Children's Fantasy: 4 Film Favorites [2 Discs]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The Neverending Story The Witches The Secret Garden Five Children & It

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Pan and Scan
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)

AWARDS

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1993 (Maggie Smith)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actress - 1989 (Anjelica Huston)

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Actress - 1989 (Anjelica Huston)

• Toronto International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2004

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Anjelica Huston - Mrs. Ernst/ Grand High Witch
       Barret Oliver - Bastian
       Andrew Knott - Dickon
       Maggie Smith - Mrs. Medlock
       Bill Paterson - Mr. Jenkins
       Alexander Pownall
       Gerald McRaney - Bastian's Father
       Deep Roy - Teeny Weeny
       Poppy Rogers
       Alec Muggleton
       Zak Muggleton
       Alan Oppenheimer - Falkor

• Director:

  Wolfgang Petersen, Nicolas Roeg, Agnieszka Holland, John Stephenson

• Producer:

  Mark Damon, Bernd Eichinger, Dieter Geissler, Günter Rohrbach, Mark Shivas, Dusty Symonds, Fred Fuchs, Tom Luddy, Fred Roos, Samuel Hadida, Lisa Henson, Nick Hirschkorn

• Dialogue Writer:

  Robert Easton

• Screenwriter:

  Wolfgang Petersen, Herman Weigel

• Book Author:

  Michael Ende

• Screenwriter:

  Allan Scott, Menno Meyjes, Caroline Thompson, Susan Martin

• Book Author:

  Frances Hodgson Burnett, E. Nesbit

• Screenwriter:

  David Solomons

• Cinematographer:

  Jost Vacano, Herman Weigel, Harvey Harrison, Roger Deakins, Mike Brewster

• Composer (Music Score):

  Klaus Doldinger

• Songwriter:

  Keith Forsey

• Composer (Music Score):

  Giorgio Moroder

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Milan Bor

• Composer (Music Score):

  Stanley Myers

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Christopher Palmer

• Composer (Music Score):

  Zbigniew Preisner, Jane Antonia Cornish

• Editor:

  Jane Seitz, Tony Lawson, Isabelle Lorente, Colin Green

• Production Designer:

  Rolf Zehetbauer, Andrew Sanders, Stuart Craig, Roy Button, Roger Hall

• Art Director:

  Herbert Strabel, Götz Weidner, Norman Dorme, John King, Peter Russell, John Ralph, Eddie Anders

• Associate Producer:

  Klaus Kahler, Caroline Thompson

• Executive Producer:

  Mark Damon, Robert Gordon Edwards, John W. Hyde, Jim Henson, Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Barclay, Sharon Harel, Hannah Leader, Victor Hadida, Robert Jones, James D. Stern, Kristine Belson, Steve Christian

• Set Designer:

  Rolf Zehetbauer, Robin Tarsnane, Stephenie McMillan

• Costume Designer:

  Diemut Remy, Marit Allen

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Milan Bor, Drew Kunin, Simon Okin, Lionel Steketee

• Makeup:

  Colin Arthur, Christine Beveridge, Jenny Shircore

• Special Effects:

  Brian Johnson, Nigel Booth, Jim Henson, Steve Norrington, John Stephenson, John Evans

• First Assistant Director:

  Don French, David Brown

• Animator:

  Steve Archer

• Stunts:

  Tony Smart

• Production Manager:

  Harry Nap

• Sound Mixer:

  Chris Price

• Second Unit Camera:

  Franz Rath

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Tony Smart

• Short Story Author:

  Roald Dahl

• Creature Effects:

  Jim Henson's Creature Shop

REVIEWS:

• An epic fantasy that combines live action, puppetry, and animatronics, The Neverending Story delivers the goods as a mythical journey for kids. While failing to address a lot of material in the source novel of the same name by Michael Ende, the film version still manages a tense, dangerous adventure story filled with wonder. As the first English-language film for Wolfgang Petersen (director of Das Boot and In the Line of Fire), there seems to be both a sense of typical Spielberg suburban morality as well as deeper explorations into darker themes. The narrative structure makes no attempt to hide the underlying literacy message, as the bookend device of having Bastian (Barret Oliver) read the ancient story line certainly is a positive endorsement for getting kids to read more books and use their imagination. The synth-heavy soundtrack and quality of the special effects sticks this old-fashioned tale firmly in the '80s, making for a good nostalgia piece. The Neverending Story would be followed by two lesser sequels lacking the skilled direction of Wolfgang Petersen. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
• Most scary children's films are frightening in a conventional, highly confrontational manner. The Witches has these kind of moments, but it also has moments that are scary in a more subtle, sinister and disturbing manner, such as the sequence involving the child who disappeared into a painting. Nicolas Roeg has done an admirable job of keeping the macabre atmosphere of Roald Dahl's original book, softening it only by replacing the impressively mature ending of the original with a more directly happy (and therefore weaker) conclusion. He also creates a surreal visual quality for the film, aided greatly by Jim Henson's clever animatronic designs for the witches and mice. The cast is uniformly excellent. The coldly imposing Anjelica Huston is a fierce and determined Grand High Witch, creating one of the most memorable and delightfully frightening villainesses in the history of children's cinema. Mai Zetterling is her perfect foil, capturing both the charm of the grandmother and her hidden formidableness. Jasen Fisher never hits a false note, and Jane Horrocks and Brenda Blethyn turn in valuable support. Inventive, entertaining and sprightly paced, Witches was initially a disappointment at the box office but has achieved a greater following in the years since. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
• This dark, disturbing version of a classic family story was directed with great delicacy by Agnieszka Holland. The novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett was first made into a film in 1949, starring Margaret O'Brien. Four decades later, renewed interest in the story prompted two made-for-television films, one in Britain and one in the United States; a Broadway musical; and this 1993 remake. Young Kate Maberly has the central role as an orphan girl sent to live in the creepy mansion of her reclusive uncle, in which a sensitive, disabled cousin resides. This joint British-American production also features veteran actors Maggie Smith and John Lynch. Movie magic provides a redeeming ending when the secret garden blooms; but much of the film can be frightening for younger children. Holland's work is mature, faithful to the original, and unusually challenging for "family" fare. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi