Customer Reviews

The Railway Children

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here's a family film that restores one's faith in movie-making.
There's not a doubt in my mind that this charming story will make you remember a time when movies had pure, unadulterated heart. Jenny Agutter shines as the oldest daughter in a role that could very easily have been overacted. I've seen this movie numerous times since first taking my children to see it when originally released. I'm constantly amazed at the sense of civility and decency one brings away from it. It's a family film about family, and how important (no matter how jaded we think we are) it really is. The lovely Johnny Douglas score is also quite wonderful. And I bet the last scene brings a smile to your face. Needless to say this version of "The Railway Children" is highly recommended. But please don't confuse it with the recent PBS remake, which suffers greatly in comparison.

I've seen this movie 3 times on television and will buy the DVD for everyone I know. From acting to costumes, cinematography to story line, this thing is brilliant. It is literally an antidote to what ails modern living. You can practically smell the grass on the hillsides and the hunger in their stomachs. Perky, the railway man, is a favorite character. The children were cast superbly. Michael Kitchen as the father--perfect. Lest I am too effusive, let me say that I am a huge British Comedy fan and Anglophile, so maybe I'm predisposed to like this film.

Pick a cold day in winter when you need to hear something positive. Make yourself a cup of tea, have some sandwiches ready, and watch this DVD under a blanket. You'll want to do this repeatedly about once a year for several years. Make it a tradition.

You can forget your big budget sci-fi 'wow'-effect mega-bucks movies. There's really nothing like a well-scripted, sensitively-directed, beautifully-acted film and this one delivers everything you'd want, not just in the children's film genre, but for any kind of film.

After all these years, it's still my favorite movie of all time because it's gentle, no one gets killed or kidnapped by aliens - it's just heartwarming and lovely.

If you have never seen or heard of this movie buy it now, settle on the sofa, preferably with a warm mug of cocoa and prepared to be transported to another time and place where people CARED about one another and paranoia was at least 100 years away.

Here's your chicken soup...

This 1970 film is a must-see. It is a beloved children's story, but its understated evocation of soon-to-vanish Edwardian England circa 1905 will appeal to all ages. Jenny Agutter leads a superb cast; the lush countryside and period architecture give the film a sumptuous atmosphere.
The movie tells an entertaining story, but this story also carefully and lovingly explores themes involving social class, family relationships and growing up. These elements combine to give The Railway Children mutifaceted, enduring appeal. It is fun to watch, but also has gentle lessons to teach.

My favorite film is available on DVD at last! Although only in the US, in region 1 format. I wonder why this hasn't been released in the UK? - What make this film "Charming" is the direction by Lionel Jeffries (Grandpa Potts in Chitty). His other film "The Amazing Mr Blunden" has a similar feel. Jeffries' input gives this adaptation quite a distant and dreamy approach whilst Jenny Agutter's style of acting contributes to that feeling and Sally Thomsett as dippy Phyllis is perfect. Overall a great film with some wonderfull sequences shot on the Keighley and Worth Valley railway. - I've been quite fanatical about the 1970 film for the last 20 years or so, collecting various items, even holding the UK domain name!

Thanks for reading. Mind the train ! ! !

My mother read this book to us when we were kids and I am a huge E. Nesbit fan. I was happy to find that this film was faithful to the book, even to those absolutely killing little pure Nesbit comic moments. Of course things had to be a bit compressed (I wonder why they didn't include the part where Perks actually catches Peter stealing the coal) and I suppose they couldn't include all of the children's escapades (like the one withe the canal boat that catches on fire) and Peter's hairstyle is a bit too 70s in my opinion (maybe I'm wrong about that though), but otherwise I enjoyed it (the part with the brass band at the party is really quite funny). I haven't seen the more recent version, but I can definitely say that if you want an entertaining film that stays refreshingly close to the book you loved as a kid, get this one.

At last this delightful, beautifully photographed and acted film is available on DVD. Although essentially a 'family' film, with its old-fashioned plot, period detail and predictably sentimental ending, 'The Railway Children' still has much to offer adult viewers. Its themes of sacrifice and coming-of-age will strike resonance (and perhaps induce the odd tear or two) with even the coldest-hearted old cynic. It is the child actors who most impress here - all of them outstanding, but with particular praise reserved for Jenny Agutter, never more affecting or effective than she was in this film.

