Samantha - An American Girl Holiday

This is the best American Girl movie!

Very nicely written, acted, and directed with excellent settings. It may be aimed at girls 6-16 or so.It's about a girl in New York City (NYC) about 1900. She makes friends with an immigrant family from Ireland with three girls. The mother had died, and soon the father dies and the girls end up in an ophanage in NYC. The movie is based on strong versions of the norm common in US girls to help others in need, and the three immigrant girls need a lot of help.There is a LOT of US 'social history' in the movie: The main girl is from a moderately wealthy family. Via that family and others get to see some strong and bitter 'social stratification'. So, see a lot of how such girls lived. She has an uncle with a good paying job although we get no details. He meets a woman, and there is a Victorian style wedding -- really elaborate. There is a lot on women voting and getting rid of the "old ways". There is a lot on sweat shop factories, unsafe child labor, and abusive orphanages. Then can see the role of some wealthy people working, e.g., as members of a board of directors, to solve some of the social problems. Get to see what a private girl's school was like. And there is the best performance of the Bach C major prelude I have ever heard, better than any I found on YouTube. The performer uses a lot of piano pedal and keeps careful continuity through all the chord and key changes and to the climax and ending. My guess is that girls will like it although not all girls 6-16 will get the hints at the social and economic history.

I love America girl movies this one will not disappoint

Loved this! Watched it with my granddaughter who paid attention through the whole movie! It taught her lessons on the upper and lower classes in early America, compassion, sharing, helping the less fortunate and taking responsibility among others.

We first saw this when it debuted on tv. After sitting through the entire movie and being entranced by it, my girls actually imitated the politeness of Samantha and the other girls. They answered "Yes, Ma'am" or "No Ma'am". It was so refreshing to see a movie for the kids that was fun for them to watch and taught them some history about that time period. When it was first released on DVD, I bought it. My girls still love watching it. Recently, we picked up the 6 book set of Samantha books. They are anxious to get started on the books since they already know the characters. Had I been introduced to the American Girls Series as a kid, I would have definitely had an interest in learning History/Social Studies. But since I'll be reading the books to my girls, I guess it's never too late to learn....

I'd never heard of "American Girl Dolls" until accompanying two grand-daughters aged 5 and 6 to the "doll house" in Water Tower Place (Chicago), where I was greeted by two floors of the latest "must-have" toy (personally, I prefer Barbie). Brunettes, blondes, dolls with and without glasses, dolls in wheel-chairs, injured cheerleader dolls with broken legs in splints--they're all here. And of course there's a doll hospital (glancing at the rates was enough to make me wonder about Medicare or a similar back-up plan for dolls) and hair stylist (charging three times more than my barber). Soon the color pink began to overwhelm all other colors, making it difficult not only to distinguish among dolls but to separate the doll's diner from the doll's dressing room (though expect to break the monotony of pink with a generous amount of green when it comes time to pay up).I was about to purchase the video "Samantha" as a gift to grand-daughter Samantha and her doll Samantha--perhaps a way to intensify and prolong the experience. I'm glad I waited. Amazon's price for the video is half the sticker price at American Girl Store. [I said "was." Suddenly Amazon's price is only 10-15% lower than the store's.] But it's also a fairly impressive movie--just under 90 minutes, decent production values (recreating the two main classes of late Victorian society), an exceptional print (Blu Ray, richly saturated deep colors, carefully composed shots), exceptional performances (the child actress playing Samantha is a natural and even Mia Farrow is no less attractive for finally looking her age).The plot is simple, raising more questions than it answers, but the sentiment works, thanks to the Dickensian tone, which distances us enough from the subject to avoid blatant, patronizing melodrama. Still, an attempt to criticize employers who will stop at nothing (including the unconscionable exploitation of children in factories operating on the backs of orphans) misses the mark. Far more effective is the representation of a romantic couple not so preoccupied with their infatuation for each other and personal plans for creation of their own nuclear family to open not merely their pocketbooks but their hearts and home to three orphaned children. No matter that the orphanage is still not lacking for residents: the magnanimous gesture of the newly-married couple is an act of love that remains with the viewer because it goes "all the way," serving as a reminder that every child deserves a loving family.The ties that bind the human family go beyond mere blood, religious (or political) affiliations, ethnicity, race, and even social status and wealth (though it's clear that the adopting, newly-married couple of the movie are sufficiently financed to start out as a quintet rather than a couple). No one likes abortion, but a story as simple as this makes the point that human selfishness that "kills" the spirit of living children is even more despicable.

Great movie. Great to show kids about different times. I ordered this movie before I surprised my nieces with a Samantha and Nellie American girl doll. We learned about times before women could vote, we learned about orphanages, we learned about servants and how kids had to work if they were poor. We learned about many interesting topics and after the movie we donated to foster kids for Christmas.

I have seen this American Girl movie on several occasions. I find the story and cinematography to be very good. What a wonderful opportunity to see into the lives of youngsters at this time in history.I recently purchased this video to share with my 8 year old daughters third grade class. They were going to visit the Governor's Mansion on a field trip. This is a wonderful victorian home. Rather than just seeing it as is today, I wanted them to see the video to get an idea of life in the early 1900"s. i also wanted them to understand the problems that children and society had at that time. This movie clearly shows people dealing with issues like Womens Sufferage, Child labor, and the lack of mandatory education.Good movie and good educational film

Such a cute movie that our family enjoyed watching together! Shipping was fast and easy!

国内盤が発売されていないため、再生に不安があったが、この輸入盤を購入した。登録情報はリージョンコード1となっているが、リージョンフリーのようだ。我が家の機器は全て(ブルーレイレコーダー、ノートパソコン2台)で再生できた。　WOWOWで放映時に「サマンサの休日」となったようだが、原題を強いて訳せば「アメリカ少女の休日:サマンサの場合」とでもなろうか。1904年の春からクリスマスまでの約10ヶ月を描いている。テレビ映画だが、アナソフィア・ロブが11歳の時の初主演作品。翌年の｢きいてほしいの、あたしのこと〈特別編〉-ウィン・ディキシーのいた夏 [DVD]｣のオパール役よりも大人びて見える。ブラウンのロングヘヤーだからだろうか？　10歳前後の子供達が主役の作品は、難しい単語も少なく会話も比較的短めで、大人も丁寧に話し、英語のリスニングに最適。ただし、私は英検準2級相当の実力だが、残念ながら英語音声だけでは、会話のスピードも意外と速く、リエゾンなどで単語同士がつながり、音がかなり変化しているので、知っている単語でも2割ほどしか理解できない。英語字幕付きで見ると、少なくとも7割程度は理解できるようになる。　評価の星4つは、洋盤なので。作品そのものは星5つ。

thank you for my order all the best mr mb mills

This is a lovely movie. My grandaughter and I have watched it several times and both enjoy it. It arrived promptly, well within the time promised.

My daughter loves these movies