Product Details

• Actors: Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry
• Directors: John Huston
• Writers: Carol Sobieski, Harold Gray, Thomas Meehan
• Producers: Carol Sobieski, Joe Layton, Ray Stark
• Format: Special Edition, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 13, 2004
• Run Time: 127 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (675 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000VCZKM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #2 in Movies & TV > DVD > Musicals
  • #27 in Movies & TV > DVD > Kids & Family
• Learn more about "Annie (Special Anniversary Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Charmless and dull, this adaptation of the Broadway hit stars Aileen Quinn as the depression-era moppet, Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks, Carol Burnett as the cruel headmistress at an orphanage, and Tim Curry as a villain. The film never gets its legs, and there is no sense of setting; it's almost as if the whole thing is happening in a void. John Huston nominally directed--no doubt to make money between his smaller, cheaper masterpieces--but one would have thought he would invest something of himself in here. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Annie's hit debut on Broadway, we present the classic movie version of the beloved musical, now digitally remastered and featuring the original theatrical trailer. Annie is the story of a plucky, red-haired girl who dreams of life outside her dreary orphanage. One day, Annie (Aileen Quinn) is chosen to stay for one week with the famous billionaire "Daddy" Warbucks (Albert Finney). One week turns into many and the only person standing in the way of Annie's fun is Miss Hannigan, the gin-soaked ruler of the orphanage (played to hilarious perfection by Carol Burnett). Will Miss Hannigan's zany attempts to kidnap the irrepressible Annie succeed? Enjoy all the unforgettable songs, including "It's A Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

178 of 195 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Leapin' lizards! January 5, 2005

By M. Stoltenberg

Format:DVD

Well, I think this is a really swell movie. Albert Finney and Carol Burnett crack me up, Aileen Quinn is exactly what Annie should be, and Sandy is perfect.

But WHY OH WHY is this not being offered in a widescreen format? I have yet to see all of "It's a Hard Knock Life" and I know those girls are knocking themselves out offscreen. I've seen this movie on three different media. All were pan and scan, and all three showed different parts of the picture! The worst was a VHS release. (...)

I don't know which is more frustrating about this anniversary dvd, the fact that it doesn't offer widescreen, or the fact that the dvd menu and the special features show the movie clips in widescreen, teasing me with those brief glimpses.

There is no reason that dvd manufacturers shouldn't at least OFFER a widescreen version. Let's get with the 21st century already!

83 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best version because of the great cast September 26, 2004

By Kelli

Format:DVD

You cannot beat the cast in this movie. It has some of the greats, like Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Tim Curry. That is part of the reason why the Disney version could never compare to this one. Also, Aileen Quinn makes such a great Annie. She really looks spunky. She can look really sweet, but also tomboyish. She can look threatening, like all the times she raises her fists. The girl in the Disney "Annie" looks too sweet. She isn't as convincing when she tries to fight. If you want to watch Annie, this is the version to get.

81 of 94 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Still No Widescreen! July 1, 2005

By G. Hamson

Format:DVD

I can't help but wonder if ALL the widescreen prints of this movie were destroyed in a warehouse fire. Why would you bother to master another "Special Anniversary Edition" with a new DTS soundtrack and not include a Wide screen version? Especially with more and more widescreen TVs on the market. It is going to look pretty silly in a few years showing this pan and scanned musical on your widescreen TV. While not my favorite movie musical, I would still buy it if they ever have the sense to release it in it's original format! Until then...forget it!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Wake up COLUMBIA and smell the Widescreen Roses January 12, 2004

By A Customer

Format:DVD

Everyone else has already said it, what more can I add? How could you even think about remixing this wonderful soundtrack in 5.1 Dolby AND DTS and then pan & scan it??? Why not just mix it down to mono for pairing with 1.33:1. I have the laserdisc and I guess it's gonna stay that way. Sorry Columbia, you lost my $20 and a lot of others. Well, I guess you'll make up for it with all the mothers of 10 year olds.

54 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful new telling of the musical legend! November 2, 2000

By Byron Kolln HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase

Many people pass off ANNIE as a children's musical, when in actuality it has one of the most sophisticated scores and the book is of a higher standard than of many other shows. It still holds a record of something like the 8th or 9th longest running show on Broadway, and it is a delight among theatre-goers.

This new Disney version stays faithful to the stage score and script, not like John Huston's rambling version back in 1981 (refer to my review for this), and it is a delight to watch. It has that 'theatrical-style' feel to it.

The esteemed cast, the bulk of which are seasoned Broadway performers, include Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Alan Cumming as Rooster, Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, Kristin Chenoweth as Lily St Regis, Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks and the lovely Alicia Morton as Annie. Making a cameo in the 'NYC' number as ''Star To Be'' is (oh happy day) the original Broadway Annie - Andrea McArdle.

The cast is sensational, and while I will not bring down the 1981 performers of Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Ann Reinking, they are far more believable in their interpretations.

You must buy this new version of the Broadway smash ANNIE!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars FULL SCREEN ONLY DVD MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE! December 21, 2003

By Nix Pix

Format:DVD

"Annie" is the original movie based on the highly successful Broadway musical, based on the highly popular comic strip character - little orphan Annie. I'm going to refrain from reiterating the story herein, because I have already reviewed the previously issued DVD. Herein, I am taking the opportunity to lambast Columbia Home Video.
TRANSFER: IT'S NOT WIDESCREEN. Enough said! You can't squeeze a 2:35:1 aspect ratio image into a 1:33:1 t.v. screen so you get what film buffs, such as myself, have been screaming about for years - a chopped up version of the movie (affectionately known as pan and scan)that in no way captures either the scope of the image or the director's original intent. This short coming alone leads me to fail this DVD on all accounts. That the cropped image is quite often blurry, at times hopelessly out of focus, and truly a weak transfer for its color balancing, contrast and black levels, is inexcusable. I'd really like to know why Columbia decided to re-release this movie on DVD. Certainly, no updates to the image quality have been made and worse still - the film is missing 50% of its picture. Misguided doesn't even begin to sum up Columbia's blunders on this disc. Also, the audio remains the same strident mix as before. No audio clean up or noise reduction leads to dialogue sounding way too forward and unnatural, while the songs screech, rather than sing, across your speakers.
EXTRAS: Some, but not enough to make you forget that "Annie" is just about the most miserable looking DVD experience you've seen in a long while.
BOTTOM LINE: To Columbia executives: get a clue! Get a 'really big' clue. To the consumer - save your money!