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Madeline by Daisy von Scherler Mayer
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DVD Cover InformationActor: Christopher Plummer, Frances McDormand, Nigel Hawthorne, Stevie Vallance, Tracey Lee Smythe Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer Brand: MCDORMAND,FRANCES Producer: Allyn Stewart Producer: Pancho Kohner Producer: Saul Cooper Writer: Jennifer Flackett Writer: Ludwig Bemelmans Writer: Malia Scotch Marmo Writer: Mark Levin DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Full Screen Picture Format: 1.85:1 Running Time: 89 minutes DVD Release Date: 1998-12-15 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Platform: Mac Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of MadelineMovie Review: Delightful! Summary: 5 Stars
I was a little apprehensive about watching this film since I had such fond memories of the book. And Frances McDormand as a nun... she who played in so many of the bloody Coen brothers movies?!
Not to worry! The whole film perfectly captured the magic and charm of the original. In fact I think it improved on it. And McDormand was wonderful as Ms. Clavell! She played her just right---proper and strict but warm hearted and funny, too. I loved her ride in the old Deux Chevaux with Genevieve, the Lab, beside her. It's a role that could have been terrible hammed up but FM was perfect. It's nice not to see nuns caricatured.
Hatty Jones was just right as Madeline, too. Having cringed at too many cutesy child performers I was wary about this, too. But, again, this Madeline was just the right mix of cute, spunky and smart....none of those qualities being overplayed.
The whole cast was terrific. I enjoyed the appearances of the various Ambassadors, from the Spanish one and his wife who lived next door to the ones from Liberia and Uzbekistan who were house shopping. Each one was just perfect. Great dog, too!
Last but not least was the amazing city of Paris! There were just enough beautiful shots of the city to add to the enjoyment of the film.
The director did a super job of presenting this material in a way that hit all the right tones. The story is really sort of silly but it's told in a way that totally lifts your heart into that place of childhood magic and innocence.
Summary of MadelineAdventures of Madeline, a Parisian schoolgirl with a mind of her own. Genre: Feature Film Family Rating: PG Release Date: 1-FEB-2005 Media Type: DVD The schoolgirl adventures of Madeline, a flame-haired orphan, are lovingly adapted from Ludwig Bemelmans's classic children's books. His sly and witty writing is transferred to this first-rate film, one that should not be thought of merely as childhood entertainment. Spunky Madeline is most adept at finding trouble. She is also a quick-witted and likable child who can solve almost any problem. Her latest scheme is to keep her school, which is also her home, from being sold by its owner, the recently widowed Lord Covington (Nigel Hawthorne). Unlike most youthful movie fare, this adventure boasts high production values that wisely include colorful Parisian locations. Hatty Jones is all spunky self-sufficiency and sweet innocence in the title role, and Frances McDormand is quite humorous as the stern school-mistress, Miss Clavel. --Rochelle O'Gorman
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