The Secret Garden

Originally, I was captivated by the Maberly/Agnieszka version of this film. Forced to rate one over the other, I couldn't do it. Both are excellent. My greatest peave was in the denoument of this one. Despite a very rare slightly mechanical performance by Miss James, the movie/story remains supremely enjoyable. I have had so many joyful chuckles over some of Miss James' character's irrascible, and powerfully driven responses. "I'll put a SNAKE in their millet!" I deeply and thoroughly enjoy strong-willed but well-bahaved kids. This young lady's character is an absolute classic! Aside from her natural loveliness, Miss James knows what she's doing!!! The musc/soundtrack in this version is truly beautiful, supremely tasteful. The settings somehow, seem slightly more accurate, for some reason in this version. but, again, Agnieszka's scenes are breathtaking. This one somehow just seems to 'put you there' with some immediacy in THAT time.There is an interesting (and unfortunate!) conflict between this version, the novel, and the Kate Mabry story by Agneiszka Holland. It is a question easily resolved by reading the original novel. This version of the story fails to remain true to the original plot/story. In the original story Mary, and Colin are clearly stated to be first cousins. In the Mabry/Holland version, that point is expressly made. Yet in this version, there is no mention of a such a relationship, and that error creates a truly badly written, artificial, and uncomfortably phony conclusion to the story.Otherwise ... five stars !!!As to "Miss Mary" .... Genny James' "Miss Mary" is superbly delightful. I can't watch the film without breaking into hard laughter over her "recalcitrant", "vixen" portrayals of a defiant, resilient, head-strong, independent, proud, precocious ... and very delightful young lady. She could level a skyscraper with her defiant glares! Very enjoyable performance.The DVD arrived in store-bought condition ... totally perfect!! As brand new ... no scratches ... no damage, no skips etc. I did purchase a "used, like new" disc, for a few bucks more .... but the disc came as advertised ... like new.Finally, I have NO idea how the heck the writers/screen personnel expected to get by all the scripted referrals of "Miss Mary" as "plain" .. not pretty etc. It's a certain contradiction to reality!! .

I have been searching for this film for years! The DVD came in perfect condition, but somehow the copy I received still skips during one particular scene. It's not severe, so I ignore it. Speaking on the movie itself, I find that this is the best adaptation of the book. The acting is a bit hokey (the girl who plays Mary can't fake an English accent, so thankfully she doesn't try... but every once in a while you'll hear an almost Southern USA accent from her... It's a bit jarring). This version was filmed at Highclere Castle in Berkshire, which adds to the authentic feel of the story. The overall elegance of the cinematography captivated me as a child, and still as an adult. This story has also inspired a tattoo for me, taken from the line, "Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow." I will always love this movie, and will share it as much as I can. All of my nieces and nephews will know it, and if I have children of my own, they will, too.

This is in my opinion the best of the films made about this book. Of the movies I've seen this most closely follows the book, except that in the book Mary and Colin are cousins.Mary is a little English girl orphaned in India at around 10 years old after a cholera outbreak. She is sent to Yorkshire England to live with distant friends of her father and she has nobody there she knows or who cares about her. She is also a disagreeable child who has been raised by servants and does not know how to be nice.In Yorkshire Mary makes friends with the crusty old gardener and a local boy with a special gift for animals, and discovers that there is a secret garden, locked up since the mistress of the house died, several years before. Mary is driven by two goals - to find the key to the garden and claim it for herself, and to discover the mysterious crying that she hears in the house every night.This is actually a children's movie, as is the book, but it is one of my favorites. The theme music is a Chopin nocturne that in and of itself makes it enjoyable to listen to.

I also loved the movie when I was a kid, but back then it was more difficult to get copies of the movie unless you recorded it on your VCR at home when it came on TV.I enjoy this one much more than the more recently made movie. More drama, more story shared, before, during and after. The characters have much more depth and really shows much more the variation of the changes to each person as Mary changes.We just watched it yesterday and the music is excellent and the scenery and location was superb. Perhaps not a movies for very young children but any around 10-11 on up could handle the drama of it...My niece had not seen this version and she liked it much more and was more scared around that big old castle when Mary walked around in it at night searching for the mysterious source of what she heard.

The casting of Mary Lennox is spot on. While this was clearly made in the 80s, it is very true to the book. The setting on the English Moore, the Craven household, the cast of characters, all are spot on. They do take a bit of liberty at the end of the movie, no spoilers here, but I still highly recommend this movie as one of my favorite renditions of the classic novel the secret garden.

I remembered this film when first released by Hallmark in the ‘80’s. The actors, especially those depicting the children’s roles, were well played. The story line and the use of Highclere Castle as the location also adds to the pageantry of the film. Finally, the selection of One of Chopins’ nocturnes as the dominate musical theme makes this a true beauty of magical cinematography. Highly recommended.

I know it is an older movie but the quality was definitely lower. The recording looked hazy. I recall watching on VHS long ago and the quality was better so it’s not the film itself. Still, it was intact and watchable.