The Secret Garden [VHS]
by Agnieszka Holland
![The Secret Garden [VHS]](/images/The-Secret-Garden-VHS-0790720434-L.jpg)
![Buy The Secret Garden [VHS] at Amazon.com](/images/buy.gif)
(Click here)
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Product details
Actor: Andrew Knott, Heydon Prowse, Kate Maberly, Laura Crossley, Maggie SmithDirector: Agnieszka Holland
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Running Time: 102 minutes
Release Date: 1994-02-16
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video
VHS Movie Reviews of The Secret Garden [VHS]
Movie Review: best childrens movie ever
Summary: 5 Stars
I've watched this movie since I was very young. Once VHS was no longer an item in our house, I had to get it on DVD. I got it really quick from Amazon and I watch it every few weeks when I get an itch for a great story. Buy this for your little girl, she'll be hooked for life :)Movie Review: not just for children
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a charming version of The Secret Garden and much the best of the recent efforts. I still wish the 1940's film was available. I have fond memories of it. But this film will delight the young and remind the older of more innocent times.Movie Review: Contrast of the three adaptations.
Summary: 3 Stars
Below I compare and contrast the three color adaptations.
1. The 1975 adaptation BBC
This adaptation is very low budgeted, and it shows in the picture quality, which is painful even if you are used to BBC 4.3 aspect ratio films. This said, the film is quite good in every other way if loyalty in plot is important to you. For example, Mr. Archibald Craven, Ben W., Martha, Martha's mother, etc. are given larger roles in this adaptation than in the 1987 and 1993 adaptations. Furthermore, a considerably amount of the dialogue is taken directly from the novel. Therefore, this adaptation is much less 'sound bites' and allows for the development of Mary, Dickon, and Collin's characters.
The acting is also considerably better than the 1987 adaptation and better than the 1993 adaptation. [Unfortunately, with child actors of probably 10 or 11 years of age who have memorize a large amount of script, errors will be evident.]
Yet, the 1975 adaptation is the best adaptation in my opinion. It is neither too mystical (1993) nor too gothic (1987). I just is the story of a family and a garden that brings them together.
2. The 1987 adaptation Hallmark
Although I know many individuals despise this adaptation, I enjoyed it for a change. Yes, the acting is not perfect and the accents are horrible. Yes, the ending is pathetic and quite changed from the novel. Yes, Dickon (as an adult) dies in World War II. Yet, when one considers what the film was trying to achieve (i.e. change the theme from a children's story to a social critique of problems in society), it does an effective job. The film is a little too gothic (in the Victorian literature definition -i.e. 'ghosts' and long, dark corridors), yet I did not think the gothic harmed the story but rather created a sense of anticipation.
Again, if you want a loyal adaptation, I would urge the the 1975 adaptation. However, if you are tired of watching the 1975 adaptation and want to see a change, this 1987 adaptation is a better choice than the 1993 adaptation.
3. The 1993 adaptation Time Warner
I disliked this adaptation. My first problem was that Mary's parents were killed in an earthquake rather than a plague. (I am not certain what this proved?). Secondly, the mystical music was annoying as were the inappropriate accents - although of the two, I could tolerate the poor accents much more than the poor music.
Additionally, other scenes were also altered. For example, Mary finds the key to the garden in her deceased aunt's bedroom in the shut up wing of the Manor. In the 1975 adaptation (and I think the 1987 adaptation also), Mary finds the key buried with some help from a robin. However, the robin does show Mary where the door to the garden is located.
Unfortunately, the other problem I have with this film is that it is centered almost exclusively on Mary's character. Where the 1975 adaptation provides other characters (ex: Martha, Dr. Craven, Sir Archibald Craven, and Martha's mother have with numerous scenes in which Mary does not appear.) In the Warner adaptation, Mary is the focus of nearly every scene.
Also, Collin's character was considerably altered into less dictatorial that in the novel the other film adaptations. In fact, at times, Collin appears very childish and timid - terrified of dying and of Mrs. Medlock (rather than bossing Mrs. Medlock, his nurse, and everyone else around). Why Mrs. Medlock and the whole staff of of the Manor had to wear masks when around Collin, I have not a clue? (I forget if everyone wearing a mask was in the novel or not, but it makes no sense in this film adaptation.)
However, the film does have some positives. The Manor house is considerably larger than in the 1975 adaptation and larger than the 1987 adaptation, and therefore, it becomes more believable that Mary could have mistaken Collin's crying for the wind, rather than know outrightly that it was someone crying.
