59 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
moving & tragic 70's tear jerker, July 20, 2000
This review is from: Bless the Beasts & Children [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I first started going to camp when I was 5 years old, just a year after this film was released, but I didn't see it until a few years later, when it was on TV. The first camp I went to was a co-ed camp. Kids ranged from 5 to 18 and were sometimes in a camp-wide group, but more often than not, age groups and genders were separated. As a group of hyper 5-year-old girls, we were taught some cheesy crafts, we went fishing, a little archery and "snipe" hunting. The purpose of snipe (an imaginary creature) hunting was to supposedly capture a live (never before seen) specimen.
One night we were told the entire camp was going to go on an Armadillo hunt. I was very excited... I had only seen armadillos on TV and I really wanted to be able to pet one (and sneak it home in my luggage if I could!). Little did I realize that some of the older boys had intended on really hunting one of these harmless creatures... right when I saw one, I got to see it blown to bits with a shot gun. There are moments like that that you never forget... a split second where one small part of you that was still a child, dies and turns into an adult... all in the twinkling of an eye.
I related to this movie in a million ways. I was one of those kids that no one noticed and if I had gone missing, no one would have remembered I was ever there until my parents showed up and asked for me. I was accustomed to being picked on at school, so I avoided interaction w/ the other kids and always did what I was told by adults... many of whom had no business being in charge of children.
The movie is slow in many places, but it exacerbates the feeling of lonliness and rejection felt by the group of outcasts in this film. I was in awe when I saw them stand up for what they believed in, rejecting authority and doing everything they could to save what could have very well been the last herd of buffalo on earth. They finally say, "no more! We're tired of crying, and now we're going to fight!"
A few funny moments, but those are there to break the tension... many poignant moments, boys confiding in their friends their deepest fears and longings... and there are the senseless tragic moments.
Even as a child, I was keenly aware from watching the news how endangered buffalo were at the time. While they're so common today as to be served up as alternative beef, when this movie was released there were less than 2,000 living specimens. This film must have certainly inspired a more fervent effort to increase their numbers.
Excellent performances by Billy Mumy, Barry Robins, Miles Chapin and others... not to mention the title song performed by The Carpenters. While I saw this film as a child and I survived the experience, I don't recommend this film for young children. The violence perpetrated against the animals in the film will be extremely upsetting to anyone, but especially to little kids... and some young children may find the film to be too slow to pay attention to at length.
If you haven't seen this film, it is a classic and abounding with great talent in these wise-beyond-their-years characters.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bless the Beasts and the Amazon, March 1, 2000
This review is from: Bless the Beasts & Children [VHS] (VHS Tape)
More than twenty-eight years after its release, this poignant and exquisitely affecting film based on the Glendon Swarthout novel still resonates deeply with this 41-year-old film buff. I first saw the film in January 1972 as a gawky, hideously homely 13-year-old who was taller than everyone else at Kennedy Junior High in Hays, Kansas and who faced constant cruelty and teasing - simply for being "different." Thus, I related to the "Bedwetters" as I was convinced no one else could have. The boys' camp counselor, portrayed with menacing conviction by Ken Swofford, was familiar to me as well. There was a "Wheaties" in every schoolhouse, townhouse and outhouse of my young life. Moreover, I was and have always been an avowed animal lover, and the young men's efforts to save a herd of buffalo from extinction touched my heart and stirred my soul. The excellent cast is notable for the presence of then-17-year-old Bill Mumy, four years removed from his starring role as little Will Robinson on TV's "Lost in Space." As the brooding, taciturn Lawrence Teft III, Mumy brings a sauntering, sexy charisma to his performance - light years away from the apple-cheeked cherub of the 1960's. This haunting and instructive film leaves us with disturbing lessons about the price enacted by pervasive rejection and negativity - and the redemptive power of unity and compassion.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still Crazy For It After All These Years, December 29, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Bless the Beasts & Children [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I first saw this film at my high school back in 1978, when I was 14 years-old and in the 9th grade. My English class read the book some 2 months earlier, so I was ready for a different prospective on the story. Boy, did I get a treat!! Yes, there were some rather lame scenes, like the "Chamber Pot Baptism" and when the Bedwetters protested the killing of the buffalo on the grounds of the preserve, but I attribute that to "Bad Writing", not "Bad Acting". In fact, I think they couldn't have found a better cast for the six main characters. If someone was to ask me who Teft is, for example, the only logical answer would be none other than Bill Mumy, etc. My point is the movie would have worked better if Stanley Kramer stuck closer to the book than changing too many situations. I would have loved to seen Teft's airplane hyjinks or the Lally Brothers' letting all of the dogs out of the cruise ship's kennels. But despite this film's shortcomings (including some bad editing--chalk marks on the road in the "horse-breather" scene), this film did have a lasting impact on me and it is still one of my all time favorite movies. One of these days, I wouldn't mind talking to the surviving leading actors and see what their opinions are on acting in this particular film; I bet you that will be quite an inspirational exprience!!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
