Customer Reviews

Savannah Smiles

5 star:		(159)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Savannah Smiles is a classic, all-time favorite, childhood movie! If I am ever sad or unhappy I know watching this movie will bring my spirits up. I have to look far and wide to find it but it is worth it. Every weekend as a child my dad would take us to rent a video and we would always choose Savannah Smiles. There is nothing more precious than the relationship Savannah builds with these two "crooks" bootsy and alvie,I cry everytime I watch it! My kids deserve to cry too...Please re-release this show, there is hardly any good entertainment left these days for families.

Savannah Smiles is a five-star movie beyond any doubt. It is the kind of clean, entertaining, well-told story that all children's movies should be. There is very little foul language in it, so the PG rating is deserved; otherwise this has all the ingredients of a G movie that can keep an audience of all ages interested.

The PFE disc, however, is miserable. I have seen better quality on Japanese region-free video CD's. Can you say huge boxy pixels boys and girls? The graininess of the disc is beyond grainy. It's like a 4th or 5th generation VHS copy, or like satellite TV in snow or heavy rain. The sound and washed-out color match the grain. I strongly recommend a high quality DVD player if you wish to view the PFE disc without video hang-ups. I tried several players before it actually cooperated with one.

This is a story that a high-dollar studio needs to buy rights to, then remaster in the best format available and ask whatever price they want. From what I have seen on web auction sites, and what I have seen from PFE, the next authoring studio of Savannah Smiles could easily get their asking price, even if it is slightly beyond reason.

One of my first memories as a child was of watching Savannah Smiles with my twin. We both love this movie. As we've just entered into adulthood, we'd love to own a copy of this movie to take with us when we leave. Each time I see this movie, I laugh, I cry, and I love it more and more. It's such a wonderful, wholesome movie; no sex, violence, or drugs in it. Not many movies are made this way anymore. My parents' copy of this movie is one that is getting worn out from so much viewing. I've probably watched it 200 times. But it never gets old. If anyone reads this that can get this movie brought back into my hands, I'd be greatly appreciative. I told my family that all I want for Christmas for the rest of my life is this movie. And they've looked everywhere, but come up empty-handed. Will you please re-release this movie for all those people that get a warm feeling in their heart when they see it?

I loved this movies when I was a little girl. When I grew up I would see it on tv, and just cry my eyes out! I have been trying to locate this movie for many years, and have not been successful. If anyone out there would like to get rid of it please contact me at anitajuhl@hotmail.com. I would recommend this movie to anyone. Although, I'm sure that only women and kids would like this movie. I don't think that many men would like it. Watch it as a good family night movie. Knowing some of the movies out there for children, this would be a movie many moms and dads would let their children watch again agani. I hope you like it as much as I did.

This is a GREAT family film. We need more like it! How can we convince the studio to re-release it? I'd like for my kids to be able to see it.

This is an excellent family movie that didn't quite achieve the box-office success that it rightfully deserved. It did make the rounds on cable TV, especially on Showtime, where it became somewhat of a cult classic with not only 5 year olds, but their parents as well. I was one of those parents. Although I do not want to encourage my little girl to jump into the back of a car with two bumbling criminals, I was enchanted by this heart warming tale. Who can resist singing along with the lines, "I was born and raised in a briar patch! da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da!" I, for one, cannot. Here I am, 15 years later, browsing through the new release DVD's (I was actually looking for the adult film star Savannah, but don't tell that to my kids!), and I saw that this film was being re-released! Sold! Although my kids are now in their teens, I'm sure that they'll want to show this to their kids, and their kids' kids. A movie that transcends generations!

I looked for this movie on DVD for ages. It was even hard to find on VHS. We had nearly worn out our 1980s video recording from cable.
When I had first read about the movie, I thought it would be a "The Ransom of Red Chief" sort of tale, but this was not the case.
"Savannah Smiles" is an odd little story, and I hope it has never inspired a child to run away in order to punish a neglectful parent. Not every person who would find such a child would turn out to be as kind-hearted as Boots (Donovan) and Alvie (Miller). These two convicts (ex-con, in Boots' case) have led hard lives with a great deal of neglect and abuse, themselves. Yet getting to know Savannah (Andersen) and protecting her from the bad things of the world allows them both to learn they can be and are more than they ever thought possible. They tell Savannah that when she ran away, she did something very reckless and dangerous, and that not everyone out in the world would be nice to her. Her safety becomes very important to them.
We can't say as much for Savannah's father, a PR-hungry politician with no heart. (Ironically, he is portrayed by Chris Robinson, whom viewers might remember as Laura's beloved step-dad on General Hospital.)
I loved watching this movie with my kids. They are all grown now, but this movie still holds a special place in all our hearts.
Mark Miller seemed familiar to me. Besides being the actor who portrayed tough-guy Alvie, he was the man who wrote the story and the screenplay. He had also played the part of the dad on a 1960s TV show called "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," which I adored as a kid. One of his real-life daughters is named Savannah.
Sadly, the story of Bridgette Andersen does not have a happy ending. She died from a drug overdose before her twenty-second birthday. What a waste of human life and talent! This bit of her that she leaves behind reveals a sparkle of love and hope. It makes one wonder what might have been.

I saw this movie years ago before I ever dreamed of becomming a parent myself. Now, like many of the others who have comments here, I also have a daughter named Savannah. We've searched everywhere for a copy of the movie. I would give anything if they would release it again.

This is a great movie. The problem is the quality of this DVD is AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. It looks like someone took a camera and shot it at a poor VHS copy of the movie. I've seen movie theater bootlegs better quality than this! Maybe the VHS is better, but warning, the DVD is BAD BAD BAD quality. I'm not being overdramatic. Try to find a better quality release.

This was one of my favorite movies as a child. I was very excited when I saw that I could order this movie on DVD. I am so disappointed in the quality. I agree with a previous reviewer the sound and picture are terrible. I also feel like I wasted my money. I had anticipated better. I would NOT recommend purchasing this on DVD.