Movie Review: beautiful childhood film
Summary: 5 Stars
I've watched this video since it was on VHS and that was all that I knew, and besides it's poor quality and remembering where it had always skipped, the DVD quality was crisp and clean, and was much better, and it never dies! (unless you like running it over or playing hockey with it[scratch, scratch, shatter, shatter) A very enjoyable film, will watch again and again!Movie Review: The Secret Garden
Summary: 3 Stars
I was over charged for shipping I paid for an overnight delivery but it took over 7 days to get to my location. I want not able to use the video as a result. I will probably never use or recommend your service again. They is no direct phone contact so that problems can be solved. I send an e-mail requesing a phone call and it never happen. Eric Hart 508-776-5554
Summary of The Secret Garden [VHS]
Filmed before (and quite nicely) in 1949, Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story was remade for this admirable 1993 release, executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. Splendidly adapted by Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson, the film opens in India during the early 1900s, when young Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is orphaned and sent to England to live in Misselthwaite Manor, the gloomy estate of her brooding and melancholy uncle, Lord Craven (John Lynch). Because the uncle is almost always away on travels, struggling to forget the death of his beloved wife, Mary is left mostly alone to explore the estate. Eventually she befriends the young brother of a staff maid and Lord Craven's apparently crippled son, who has been needlessly bedridden for years. Together the three children restore a neglected garden on the estate grounds, and in doing so they set the stage for a moving reaffirmation of life and love. Filmed with graceful style and careful attention to the intelligence and cleverness of young children, The Secret Garden is that rarest breed of family film that transcends its own generic category, encouraging a sense of wonder and optimism to become a rewarding experience for viewers of any age. --Jeff ShannonFilmed before (and quite nicely) in 1949, Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story was remade for this admirable 1993 release, executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. Splendidly adapted by Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson, the film opens in India during the early 1900s, when young Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is orphaned and sent to England to live in Misselthwaite Manor, the gloomy estate of her brooding and melancholy uncle, Lord Craven (John Lynch). Because the uncle is almost always away on travels, struggling to forget the death of his beloved wife, Mary is left mostly alone to explore the estate. Eventually she befriends the young brother of a staff maid and Lord Craven's apparently crippled son, who has been needlessly bedridden for years. Together the three children restore a neglected garden on the estate grounds, and in doing so they set the stage for a moving reaffirmation of life and love. Filmed with graceful style and careful attention to the intelligence and cleverness of young children, The Secret Garden is that rarest breed of family film that transcends its own generic category, encouraging a sense of wonder and optimism to become a rewarding experience for viewers of any age. --Jeff Shannon
Childhood Drama Video
Video Genres
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Childhood Drama Video
![I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings [VHS] Image](/images/I-Know-Why-the-Caged-Bird-Sings-VHS-630016439X-X.jpg){kind=small}
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings [VHS]Live / Artisan; Release date: 1999-01-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $63.47
![Secret Garden (1987) [VHS] Image](/images/Secret-Garden-1987-VHS-1574922688-X.jpg){kind=small}
Secret Garden (1987) [VHS]Hallmark; Release date: 2002-05-21; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $4.29
Price in other shops:
![King of the Hill [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
King of the Hill [VHS]Universal Studios; Release date: 1995-01-17; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.99
![War of the Buttons (1994) [VHS] Image](/images/War-of-the-Buttons-1994-VHS-6303954294-X.jpg){kind=small}
War of the Buttons (1994) [VHS]Warner Home Video; Release date: 1998-09-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.50
![To Kill a Mockingbird (Widescreen) [VHS] Image](/images/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-Widescreen-VHS-0783222955-X.jpg){kind=small}
To Kill a Mockingbird (Widescreen) [VHS]Universal Studios; Release date: 1998-02-24; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
![Island of the Blue Dolphins [VHS] Image](/images/Island-of-the-Blue-Dolphins-VHS-6300184277-X.jpg){kind=small}
Island of the Blue Dolphins [VHS]Universal Studios; Release date: 1998-01-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $49.99
![Good-bye, My Lady [VHS] Image](/images/Good-bye-My-Lady-VHS-6302816599-X.jpg){kind=small}
Good-bye, My Lady [VHS]Warner Home Video; Release date: 1993-12-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $89.99
![Anne of Green Gables [VHS] Image](/images/Anne-of-Green-Gables-VHS-6300277089-X.jpg){kind=small}
Anne of Green Gables [VHS]Walt Disney Video; Release date: 1995-04-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.94
Price in other shops:
![The House Without A Christmas Tree [VHS] Image](/images/The-House-Without-A-Christmas-Tree-VHS-6302168414-X.jpg){kind=small}
The House Without A Christmas Tree [VHS]20th Century Fox; Release date: 1996-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops:
![Stone Fox [VHS] Image](/images/Stone-Fox-VHS-630236292X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Stone Fox [VHS]Republic Pictures; Release date: 1998-08-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $67.50
Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs
The Secret Gardenby Frances Hodgson Burnett
Candlewick; Published: 2008-02-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.59
Price in other shops:
The Secret Garden: Original Motion Picture SoundtrackRelease date: 1993-08-31; Music CD
Best price: $10.47
Price in other shops:
The Secret GardenRYKODISC; Release date: 2007-10-30; DVD
Best price: $2.42
Price in other shops:
The Secret of Roan InishSONY PICTURES HOME ENT; Release date: 2000-07-25; DVD
Best price: $5.19
Price in other shops:
The Secret Garden (1991 Original Broadway Cast)Sony; Release date: 1991-12-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.42
Price in other shops:
Little Women (Collector's Series)RYDER,WINONA; Release date: 2000-04-25; DVD
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops:
The Secret Garden (1975)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2005-07-12; DVD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Fairy Tale - A True StoryO'TOOLE,PETER; Release date: 2003-11-11; DVD
Best price: $5.36
Price in other shops:
Back to the Secret GardenBELLE,CAMILLA; Release date: 2002-04-23; DVD
Best price: $5.73
Price in other shops:
A Little PrincessBRON,ELEANOR; Release date: 1997-11-19; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops: