear family was more of an ideal than a realisation.

I loved the scenery, and the cinematography was very well done, but I have a slight irritation at the depiction of New England as being covered in fall-coloured foliage all year round. New Hampshire is one of my favourite holiday spots, and many is the time that I've been there that, lovely as it is, there was not a red-coloured or gold-coloured tree to be seen.

This story essentially is one about love for the unloved, the overall love for humanity, of one making one's way in a confusing world, and trying to protect the vulnerable while allowing them freedom to grow, and an infusing of a sense of worth in those whom the world would otherwise consider worthless, as exemplified in the good doctor's nightly bidding: `Good night, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.'

P.S. Watch for John Irving's cameo in the movie, too.

Stunning Adaptation of Book to Film
John Irving published his novel The Cider House Rules in 1985 to great critical and commercial acclaim. Centred on a Maine orphanage, its central topic of abortion perhaps is the most obvious allusion to the influence of Charles Dickens on Irving's work. The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire had already been filmed (Garp by the director George Roy Hill in 1982, and Hampshire by Tony Richardson in 1984), both to moderate success, but it wasn't until 1999 that Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom turned Rules into perhaps one of the best screen adaptations of a novel for some years.

The two main characters in "Rules" are Homer Wells, an orphan, and Dr Wilbur Larch, who's in charge of the orphanage where Homer grows up and has become a surrogate father to him. When Homer decides to leave the orphanage to experience the world, the film charts his progress from young boy to man amongst a diverse and fascinating series of encounters and characters. Memorable amongst these characters are Rose Rose, the daughter of a migrant worker at an apple orchard where Homer finds temporary employment; this story arc is the most gripping and to say any more would spoil it entirely! Other characters include Candy Kendall and her boyfriend Wally, who also work at the apple orchard; when Wally leaves to fight in World War 2, Homer and Candy embark on an affair that leads to an unexpected denouement.

The entire cast is exceptional and turn in some of the best work of their careers. Tobey Maguire is excellent as Homer, with a sense of innocence at first, and then gradually become worldly-wise as his life grows. As Dr Larch, Michael Caine won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, (thoroughly deserved) sporting a terrific New England accent, and his scenes with the orphans are some of the most moving I've ever seen. Mention should also be made of the supporting cast, especially Delroy Lindo as Rose Rose's father, and Charlize Theron as Candy. Lindo gives his part plenty of angst and unexpected poignancy at one stage, and Theron simply shines on screen.

On DVD, technically "Rules" cannot be faulted. Oliver Stapleton's lush cinematography bathes almost every scene in rich autumnal glows, seen to terrific effect in a near-flawless 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, and Rachel Portman contributes a wonderful score (often re-used for trailers) that sounds superb on the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, although the surrounds aren't used a lot except for the aforementioned music. Extras-wise, we get an audio commentary by Hallstrom, Irving, and producer Richard Gladstein, a 20-minute making-of featurette, 5 deleted scenes, the theatrical trailer and 15 (!) TV spots.

If I had to pick one film to take on to a desert island, at this point in time "Rules" would be it. I can't think of a better film I've ever seen, and that, as people who know me would testify, is certainly saying something! As a final note, John Irving won an Oscar for his script, and has a cameo role as the stationmaster in the film.