Heidi [DVD]

I love the story of Heidi, I am actually reading it (in the original German) to my mother and we are both enjoying it as much - if not more - than when we were little girls. The original story really does transcend generational barriers and is a charming story for all ages.However, this film is NOT the story of the book.The scenery is glorious. (Although if I were a pedant I might make more of a gripe about the fact that the delightful mountains are the Austrian mountains of East Tirol rather than Heidi's own Swiss Alps.). The acting is adequate on the whole, and for a few roles is actually rather good... ...And for these points I have awarded the two stars.The script is moderately good at times but in the main is poor, and has periods of being absolutely dire. Laughably bad in places.But for me the main reason to lower my rating is the mangling of the beautiful story.I can accept a few minor changes - and there are MANY minor changes , including: ....Heidi's father was called Tobias in the book, why alter his name?...The reason for the Grandfather's bitterness is more complicated in the book, and I can see that simplifying it made sense for a relatively short film.....and was there any need to kill off the old grandmother? (other than for mawkish sentimentality?!)Some changes are bigger - and really spoil the film for someone who loves the book...consider the characters, in particular of Klara and Dete which are changed beyond comprehension. Klara is a selfish whining brat and Dete is a money-grabbing schemer...neither of which comes from the novel! ...and Peter breaking the wheelchair is totally altered in the film..in the novel there is no hint of it being an accident!The finale is completely different. In the book Klara is healed by the good food, mountain air, simple healthy lifestyle of the mountains and by Oehi's (Grandfather's) gentle care.....but this is not good enough for the film. They found it necessary to create a garbled and rushed scene with Heidi falling off a cliff!Where the film gets things most wrong, however, is that it pretty much ignores the beautiful, simple Christian message of the book. The old blind Grandmother wants to have psalms read to her, for the comfort they can bring.... Heidi learned to read when taught by Klara's Grandmother , Frau Sesemann - and the book used was NOT a mountain fable as shown in the film, but a book of Bible stories....Frau Sesemann nurtures Heidi's infant faith and when she goes back home to Oehi (Grandfather) ,Heidi is instrumental in rebuilding his shattered faith, using the book she has been given - in particular the Prodigal Son.........None of this is in the film, instead there is a brief mention on a couple of occasions to Heidi 'wishing on a star' , and some bland reference (never really explained) about some mystic 'lady of the Mountain'.....the whole heart of the book is lost.The film is a bland, wishy-washy tale with stunning mountain views and some tolerable acting. What it is NOT is Heidi! Being very generous, I would accept the description 'Very loosely based on events from the book Heidi'!.

Beautiful story, filmed beautifully but it's a very long dvd so might not hold younger children interest.Arrived in good condition. Happy with it

I've loved the story of Heidi for most of my 40 years and have watched and enjoyed all the adaptations available. This one I watched and vomited up my own soul. It's truly awful. What really stuck for me was Klara and her father, who are incredibly selfish here. Rather than realising Heidi's unhappy and letting her return home, they simply send the sick, pining child home for a short visit until she's well enough to return to Frankfurt and Rottenmeier's sadism, so that Klara can still have her own way. The Sesemann's were good people in the story, horrified by the realisation of Heidi's unhappiness, but here they treat her as a possession, a plaything. Worse still, when it becomes clear during her visit home that she's happy there and doesn't want to go back, it's actually given to Klara to decide whether to release Heidi and let her remain, like she's giving up her favourite possession rather than putting her friend first. What makes Heidi's story so lovely is the true goodness in the people around her, which to some extent is drawn out or amplified by the sweet, honest nature of the girl herself. That just isn't here in this film and it feels cold. The characterisation is very one dimensional and even the presence of some very good actors can't elevate this out of the woodpile. There are several excellent adaptations of Heidi, but this isn't one of them.Some reviewers have mentioned scenes which may be unsuitable for children, but haven't stated which scenes or why. There is one scene at the beginning depicting the accident which kills Heidi's parents, we see them trying to huddle for safety in a storm in the forest, then we see a falling tree, and then we see her parent's lifeless limbs protruding from under the tree. We don't see blood, or the faces of the dead people. There are also a couple of scenes where Klara has an asthma attack, or some similar difficulty breathing, though she quickly recovers. These are the only scenes I can imagine being even slightly disturbing to a small child, I wouldn't think either were too scary for a child in my care but judge for yourself whether it's suitable for your child.

Quite a long movie of this famous story. When I noticed it in the listings, I just had to boy a copy. Much loved old book.

Dvd was the correct one andvit plays. Thanks

Excellent

Bought as a present, recipient loved it

I watched this film with my six year old granddaughter. Neither she nor I knew the story. However we both loved the film. A very heart warming story with beautiful scenery and photography. The only downside was that it was sometimes difficult to understand the accent of the main character Heidi.