The Secret Garden

Originally, I was captivated by the Maberly/Agnieszka version of this film. Forced to rate one over the other, I couldn't do it. Both are excellent. My greatest peave was in the denoument of this one. Despite a very rare slightly mechanical performance by Miss James, the movie/story remains supremely enjoyable. I have had so many joyful chuckles over some of Miss James' character's irrascible, and powerfully driven responses. "I'll put a SNAKE in their millet!" I deeply and thoroughly enjoy strong-willed but well-bahaved kids. This young lady's character is an absolute classic! Aside from her natural loveliness, Miss James knows what she's doing!!! The musc/soundtrack in this version is truly beautiful, supremely tasteful. The settings somehow, seem slightly more accurate, for some reason in this version. but, again, Agnieszka's scenes are breathtaking. This one somehow just seems to 'put you there' with some immediacy in THAT time. There is an interesting (and unfortunate!) conflict between this version, the novel, and the Kate Mabry story by Agneiszka Holland. It is a question easily resolved by reading the original novel. This version of the story fails to remain true to the original plot/story. In the original story Mary, and Colin are clearly stated to be first cousins. In the Mabry/Holland version, that point is expressly made. Yet in this version, there is no mention of a such a relationship, and that error creates a truly badly written, artificial, and uncomfortably phony conclusion to the story. Otherwise ... five stars !!! As to "Miss Mary" .... Genny James' "Miss Mary" is superbly delightful. I can't watch the film without breaking into hard laughter over her "recalcitrant", "vixen" portrayals of a defiant, resilient, head-strong, independent, proud, precocious ... and very delightful young lady. She could level a skyscraper with her defiant glares! Very enjoyable performance. The DVD arrived in store-bought condition ... totally perfect!! As brand new ... no scratches ... no damage, no skips etc. I did purchase a "used, like new" disc, for a few bucks more .... but the disc came as advertised ... like new. Finally, I have NO idea how the heck the writers/screen personnel expected to get by all the scripted referrals of "Miss Mary" as "plain" .. not pretty etc. It's a certain contradiction to reality!! .

I have been searching for this film for years! The DVD came in perfect condition, but somehow the copy I received still skips during one particular scene. It's not severe, so I ignore it. Speaking on the movie itself, I find that this is the best adaptation of the book. The acting is a bit hokey (the girl who plays Mary can't fake an English accent, so thankfully she doesn't try... but every once in a while you'll hear an almost Southern USA accent from her... It's a bit jarring). This version was filmed at Highclere Castle in Berkshire, which adds to the authentic feel of the story. The overall elegance of the cinematography captivated me as a child, and still as an adult. This story has also inspired a tattoo for me, taken from the line, "Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow." I will always love this movie, and will share it as much as I can. All of my nieces and nephews will know it, and if I have children of my own, they will, too.

This is in my opinion the best of the films made about this book. Of the movies I've seen this most closely follows the book, except that in the book Mary and Colin are cousins. Mary is a little English girl orphaned in India at around 10 years old after a cholera outbreak. She is sent to Yorkshire England to live with distant friends of her father and she has nobody there she knows or who cares about her. She is also a disagreeable child who has been raised by servants and does not know how to be nice. In Yorkshire Mary makes friends with the crusty old gardener and a local boy with a special gift for animals, and discovers that there is a secret garden, locked up since the mistress of the house died, several years before. Mary is driven by two goals - to find the key to the garden and claim it for herself, and to discover the mysterious crying that she hears in the house every night. This is actually a children's movie, as is the book, but it is one of my favorites. The theme music is a Chopin nocturne that in and of itself makes it enjoyable to listen to.

The casting of Mary Lennox is spot on. While this was clearly made in the 80s, it is very true to the book. The setting on the English Moore, the Craven household, the cast of characters, all are spot on. They do take a bit of liberty at the end of the movie, no spoilers here, but I still highly recommend this movie as one of my favorite renditions of the classic novel the secret garden.

Had forgotten about this version for a while (I'd loved it as a kid). Tried to find it in resale stores, but no luck--they only had the 1993 version. Very happy that Amazon had this so that I can again enjoy a much loved childhood movie. Only negative that I've found so far is that the screen image isn't formatted for the widescreen TVs that most people have nowadays, but is instead the more standard box screen shape. So there are black areas to the left and right of the movie as it plays. Not too detracting, but I did notice it a time or two. A young, spoiled girl, Mary Lennox, is sent from India to England after the deaths of her parents in a plague, to live with an elderly relative/family friend, Mr. Craven. Mary soon finds herself in the midst of several mysteries: who (or what) is making the moaning sounds that echo through the massive old mansion, and how can she find and get into a mysterious locked garden rumored to exist somewhere on the grounds of the property? As Mary solves both mysteries, she begins to change into a more compassionate and caring person. I think the actors all did a fine job, and the scenery and music really fit the story. Love the bit of a younger Colin Firth (playing the adult Colin Craven) at the end.

This a wonderful movie. It is the only movie version of the secret garden I've ever seen but I still enjoy watching it very much. Two comments I would like to make about the film are as follows. I have always wished the amazing score for the film which was composed by John Cameron had been released on CD. I would snatch it up in a heartbeat. The other thing I would like to point out is that the castle that was used as Missalthwaite(I'm not sure how you spell that)Manor is the same castle that is used in the TV show Downton Abbey which is also totally amazing for those of you that are interested. It's actual name is Highclere Castle. If you watch them both it's cool to notice the same parts of Highclere Castle(both inside and outside) in both shows.

il faut connaitre le syndrome de Polynia pour comprendre le film, j'ai la version plus basé sur le rapport des 2 cousins et le jardin, celle-ci est plus large dans l'histoire, c'est une autre interprétation de l'histoire, mais c'est en anglais

Pleasant enough version of the classic story of a little girl who brings life back to a moribund father and son, expressed symbolically in the form of the neglected garden. 'Jane Eyre' provided author Burnett with the template for her story, with Colin taking the place of the mad wife locked in the attic and so on. There are two main changes: A clumsy bit of exposition tries to account for why Mary is staying with a family friend rather than a relative (her uncle in the original story), so that Mary and Colin can marry at the end of the film in a completely unnecessary attempt at infusing the story with an adult romance, and Mary is evidently from Texas, judging from her accent, a detail I don't recall from the book.

I loved the book, and for my taste, this version of it in film is the best one.

Order arrived quickly. The movie is just as we remember it.