Customer Reviews

Heidi

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The story in this movie is faithful to the book in almost all respects. More important, the movie is faithful to the spirit of the book. The characters are appealing, and Max von Sydow manages to play the grandfather's gruff moments without alienating the audience. Also, the screenwriter obviously learned a thing or two from the previous movie versions and incorporated some of the effective touches from those movies.

The Shirley Temple version is very good at the beginning, then the screenwriter throws the book away, and the chase scenes and the cloak-and-dagger intrigue are not only ineffective but embarrassing.

The 1952 version shortens the story but adds a nice touch of having her Aunt lie to Heidi about being able to return to the mountains.

The 1968 version almost throws the book away and the child is too old for the role, but the scenery and the music are very good.

The 1993 version reproduces most of the story of the book but throws the book away at the end. Also, the characters are totally different, even antithetical, to what they are in the book. I tried watching it a second time just to be sure and I couldn't make it through the movie.

So, this is THE version of the book.

The minor departures are the grandfather's angry reaction when Heidi returns. (Fortunately, this is only momentary.) And the walking. The movie has Clara take her first steps as a result of a situation of danger. Thereafter, however, they do put in the patient physical therapy which the grandfather practices to enable Clara to walk by the end of the summer.

A nice touch is the addition of the doctor's role in Dorfli. None of the other movie versions saw fit to put it in. This movie not only puts it in but shows why it is important. The child who plays Heidi is appealing and close enough in age.

I loved this version of Johanna Spyri's classic novel. Emma Bolger is so cute and sweet and just how I had always pictured Heidi. This story follows the book better than any I have ever seen. Sometimes it is quite sad - we cried during some scenes. But Max Von Sydow and Emma Bolger show the wonderful relationship between Grandparent and Grandchild. The acting and directing are Superb! I rarely give 5 stars but I certainly will this time.

I was always a fan of the Shirley Temple version of Heidi because it was sentimental and it touched my heart-strings! I enjoyed this version so much because of the photography, the actors, and as an adult now I felt the story touched broadly on "life" themes of hurt, forgiveness, love and joy of simple living and of life in general....not to mention the happy ending which I'm always a sucker for. Thorougly enjoyable and one I know I'll watch and share over and over again.

Overall this is our favorite version of Heidi in film. We highly recommend it! Our family watched this movie anticipating the same cutesy antics and departures from the novel as before but were surprised to find this one quite close to the book. It is a bit more somber than the book in my view but this adds a real 19th century feel anyway. Emma Bolger plays Heidi with enough childlike charm, she's not always perfect but her shining eyes and sweet grin helpd me forgive a few tiny flaws in her acting. Max Von Sydow plays Grandfather immaculately with the right amount of grumpiness and compassion. The best performance I think is Del Synott as Sebastian the butler! The only thing I wish the director would have done differently is to spend more time on Heidi's enjoyment in the pastures as is done in the beginning of the book. I would have been delighted to see more expansive views of the Swiss alps also, some of the cinematography is shot closer in with cozier views. I recommend watching this movie then going back to the read the book once again if it has been awhile. It is a truly heartwarming parable.

Yes, the scenery was wonderful, and Max was a good choice for the role of Alm Uncle, even though they change his name to Uncle Alp. But where do the filmakers get license to change the story so? What kind of arrogance might have led them to think that they could improve on the book? How do these changes help anything? Obviously I feel that they don't, and that they should have stuck to the book more closely. Then there are the accents, which are hard to believe in Switzerland. And the grandfather telling her to 'get out!' - yea right. Even the goats got their names changed. Finally, Heidi doesn't look anything like the Heidi described in the book. So, here it is : if you want a good story with a cute little girl in the mountains, it's worth your 100 minutes. But if you're looking for Johanna Spyri's excellent book to come alive, you might be disappointed in the end.

The only reason I give this review 3 stars is because it's a decent, conservative, family film about love and nature. The moral of the story, though, as we (my children and I) learned from the book - which we read before watching the movie - is that God answers prayer and forgives us no matter what. This basic foundation of the story that was so carefully included by the original author was completely ignored in this movie. I am so disappointed. I read the reviews before buying to make sure not to buy a "cinderallafied" version, and this accomplished that objective, but it's such a shame that they took God out of the story.

My 8-year-old daughter and I just finished reading Heidi, and I wanted to find a movie version that stayed close to the original story. As many of the reviewers point out, this one is very faithful to the book, following it as closely as you can probably expect from a movie. The characters are also well cast; they are exactly as you would expect them to be - except, unfortunately, for the title character. Heidi is supposed to be spunky, lively, and charming, melting the hearts of everyone around her with her contagious joie-de-vivre. This Heidi (Emma Bolger) is quiet, pale, and serious throughout the movie. This may be appropriate for her demeanor in Frankfurt, but certainly not when she's roaming her beloved Alps. Other reviewers seem to think that Emma Bolger did a fine job as Heidi, so maybe it's just me. But I found that it detracted from an otherwise fine rendition of this classic story.

