Customer Reviews

A Child's Christmas in Wales

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is a beautifully realized film of Dylan Thomas's prose poem, "A Child's Christmas in Wales." The poem, wonderfully narrated by Welsh actor Denholm Elliott, is set within a framing story of a grandfather (Elliott) telling his young grandson about his own childhood Christmasses. The casting is marvelous and the cinematography is good, but it is Dylan Thomas's words and Elliott's narration of them that lifts this film into the ranks of Christmas classics. I saw it first on PBS, and was delighted to see it come out on video. Watching it each year has become a family tradition.

You will love this!!

Having never seen an adaptation of "Child's Christmas" on TV, I was really pleased to see a VHS of this a few years ago in the video shop. We rented it and loved it - and now its on DVD for all to see and cherish! Any human of 5 years age or older will not fail to be captivated by this.

The production shifts between a 'modern' family's Christmas eve and the half-remembered Christmas celebrations from the 'modern' grandfather's (Denholm Elliott) childhood. The family home is the same for both time periods, itself becoming a key character within the piece.

Dylan Thomas' poem is left intact and is BEAUTIFULLY and IMAGINATIVELY brought to life by a talented cast of Welsh actors, who act and sing their way with almost uncanny passion. The humor of the verse is actually improved by several visual gags.


For me, this is the best portrayal of Christmas ever filmed, with the possible exception of the last scene of a good "Christmas Carol". There is no suggestion of the ' freedom from avarice' theme that is key to "Crhistmas Carol", "Miracle on 34th St" and the newer Christmas productions. The spirit is entirely one of nostalgia, love and reflection -- surely those are the best emotions of all.

I hope you enjoy this as much as my family!

We discovered this movie when it was first shown. It quickly becamse a family classic and we have watched it every Christmas Eve since. What a joy to find that this movie is finally available on DVD. I have bought a copies for my mother, four children, and a good friend.

It is hard to describe this movie. The poetry of Dylan Thomas combines with the images and story of the film in such a powerful imaginative way that I doubt I will ever want to just read the poem by itself.

There are so many classic moments. Perhaps one of my favorites is the four boys going up to the old man's door to sing carols. They try singing Good King Wenceslas but are frightened away by the haunting whispery singing on the other side of the door.

I strongly recommend this movie to everyone. Buy a copy for yourself and buy multiple copies to give to families, friends, and lovers. Let this movie become part of your Christmas.

I was introduced to a Childs Christmas in Wales in high school. We won't says when that was... But I love it and I read it with great pleasure every year. So when this movie came out, I was hesitant... What I found is that the movie doesn't take away any of the pictures Dylan Thomas wrote in his story, and it give me several more. The music is wonderful, especially the family singing together at the end.

Like so many other who have seen this seasonal film year after year, it truly is a family classic that conjures up the Christmas spirit every year. The poetry, acting and setting are perfect.

HOWEVER ... if you are looking for the complete film (and the complete poem) this DVD does not provide it. You can't believe my disappointment when the family gathered round to watch this newly purchased DVD and at the end we all looked at each other and noted scene upon scene that had been omitted from the DVD version that were part of the video version. I can't fathom why this was done, especially considering the fact that this is a classic piece of poetry. It would be like chopping out scenes from Shakespeare. Both the video version and the DVD version say the running time is 55 minutes but I have to doubt the accuracy of the time on the DVD considering it's short by about 5 plus scenes.

For anyone interested, here are some of the scenes that are missing:

* Eating sugar "fags" (candy cigarettes) outside.
* Finding a dead bird in the snow.
* Seeing his reflection in a store window.
* Following the old man with yellow gloves from the cemetery.
* Two young men walking briskly down to the sea.
* From the window looking in at old uncles smoking cigars and old aunts sipping tea.

I may follow-up with the producers of the DVD the reason for these omissions. Will post again if I get an answer.

Despite it all, it is still a wonderful film and evokes the Christmas spirit!

Dave in WPB (FL)

I first saw this video on public television years ago and am delighted that it is now available. In a way, it reminds me of the old TV versions of Jean Sheperd's radio stories. Think about translating a Jean Sheperd story to another, perhaps more understated culture. Definitely worth purchasing.

This beginning to be one of my favorite Christmas movies. When I'm getting too overwhelmed with a modern Christmas - the consumerism, the excessiveness of it all - I can put this movie on and get swept back to a time when Christmas was simple and, as seen through a child's eyes, wonderous. This movie captures the book's charm and expands upon it. The one downside is that it is a bit slow-paced, however, that might make it the perfect movie to show the children Christmas Eve to make them sleepy.