Heidi
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Movie Reviews of Heidi
Movie Review: Not Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is fine until it skips through part of "Sunday Bells" and then it jumps right to Heidi recving the letter from Clara. The reason I say it was only "fine" is it messes up on other details as well. I liked being able to share Chistmas with Heidi and Grandfather.Movie Review: Most like the novel
Summary: 4 Stars
I was looking for a DVD most closely related to the classic novel by Spyri. This is it! Other than some artistic cinematography the story is closely followed. I did not even miss Heidi's "curly brown hair".Movie Review: Family Film
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a wonderful family film. An 'oldie' but a 'goodie'.
Heidi has a wonderful impact on everyone she meets.
My 8 year old son, who has a passion for sports and all things 'boyish' LOVED it!
Movie Review: I Have Seen a Better Film, But This 'Heidi' Is Still a Decent One (with Emma Bolger from 'In America')
Summary: 3 Stars
Beloved tale of the little girl Heidi has been often filmed in the past, and probably the most popular one would be the 1937 `Heidi' film starring lovely Shirley Temple. Now another feature film comes from England, starring Emma Bolger (one of the cute sisters in `In America') as the Swiss girl.
I don't think this famous story needs introduction, but I may be wrong. Just in case you forget it, it is about an orphaned little girl Heidi (Emma Bolger). Heidi is sent to her grandfather `Uncle Alp' (Max von Sydow) who is living like a hermit up in the Alps with two goats. Her grandfather, whose dark past is vaguely suggested, is at first unwilling to welcome her, but no one can resist the charms of her outgoing personality.
The key characters are all there. You will meet Heidi's friend Peter and his blind grandmother, too. And you also remember the inimitable Rottenmeier (played by Geraldine Chaplin) and Clara (Jessica Claridge) and her wheelchair. Diana Rigg also appears as Clara's kind grandmamma. The cast is impressive, to be sure.
So we got what we want. We got the right cast (though you may not like the various accents from the cast), and a very good story from Johanna Spyri (as you know it). And fortunately they didn't change it very much. Plus the film is shot in beautiful countryside of Slovenia (on location) and West Wales (on soundstage). But to me, the entire film is slightly disappointing, lacking the weight or impact that the story as I remember it had given to me long time ago.
Perhaps that is because the film's script follows the original story too fast, omitting the quiet moments that should have made the characters more round. Clara's character and her friendship with Heidi, one of the most touching part of the story, are often overshadowed by awkwardly presented episodes (about the smuggled kittens that annoy poor Rottenmeier) that try to be funny. In fact, for all the film's decent production designs, `Heidi' sometimes looks as if made for TV (which it is not) because of its hurried and episodic storytelling.
Or perhaps the film touches the subject of children's growing-up and education for them too cursorily. Rottenmeier of this film sometimes looks like a theatrical villain (or villainess) from fairy tale, like a witch to be punished, and consequently the film seems to have failed to make a point about one of the most important themes of the original. Of course you don't have to preach - and thank God, `Heidi' is far from preachy, I can assure you - but it is also certain that while director Paul Marcus reminds us of Heidi's illiteracy more than once, the film itself curiously seems unaware of the importance of that.
Or perhaps ... well, let's stop now. The fact is, if her accent is not the most convincing, Emma Bolger still gives a very spirited performance as Heidi, which is pure delight to see. Thanks to her adorable Heidi and the good supports, `Heidi' is a decent (if flawed) family film.
Movie Review: Masterpiece Theatre or BBC- Please make a definitive version of Heidi !!!!
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this version hoping it would be the best version to date of Johanna Spyri's delightful and thought provoking book. It is not ! The dialog and feel of the film are rather modern and compromise the efforts of the actors/actresses.
The grandmother, played by Diana Rigg is excellent. Fraulein Rottenmeier, played by Geraldine Chaplin (whom I like otherwise), is overplayed and positively villainous. Clara's father is excellent and so is the Doctor. Clara was quite good, convincing and definitely in character.
The goatherd, besides being given ridiculous lines, is a poor actor. Aunt Dete was sulky and peevish, instead of self-centered and nasty. Unfortunately, Emma Bolger as Heidi disappoints. She is not well developed as a young actress. She does not convince one that she is young, innocent, and charming. Simply, she does not bring Heidi to life. It would help if her dialog were more convincing as well. Grandfather was bland, or shallow, one of the two. He was ok, or a little better than ok, that's all. His lack of dialog was not the reason for this. For proof, see the Grandfather in the Shirley Temple version. He says volumes, yet rarely opens his mouth.
Too much drama, not enough innocence and joie de vivre, and a soundtrack that is overdone (perhaps thinking of CD sales ?).