Product Details

• Actors: Leon Pownall, Tod Fennell, Gerard Parkes, Seana McKenna, Cody Jones
• Directors: Milan Cheylov
• Writers: David Devine, Marlene Matthews
• Producers: David Devine, Jan Oparty, Leif Bristow, Richard Mozer
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony
• VHS Release Date: November 26, 1996
• Run Time: 51 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304267274
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,314 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Jamie, a Dublin street urchin, is chosen to be a choirboy for George Frederich Handel's first performance of "The Messiah." Through working together, the unlikely pair become friends, and help each other through a series of mishaps, culminating in the triumphant debut of Handel's masterpiece.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great film for kids in music class!, May 29, 2003

By 

Christopher (Spring, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handel's Last Chance [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a FANTASTIC film that should be in the libraries of every elementary and intermediate grades music teacher. I have used it as a way to introduce Handel's music and talk about the Baroque era. I teach inner-city kids, who loved the film and were VERY open to learning more about Handel and his music after seeing it!

The story is entertaining and funny--fictional, of course, while providing some of the very basics of Handel's life and work. Of course, you hear his music almost all the way throughout!

Don't let the college professor nay-sayers sway you from this one. If you're in the trenches with a music classroom full of kids everyday, like I am, this one's worth its weight in gold.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bringing back memories, November 17, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Handel's Last Chance [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was just browsing amazon.com's music thing and was looking for clasical music and I found the name Handel and I remembered
seeing it in music class I remembered the name of the movie and did a search on amazon.com this is an awesome movie and all the kids in music class liked it but they kept asking why Jamie's voice was so high and sounded girlish anyway this is my favorite but I also recommend Beetoven lives upstairs which is in this series

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars You gets what you pay for, February 19, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handel's Last Chance [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I am teaching a music appreciation class at a College and was struck by the number of positive reviews this item received. They could have been written by friends and relatives of the cast, producers, etc. I found that there was very little about Handel or about his music and times.
I bought several other videos in this series and have come to same conclusion - Save your money. This is a miss.