This DVD was very satisfying. It was lovely to see Heidi on some mountains, unlike in the Shirley Temple version. Emma Bolger did a great job as Heidi. The film largely left out the harshness towards illiterate Peter that was in the book and highlighted the misery for the Grandfather of being a social outcast. Geraldine Chaplin was a Frau Rottenmeier that you could care about rather than just laugh at. I would say that this DVD is actually an improvement on the original book. However the wildflowers that garlanded the little Golden Book will always remain in my mind as well as Heidi saying, "Grandfather I am home and will never leave again." Heidi is one of several books in which an innocent child brings hope to a dried up old adult. Others include Pollyanna, The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy (which is worth re-reading).

I purchased this version hoping it would be the best version to date of Johanna Spyri's delightful and thought provoking book. It is not ! The dialog and feel of the film are rather modern and compromise the efforts of the actors/actresses.

The grandmother, played by Diana Rigg is excellent. Fraulein Rottenmeier, played by Geraldine Chaplin (whom I like otherwise), is overplayed and positively villainous. Clara's father is excellent and so is the Doctor. Clara was quite good, convincing and definitely in character.

The goatherd, besides being given ridiculous lines, is a poor actor. Aunt Dete was sulky and peevish, instead of self-centered and nasty. Unfortunately, Emma Bolger as Heidi disappoints. She is not well developed as a young actress. She does not convince one that she is young, innocent, and charming. Simply, she does not bring Heidi to life. It would help if her dialog were more convincing as well. Grandfather was bland, or shallow, one of the two. He was ok, or a little better than ok, that's all. His lack of dialog was not the reason for this. For proof, see the Grandfather in the Shirley Temple version. He says volumes, yet rarely opens his mouth.

Too much drama, not enough innocence and joie de vivre, and a soundtrack that is overdone (perhaps thinking of CD sales ?).

Beloved tale of the little girl Heidi has been often filmed in the past, and probably the most popular one would be the 1937 `Heidi' film starring lovely Shirley Temple. Now another feature film comes from England, starring Emma Bolger (one of the cute sisters in `In America') as the Swiss girl.

I don't think this famous story needs introduction, but I may be wrong. Just in case you forget it, it is about an orphaned little girl Heidi (Emma Bolger). Heidi is sent to her grandfather `Uncle Alp' (Max von Sydow) who is living like a hermit up in the Alps with two goats. Her grandfather, whose dark past is vaguely suggested, is at first unwilling to welcome her, but no one can resist the charms of her outgoing personality.

The key characters are all there. You will meet Heidi's friend Peter and his blind grandmother, too. And you also remember the inimitable Rottenmeier (played by Geraldine Chaplin) and Clara (Jessica Claridge) and her wheelchair. Diana Rigg also appears as Clara's kind grandmamma. The cast is impressive, to be sure.

So we got what we want. We got the right cast (though you may not like the various accents from the cast), and a very good story from Johanna Spyri (as you know it). And fortunately they didn't change it very much. Plus the film is shot in beautiful countryside of Slovenia (on location) and West Wales (on soundstage). But to me, the entire film is slightly disappointing, lacking the weight or impact that the story as I remember it had given to me long time ago.

Perhaps that is because the film's script follows the original story too fast, omitting the quiet moments that should have made the characters more round. Clara's character and her friendship with Heidi, one of the most touching part of the story, are often overshadowed by awkwardly presented episodes (about the smuggled kittens that annoy poor Rottenmeier) that try to be funny. In fact, for all the film's decent production designs, `Heidi' sometimes looks as if made for TV (which it is not) because of its hurried and episodic storytelling.

Or perhaps the film touches the subject of children's growing-up and education for them too cursorily. Rottenmeier of this film sometimes looks like a theatrical villain (or villainess) from fairy tale, like a witch to be punished, and consequently the film seems to have failed to make a point about one of the most important themes of the original. Of course you don't have to preach - and thank God, `Heidi' is far from preachy, I can assure you - but it is also certain that while director Paul Marcus reminds us of Heidi's illiteracy more than once, the film itself curiously seems unaware of the importance of that.

Or perhaps ... well, let's stop now. The fact is, if her accent is not the most convincing, Emma Bolger still gives a very spirited performance as Heidi, which is pure delight to see. Thanks to her adorable Heidi and the good supports, `Heidi' is a decent (if flawed) family film.