The Secret Garden [DVD] [1993]

Arrived very quickly and in perfect condition!

It's actually a very good movie. The plot itself is quite slow-paced but the movie is made such that there is never an instant of boredom. It is not entirely true to the book however. It showed Mary's parents dying in an earthquake whereas the book said her parents died of cholera. It also made the governess look more evil and mean than was portrayed in the book. I can understand why they did that, because if they tried to present those parts to young children watching, the children might either lose interest in for example the part leading to the Manor's owner's final return - the original book spends quite a while elaborating on how the children spend their time in the Manor before the Manor's owner returns home for the final time...if that was completely played out in the movie, it can get very mundane and kids may lose interest during that.I can also see why the movie chose to show Mary's parents as having died from earthquake rather than cholera because cholera's main symptom is persistent watery diarrhoea - I doubt any movie would want to show how this actually looked like in real life because it is disgusting, so if they didn't show it like it really was, how are children going to know what cholera was and why it was so deadly??So all in all, my kids had their eyes glued to the screen from beginning to end, which is more than they would do for many of the 3D animated films available today, so I consider this movie a feat of genius from Francis Ford Coppola! It really was very cleverly made and kept my kids mystified and wanting to watch more to see how the plot progressed. The scenes were also really beautiful.

It is a classic! Beautiful movie that represents a classic piece of literature well.

A beautiful tale of friendship, growing up and making up for what is lost, I decided to get this film for a friend, and I think she likes it even if she had read the book on which this film is based beforehand. I personally love it as I used to have it on video, and a full colour book of it, so I kind of grew up knowing the story. It is all those things that make a good family film; fantastic actors (led by Dame Maggie Smith), brilliant scenery, a beautifully composed musical score and a thrilling plot. At some points it is funny, others sad or incredibly emotional, mysterious, and even a little spooky. Mary Lennox, a spoilt ten year old girl and daughter of a colonel and his wife leads an unhappy life in India, until all of a sudden she and all families connected with a calamity within India must leave the country. Thus she is entrusted to the care of her emotionally disturbed uncle, and in his household and the wild outdoors she begins to turn into someone beautiful. That is essentially the main plotline within the book, so even though there are a few things missed out, this film is just right, and a lovely little treasure to keep for all time.

Good

When I was little I broke the disk of this show, because I watched it too many times.I hadn’t seen it in years, so to find it on here was wonderful. It’s as good as I remember, and made me feel so nostalgic. Loved it!

Got this for the grandchildren as they had just finished reading the book it is a fine charming film much better than the latest one.

The Secret Garden is one of the most enduring stories of all time and will remain a firm favourite. This is a delightful DVD which has brought many hours of pleasure to our 9 year old already and more to come. She is totally absorbed by the characters portrayed in this movie and the child actors are so well cast, you can't help but be drawn into the story yourself. It has been watched so many times that we had to buy a second copy to give to one of her friends. We also bought an illustrated version of the book through Amazon UK and it is equally enthralling.