This film is simply brilliant. It is such a refreshing change to watch a film that has not been made by a computer...The story, acting and characters bring this delight of a film to life. Put on your red flannel petticoats and organize a paper chase at once.

The Railway Children, at least this 1970 movie version written and directed by that long-time British character actor, Lionel Jeffries, is an unmitigated...classic. It tells a childhood story with great simplicity and charm; the sentimentality is muted; the evocation of childhood adventures is involving; and Jeffries brings cleverness and style to his production.

The Waterbury family is leading an idyllic life in Edwardian London. The father is prosperous, the mother is beautiful and loving, the children are well-mannered and affectionate, their home is warm and cozy. Then one night during the Christmas holidays two men appear at the doorstep, talk quietly to the father, and then take him away. In a moment the lives of Mrs Waterbury (Dinah Sheridan) and Bobbie, 14 (Jenny Agutter), Phyllis, 12 (Sally Thomsett) and young Peter (Gary Warren), have been changed. Only their fortitude and good spirits are going to see them through. Now teetering into poverty, Mrs. Waterbury takes her children to live in a musty old brick house in the countryside near a rail-line, not too far from a small village with a train station. The children discover the rail and regularly sit on a small hill to wave at the passengers as the train chugs by. One day an old gentleman, going to his business in the city, looks up from his newspaper and finds himself waving back. It's not long before he will play an important part in the story.

As time passes, Mrs. Waterbury brings all her love and intelligence to bear on her children. She begins to write stories to earn money. She teaches them their lessons and provides a home of warmth and security for them. The story, however, is about these three children, especially Bobbie. At 14, she is old enough to want to share her mother's worries, yet young enough to enjoy the adventures she has with her sister and brother. They find a poor man at the station who cannot speak English. They discover he is a Russian refugee who no longer knows where his wife and child are. They insist he must come home with them, and their mother takes him in. Before long the children have written a large sign to the old gentlemen on the train asking for his help. They help a young man taking part in a steeplechase who breaks his leg in a train tunnel. Soon, he is at their home recuperating. They decide to have a birthday party for the station master, a man with few friends and several children who is a stickler for his dignity. It's not long before the children help him realize the difference between friendship and charity. In other words, the three children encounter all sorts of problems in their childhood adventures, and manage to be instrumental in seeing that all the problems have happy endings.

But what of their own problems? Bobbie finally learns from her mother that her father was taken away because he had been accused of treason, of giving state secrets to the Russians. Will Bobbie be able to find a way to help? Will the old gentleman be something more than simply an old gentleman on a passing train? Will their father's case be reopened? Will there be a happy ending?

Jenny Agutter was almost 18 when she filmed her part; she plays the 14-year-old Bobbie with great naturalness and charm. As important as the other players are, especially Dinah Sheridan as the mother, Agutter is the heart of the story. For me, it is Jenny Agutter's talent and Lionel Jeffries' style and restraint that make this movie so memorable. The story's problems come with no serious doubt but that they will be solved. And Jeffries does not just give us an expertly adapted and directed movie, he adds touches that are barely noticed but which charm us. This might include just a split second of a freeze frame as two people talk; or a slow close-up of a small, yellow wildflower in the grass outside Bobbie's home, then a slow pull-back from a yellow oil lamp being turned up inside; or the realization that a delightful interior shot or a view of the green countryside or a look at the train station from a hill...all suddenly recall those charming Edwardian hand-tinted drawings of a perfect by-gone time.

Perhaps this gentle story can't compete for the time kids need nowadays to perfect their Nintendo monster-splatting skills. I'm almost positive it would never capture the attention of most of their parents, especially those weaned on Batman and Leone. Still, it's a perfectly put together movie and shouldn't be forgotten. As an aside, 19 years later the story was retold as a television program. This time, Jenny Agutter played the mother.

The DVD is available as a Region two from AmazonUK. The transfer looks very good. There are no extras.

for me, one of the best childrens's movies of all time, guaranteed to inspire all ages. Important life lessons