Product Details

• Actors: Danielle Panabaker, Sherry Stringfield, Bill Oberst Jr., Sandra Van Natta
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 13, 2011
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00584A7MY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,903 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Author Beverly Lewis has made a lucrative career out of writing immersive novels about love and life in Amish country, near where she grew up in Pennsylvania. The Shunning, a TV film adaptation of one of Lewis's bestsellers, is a lovely, and loving, look at a different way of life--and how love and loyalty can tear at one's heart no matter where she lives, or comes from. Danielle Panabaker is dewy-cheeked and earnest as Katie, and recalls the young Kelly McGillis, who also played a young Amish woman in Witness. Young Katie, a devout Amish woman of 20, has always felt pulled in different directions despite her immersion in her small town's insular ways. She secretly sings "English" (non-Amish) songs and hides her beloved, and forbidden, guitar from her strict but loving parents. As The Shunning opens, Katie is set to wed the most eligible bachelor in her community--the new bishop. Yet Katie's heart hasn't gotten over her first love, Daniel (the adorable David Topp, seen in flashbacks). Daniel is presumed to have drowned three years earlier, yet his body was never found, which tugs at Katie's heart. If Daniel could still be alive, how can she truly give her heart to another? Then a real curveball lands in the small community. Sherry Stringfield (ER) plays Laura, a big-city woman on a mission to clear up some long-buried details from her own past. And to say that she's not welcome in the tight-knit Amish community is an understatement. Yet her news is tied with Katie's family and fate--and lives are upturned even as everyone fights desperately to do the right thing. The Shunning refers to the ultimate punishment among the Amish--someone who's committed an offense against the community may not be spoken to or looked at until true repentance is achieved. It's not revealing too much to say that it's Katie who becomes the target of this punishment. But the threads of drama surrounding the crisis--expertly directed by Michael Landon Jr.--keep the viewer, and most of the townspeople, guessing about the "whole story." The Shunning is a drama about people, connections, love, and loss, and it's told with respect and heart. Anyone who enjoys a good romantic drama, with a strong, yet vulnerable, heroine, should embrace The Shunning. --A.T. Hurley

Product Description

Katie Lapp (Danielle Panabaker) has always struggled with the rules that define her sheltered Amish community, but when a wealthy outsider (Sherry Stringfield, TV’s ER) begins asking questions about her family, Katie begins to wonder about her origins. What connection does this woman have to her life…and how will the unraveling secrets challenge Katie’s faith? Beverly Lewis’ The Shunning is a powerful, personal journey of discovery based on the famous novel by the New York Times bestselling author.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Super DVD! September 13, 2011

By Trinity Rose

Format:DVD

If you love books by Beverly Lewis you will love this movie made from her book The Shunning. This DVD is excellent and a must watch. The characters are very authentic and brilliant. You just feel like it is real, the characters and places feel very genuine.
I was pulled into the story and was enthralled with it. The story is very heart-warming while being heart-breaking at the same time.
You will be drawn into two different worlds, Amish and English.
Katie found out she was adopted as a baby. Her whole world seems to be falling apart. She loves singing and playing her guitar, but Amish frown upon musical instruments and will only allow singing from their hymn books. What will she choose, what will she do?
The actors/actresses in The Shunning are wonderful. They played their parts exceptionally well. You know how some Christian films really lack in the acting abilities! Well that isn't the case with The Shunning. The casting is just superb.
In this DVD you will find such love, goodness and tenderness that it is unbelievable. I love the way the Amish family wants to keep everyone close and keep them from going astray. I'm really glad to have this DVD and highly recommend it. Another DVD every person should have in their library.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The miracle's the life ya got, not what ya missed October 15, 2011

By Harold Wolf TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Poignant part-adaptation. The only way to get a complete book-to-film adaptation is via a series. 90 min of film requires only 50 novel pages. Thus the film is not identical but "based on" and I'll review the DVD--it's as gripping as the book. Beverly Lewis admits the stories are different, but both good, and Katie Lapp was based on Lewis' ancestor.

How can a young beautiful girl who lusts for songs and guitar music marry an Amish Bishop? Is music from the heart to please God? So many conflicts between the English & Amish ways to face. Katie discovers a family secret prior to her nuptials and sets out to sample the English city "sin-style". She makes a larger decision that shames family and she ultimately is shunned. Shunning is a ban on association with a fallen member of the Amish faith. A most severe discipline; as the church members see her turning from the faith.

Absolutely beautiful country scenic film; with rural NC playing the set of Hickory Hollow, Lancaster Co. Eye-catching Danielle Panabaker (Katie) & Sandra W. Van Natta (Mom) are excellent in playing these two emotional roles.
This beautiful setting host any human struggle of opposites. Politics, race, gender, rich/poor, generational, conflicts are not unlike that of the movie "The Help" (you must see it). In "The Shunning" it happens to be a chosen way of non-worldly lifestyle that creates conflict. "The Shunning" is associated with AFFIRMfilms who also connect with the Christian film hit "Courageous." Another must see!

DVD does have SDH subtitles. Bonus is 4 minutes of deleted.

I also enjoyed the role of Ella Mae Zook (Nancy Saunders) who has the line "The miracle ain't the life you missed, but it's the life you've got."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good January 7, 2012

By la_scribbler

Format:DVD

I say surprisingly because this is not normally the kind of movie I watch. I stumbled on it because I needed to do some research about the Amish. If Hallmark movies are not your thing either, it might take a while for you to get into the feel of the movie--which, for a viewer used to more edgy Hollywood fare, can seem wooden and at times deadly earnest. There's a bit of cheesiness here, especially in the first half. But then, slowly and surely, the movie builds real dramatic power. The scenes of the actual shunning of the title are heartbreaking, as is Panabaker's performance in the lead role. Her parents are also strong, and show nuances that move beyond Amish stereotype. There's nothing fancy in the direction, but the camera leans heavily on the expressiveness of the human face, a refreshing contrast to the quick cuts and fancy camerawork of so many movies these days. This is a story about things that matter, and a thoughtful look at the different ways God and the divine work in the world. The restrained ending is handled well, leaving Katie's future very much a mystery.