Product Details

• Actors: Lothaire Bluteau, Michel Monty, Juliana Wimbles, Marsha Mason, Leslie Hope
• Directors: David Wellington
• Writers: Gail Collins, Semi Chellas
• Producers: Nicholas J. Gray, Patrick Whitley, Sheila Hockin, Susan Cavan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Showtime Ent.
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2001
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005MM5R
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,392 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Restless Spirits" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This gentle, modern-day fairy tale explores a family trying to recover from a father's death. Katie is a combative 12-year-old; her brother Simon is almost mute; their mother desperately needs time to rebuild her life. She takes the kids to visit their dad's mother in Newfoundland where Grandmother Lydia (played with grounded depth by Marsha Mason) tells Katie she understands that she has "to stay angry or you'll forget him." Lydia says that "some people have the gift of seeing," and Katie and Simon prove her right when they meet Charles Nungesser and François Coli, historical French aviation heroes who disappeared trying to beat Lindbergh across the Atlantic in 1927. These lost souls repeat their fateful crash into the swamp every time the fog comes in. Katie realizes they must finish the flight to enable their escape to heaven and begins the improbable task of raising their plane from the deep. The antagonistic relationship of the aristocratic and pompous Nungesser and his kindly navigator is portrayed with picaresque charm by the charismatic Lothaire Bluteau and the humanistic Michel Monty. Nungesser bemoans being beaten by a "mailman," while Coli mourns the loss of his wife and child. Resurrecting L'Oiseau Blanc helps Katie interact positively with people and develop friendships. By the magical climax, she learns what inspired her father to be a test pilot. --Lloyd Chesley

Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 09/25/2001 Run time: 95 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beguiling Little Film, March 25, 2001

By 

William F. Parrish "Dante_Mosier" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Restless Spirits [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was very pleasantly surprised by this film.I was expecting the usual insulting kiddie fair but instead got a well-made, subtle and heart-felt ghost story.The cast in this is very good,with the excellant Marsha Mason turning in another fine performance,and the actors playing the spectral pilots are witty and convincing.Also Juliana Wimbles is a real find.The beautiful young actress finds the fiesty spirit and wounded heart of the girl who discovers the spirits of two missing pilots,and the relationship she develops with them,and how they eventually help each other find what they have always been searching for is surprisingly moving,but not in a bombastic way.This is a very small film,and could easily fall through the cracks,but give it a chance.I think this,along with "Fly Away Home" is a rare example of films that are ideal for kids,but can also be enjoyed by intelligent adults.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant film for all the family, April 16, 2001

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Restless Spirits [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Some films never quite make it to the big time which is a shame because they have so much too offer but don't have the pulling power of a big name star behind them. "Restless Spirits" is such a film that has been overlooked and because of this many people are missing a treat of a film. Juliana Wimbles plays a young girl Katie traumatized by the death of her test pilot father. With her younger brother she is sent by her mother to stay with her Grandparents in Newfoundland. In trying to come to terms with the loss of her father she finds herself drawn into a 70-year-old mystery, the disappearance of two French aviators who were trying to beat Lindburgh on his epic journey across the Atlantic in 1927. The two pilots were killed when their plane crashed into a swamp one foggy night and their spirits are doomed to return whenever go reappears. Katie, sensitive to her own recent loss soon realizes that her two new ghostly friends will never find peace unless they can continue the journey that was so tragically cut short 70 years previously. Through shear determination Katie manages to retrieve most of the plane and put it back together with duct tape and tarpaulin. Unfortunately aviation historians are hot on the trail of the two missing pilots and whisk away the plane before Katie can decide how she is going to set her friends free. Aided by a skeptical young friend the young girl sets about helping the ghostly pilots make that one last journey that will free their restless spirits. The ending is a joy to watch, with wonderful special effects, a haunting musical score, and acting that brings a lump to your throat. Only watch this film if you want a gentle, slow moving plot about human nature, the strength of the human spirit and the dream that life after death just might be real. All in all, an excellent film for all the family.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The kids loved this., September 4, 2006

By 

A. Gates - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Restless Spirits [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This Showtime movie is available on video and we rented it from Blockbuster. The story is well-written and wraps up nicely at the end...just what the kids are looking for. I was intrigued by the overlap of time periods and weaving the father's interest in aviation and the impact of his death on his daughter. My kids watched it twice and were moved both times.