Product Details

• Actors: Angela Thorne, Jane Slaughter, Elizabeth Morgan, Sarah Prince, Barbara Lott
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Bfs Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302287693
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,017 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ballet Shoes, the movie adaptation of Noel Streatfield's classic story, traces the travails of a refreshingly functional if hardly traditional English family. There's Sylvia, the financially strapped lady of the house; her three benevolent boarders; Nana, the housekeeper; and, most important, the three orphaned girls in Sylvia's charge. When the household pulls together to secure the penniless but loaded-with-potential girls (Paulina, Petrova, and Posy) a scholarship at a rigorous, no-wimps-allowed arts academy, the girls' natural proclivities fast emerge: Posy's a gifted dancer, Paulina's a precocious actress, and Petrova has a way with engines. All three share boundless ambition and, early on, vow "to get our names in the history books without the help of relatives." Close to two hours of triumphs, tough knocks, and tantrums follow; Petrova gets discouraged, Paulina gets too big for her britches, and Posy gets the rug pulled out from under her when her masterful teacher is hospitalized. Through it all, Sylvia, Nana, and the others unselfishly cheerlead, but then the girls' road to greatness comes dangerously close to unraveling. Sylvia, no longer able to afford school necessities, may need to sell the house. Naturally, she doesn't--just in time, a plum deal plops in the girls' laps. This tidy, overlong movie ought to be sewn up then, but instead, true to the tale, it tacks on a happy, hopeful ending for all. Ballet Shoes is best suited to starry-eyed 9-year-olds and parents who wish to keep their kids' pulses low. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the rest?!!, February 7, 2005

By 

Diane M. O'Keefe - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ballet Shoes (DVD)

I loved this program when it ran on PBS in the 1980s. This DVD is incomplete. It is missing about a half an hour of the original material that was shown at that time. I would love to have a DVD of the COMPLETE version of this program but I am very disappointed in this shortened version.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a charming adaptation of Noel Streatfield's classic., January 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ballet Shoes [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Parents: this is a beautifully made version of the book. The three girls are enchanting, and real role models for all little girls everywhere. One is an actress, the other a dancer, and the third learns Morse Code and dreams of flying planes. There's something for everyone. We enjoyed watching it with our daughter.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stuffy and underdone, but if you like the book...., January 1, 2004

By 

Maxfilm (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ballet Shoes (DVD)

The book Ballet Shoes was a charming novel written nearly seventy years ago that ended up having a wide appeal...certainly, my entire family, children and parents, dancers and non-dancers, could greatly enjoy the tale of three adopted sisters' various paths to stardom and self-fulfillment. This DVD features a very stuffy, Masterpiece Theater style adaptation of the book that does a terrific job casting the sisters, but otherwise does a rather half-baked job presenting the story, despite having a very long (and it *feels* long) 120 minutes to do the job.

The cinematography, such as it is, largely alternates between static and harshly lit close-ups of various actors emoting, and wide shots of dance and theater rehearsals that are annoyingly cramped and frequently cut off dancers' feet. The transitions between scenes are abrupt when they exist at all, and the adaptation of the book is particularly clumsy in the way it elaborates on certain areas (the rehearsals leading up to Pauline's and Petrova's first play, for example, and all sorts of backstage drama) while inexplicably omitting other areas that are just as crucial to establishing story and mood (such as the actual theater performances and dance numbers).

The actors on the whole are reasonable given what they have to work with, though apart from the girls, they don't have much of a chance to develop beyond stock types, and the production does them no favors. A big part of the book's charm was its combination of real-world mood (early twentieth century London locations and the dress and customs of the period) and a distinct fairy-tale like quality (three girls named Fossil with big dreams and their great-Uncle Matthew aka "Gum")...my daughters were truly taken with the book. The video establishes some old world detail, but the fairy tale quality seems mostly lost in the bare bones production, so anyone who's not familiar with the book will not only be lost (given all the weird ommissions and non-existent transitions), but wonder what the fuss is about.

The DVD *is* mildly enjoyable as a companion to the book, but by the second hour, it moves at an increasingly glacial pace, and by the end, my girls were wondering when it was going to end. I would still recommend (with qualifications) this disc if you are a big fan of the book, as there are some very enjoyable scenes which may replay your favorite parts....this is somewhat akin to acquiring a bootleg tape of your favorite band's concert, complete with bad sound and drunken interludes. Keep your expectations very low, though...and if you haven't read the book, make that a priority instead!