Product Details

• Actors: Denholm Elliott, Mathonwy Reeves, Glynis Davies, Michael Fawkes, Jesse McBrearty
• Directors: Don McBrearty
• Writers: Dylan Thomas, Jon Glascoe, Peter Kreutzer
• Producers: Gillian Richardson, Joseph Pierson, Michael MacMillan, Seaton McLean
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Vestron Video
• VHS Release Date: September 5, 1995
• Run Time: 55 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301115538
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,017 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This timeless tale is as wondrous as the story's snow globe, delivering with pristine gentleness a glimpse of a child's Welsh Christmas told from the remembrances of a kindly grandfather to his attentive grandson. Dylan Thomas' 1955 poem of the same name--originally written for radio--is richly adapted to the small screen by director Don McBrearty who brings to life an already masterful piece of prose, infusing it with even more grandeur through vivid costumes, scripting, and cinematography. Denholm Elliott is captivating, both as narrator and as Old Geraint, the grandpa who settles in on a rainy Christmas Eve to share with young Thomas (Mathonwy Reeves) his memories of Christmas past. Who can forget the fire in Mrs. Prothero's parlor; the unending snow, "a dumb, numb thunderstorm of white"; the Useless Presents, including the mewing moo; the Uncles "trying their new cigars"; and, always, the Aunties-- including Hannah, who customarily "laced her tea with rum." Gift-wrapped in delicate music by Lou Natale, the language, imagery, and subtle humor of this film--absent of stain and cynicism--makes for a suitably classic "annual family tradition." (All ages) --Lynn Gibson

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"A small treasure, a genuine holiday classic . . . a sweet, sentimental production that should become part of the holiday film pantheon."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas Gem, October 31, 2005

By	Aradia (Shelton, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Child's Christmas in Wales (DVD)

I am really surprised that it took so long for "A Child's Christmas in Wales" to appear on DVD. The piece is an extraordinary immersion in nostalgia, which can be appreciated by all ages...by everyone who remembers what it's like to be a child at Christmastime.

The casting is perfection, the settings spot-on, and Dylan Thomas' work comes alive vividly before your eyes.

So well does this film conjure the savory smells coming from the Christmas-Day kitchen, when all the women are busy preparing the meal, that one's mouth waters. We can't help but laugh at the uncles, who having stuffed themselves to capacity, loosen their belts and fall asleep in that fine sleeping time post-revelry. And then there is that wonderful moment, at the end of the day, when Christmas carols are sung and a weary child is tucked into bed, head still full of Christmas pleasures...

"A Child's Christmas in Wales" is a warm and poignant treat for the senses and for the heart. I give it five stars enthusiastically, and look forward to our annual viewing. It has become a family tradition.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must see" each Christmas, December 17, 2001

By	Dorothy Graeham (Carnegie, PA , USA) - See all my reviews

This is a delightful story of a young boy in Wales. It commences with the grandfather and his grandson at the home of the child's parents on a Christmas Eve.(The narrator and grandfather played by Denhom Elliott) The child is given a beautiful snowglobe by his grandfather as a Christmas gift. The grandfather had received the snowglobe many, many years earlier when he was a boy and the child asks "tell me about your life when you were young, Grandad" -- so the story begins of Christmas's long gone by in Wales, Gt. Britain. The story is simple, Dylan Thomas' words are beautiful, and this is a video that can be watched every holiday season by all the family. I encourage everyone with young children to see it. Life was much simpler in those days. Hopefully it will never go out of print.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Living a CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, December 18, 2001

By	Janice J. Currie (Pittsford, NY) - See all my reviews

This lovely, sensitive interpretation of Dylan Thomas's poem is loyal to the original, but adds appropriate dialogue and a wonderland of touching pictures and characters. We have viewed it for the first time and are drawn into the film at every new frame. It seems just right for all ages and makes one quite nostalgic for the days of our youth and those special times with family and friends when small towns and simple acts meant love was every where around us. We recommend it.