The Secret Garden | | Cast : | Kate Maberly, Maggie Smith | | Director : | Agnieszka Holland | | Studio : | Warner Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Black & White | | Released Date : | August 13, 1993 | | DVD Released Date : | January 01, 2000 | | Language : | Spanish (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | G (General Audience) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | Superb! | Content
 | The Secret Garden is a beautiful movie! Absolutely stunning and the little girl who played Mary was superb, one of the better child actors I have seen in any movie and I highly recommend this movie! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 06, 2005 | | Summary | The Reason for a Garden | Content
| This is a well made movie. I watched it years ago and have recently watched it again. It is something worth sharing with your children. I will not drag on about the story line or all the reasons it was great. When you watch it you will understand that I didn't want to spoil it. Even adults can enjoy it. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 17, 2005 | | Summary | AHHH!! | Content
| this book stunk 2 death!! i hated it i cant believe my teacher made me read it!! dont waste your time on it! i gave it 2 stars cuz im bein nice today |
| Rating | | | Date | March 15, 2005 | | Summary | Visually stunning! Beautiful in every way! | Content
| I had never seen any versions of 'The Secret Garden,' nor had I read the original book by Frances H. Burnett, but it did appeal to me, that's why when I ran into it at my local video store, I couldn't help myself from buying it, I payed $4.99 for it and I quickly realized what a bargain that was. This movie was worth every penny, absolutely gorgeous.
This is one of those films, aimed mainly at children, that the whole family can enjoy, both the young and old. The story centers around Mary Lennox, recently orphaned, sent to live with her uncle at an old manor, surrounded by a gloomy and foggy moor. At first, Mary doesn't seem to enjoy it, not because she misses her neglective parents, but because she is lonely and longs for someone to play with. At the manor, she must live with the mean Mrs. Medlock, whom she dislikes, however, Mary soon makes friends with Martha, her younger brother Dickon and a young ill boy named Colin, who is Mary's cousin.
Mary discovers many secrets, as why Colin is always kept in a lonely bed and why her uncle is so down and depressed, but the biggest secret she finds is the entrance to an old garden, which she and her new friend Dickon help bring to life.
This movie, as I have already stated, is beautifully filmed, with lots of beautiful landscapes and settings and the most breathtaking melodies ever, many following the tone of the closing song "Winter Light." The actors portray their characters wonderfully. The film doesn't particularly have much humor, most of the comic relief here is given by Martha, in a way she is a funny character, this is a good thing for the film not to have much humor, it adds to it's 'gloomy' beauty.
This movie inspired me to read the book, at first I had a bit of trouble understanding what was going on, both in the book and in the film, I especially had a bit of trouble understanding the Yorkshire accents of some of the characters, but after repeated viewings, I began to understand better. I would recommend this film to anyone, if you get a chance, get the soundtrack as well, as the music is one of the stronger points of the film. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 08, 2005 | | Summary | I Loved this Movie! Now I Have to Read the Book! | Content
| The Secret Garden movie is adapted from a book of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I didn't read the book but I had seen some of this 1993 movie adaptaion of The Secret Garden on TV though I had missed the beginning and I liked what I saw so much I bought the DVD which presents the movie in both anamorphic widescreen and Pan and scan fullscreen and I really liked watching it in widescreen. This is a very lovely movie and I thought the whole cast was great, Kate Maberly, Maggie Smith, etc and I have to say that I liked every scene, including the chanting scene around the bonfire that has gotten some flack from conservative Christian reviewers. I'm a Christian too and I was not offended by that scene at all and I just thought it was a fun, scene that really added to the magical feeling of the garden and represented a different culture and I don't think there was anything scary about it at all and I also have noticed reviewers saying that Maggie Smith's characher Mrs. Medlock was evil, she wasn't evil, she was just a control freak who truly thought she was doing what was best for Colin. Yes she went overboard with how she treated Colin and Mary but I Think she really cared about Colin and didn't realize that she was being mean with all of her controlling ways. It was another movie version of The Secret Garden that depicted Mrs. Medlock as being a nasty uncaring person with no redeeming qualities but not having read the book I don't know what the character is like in the book. This is a great movie and I highly recommend the DVD! Btw: I have never read the book but this movie has made me want to read it and I will definitely be buying it! |
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