Product Details

• Actors: Keith Carradine, Annette O'Toole, Brendan Fletcher, Gordon Tootoosis, Maury Chaykin
• Directors: Sheldon Larry
• Writers: Gerald Di Pego
• Producers: Martin Katz
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Questar, Inc
• VHS Release Date: July 23, 1997
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1568552688
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,550 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Keith Carradine and Annette O'Toole star in this historical family drama adapted from the Newbery Honor novel, The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare. It's 1768, and a colonial family is seeking a new life in the wilderness of Maine. The father must reluctantly leave 13-year-old Matt alone in the wilderness to hold the land claim until he can return with the rest of the family. When the family is detained for months by a deadly epidemic, Matt's chances of survival become slimmer and slimmer. He is saved by the Penobscot Indians, who teach him survival skills and lessons of trust and friendship. An excellent cast, fine script, and gripping story make this an ideal film for the whole family. It can also spark discussions about the values of loyalty, life in colonial times, and the Indians' forced evacuation of their lands. Alternate video title: The Sign of the Beaver. --Elisabeth Keating

Product Description

Item Name: The Sign of the Beaver; Studio: Questar

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For teachers: Read this review first!, December 12, 2008

By 

Eric M. Telzrow (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sign of the Beaver (DVD)

I'm not sure if some of the other reviewers either a) work for the movie company and are thus biased, or b) just haven't read the book. I have a very different perspective on this movie and I will be happy to tell you why.

Here's the deal: I'm a 3rd grade teacher and we've just finished reading the book as a class. The kids LOVED it. We are heading into the final days before Christmas and my thinking is: this movie would make a perfect "finale" to completing the book! I just finished watching it and I am disappointed to say the least. The movie is EXTREMELY different from the book, in ways that are both baffling and unnecessary. Here's the laundry list:

-Matt starts the movie in Springfield (why not Quincy?), Mass., with his family. We get a lot of time-wasting backstory on how Matt and his father get to Maine. His mother somehow has a prominent role in the movie and the actress that plays her overacts her lines constantly. There are numerous breaks in the movie away from Matt's life in which we see all the reasons his family gets delayed in their travels to Maine. This does not add to the movie.
-Ben, Ben, Ben! In the book he is present for 1 chapter, steals Matt's gun and is never heard from again. In the MOVIE, we see him half a dozen times and, in the end, he leads Matt's family to Matt!!! Talk about a bogus, bizarre, happy Disney ending.
-Matt & Attean's story arc from enemies to brothers is VERY quick and lacks the real development (and events) necessary to justify it. Maybe if we didn't have to keep cutting away to see all the mommy/daddy drama, this movie would do Elizabeth George Speare's book some justice!
-No bear (this is the only difference I can accept: based on the low budget I can see why this would get dropped) and thus no big bear feast.
-No focus on THE SIGN OF THE BEAVER - and this is the BIGGIE - the title phrase is just not addressed in the movie at all. No visit to a beaver dam, talk of beavers, or any acknowledgement that Attean's tribe is of the beaver variety.
-Lots of little things that just degrade the "class" Mrs. Speare had throughout her text. In the end, Matt gives Attean "Robinson Crusoe" instead of his watch. Matt's mother and father have a tasteless zoomed in make-out session. In a sad and pointless scene, Matt's father kills the family horse when it goes lame. Matt's mother starts the movie with her baby born, rather than pregnant, Attean's dog is completely marginalized, etc. etc. etc.!!!

I'll end my rant there. Despite all the negatives I have listed, I will still show the movie to my kids because I want them to exercise their comparison/contrast skills and catch all differences I have. This is a big lesson they can learn: movies are all too often NOTHING like the books they are "based on". I fear they will also find this out with the Despereaux movie coming out over Christmas (we also read that book earlier in the year). Better they learn this lesson early, right?!

It's just such a shame that there are so many differences that really dilute the high quality of Speare's work. I'm giving it 2 stars because the production level is decent, but hopefully anyone else interested in this movie is aware of how much it truly diverges from the book it is named after.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing ..., November 26, 2010

By 

Connie S. Ackerfield - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sign of the Beaver (DVD)

I am a classroom teacher and have been using the book, The Sign of the Beaver, for years in my reading program. when I finally saw a film that I could use to accompany the book, I was thrilled. I believe the original title of the film was The Promise. And the film was good if that is what you wanted to see, a boy keeping his promise. But that is not the reason I got the film. After watching the film, if one did not read the book, one would have no idea why the film was named The Sign of the Beaver. Most of the film was spent dealing with the hardships faced by the father, mother and two other children in their travels to the wilderness; and very little time was spent developing the story of the boy who lived and learned to survive throughout the autumn and winter until his family joined him. He survived because of his interaction with the local Indians and their teachings which was only briefly touched upon in the film. All in all, the film was VERY disappointing. If you want to see a film about a boy keeping a Promise, buy it. If you want to use it as an accompanying film with the book in the classroom, I'd think twice.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surviving In The Wilderness, September 21, 2001

By 

"kids_first2" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping the Promise (DVD)

This is a moving story, well produced and enhanced with DVD capabilities. "The DVD feedback option is wonderful for promoting discussion." "The ease of going from scene to scene was a great benefit." Good historical information and author's biography. The kids liked the adventure story. DVD features easy to operate for most. "I liked the way we could go back to different sections, like when they were shooting arrows." "It showed a lot about hunting and building a cabin." "Matt got along with the Indians." Best for ages 8 to 12.