Product Details

• Actors: Piper Laurie, Mel Gibson, Alwyn Kurts, Pat Evison, Peter Gwynne
• Directors: Michael Pate
• Writers: Michael Pate, Colleen McCullough
• Producers: Michael Pate, Geoff Gardiner
• Format: Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Timeless Multimedia
• VHS Release Date: March 30, 1999
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305466912
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,695 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

All actors have to try a mental-impairment role at some point in their careers (don't they?), and Mel Gibson took his best shot with this sweet film about a young retarded man and his gentle relationship with an older woman (Piper Laurie) who teaches him to read and to adjust to the real world. Tim's parents come to trust the woman's honorable intentions, but the movie still gives Mel's female fans a lot to swoon over; it's a platonic romance with plenty of temptation that's never acted upon. Add to that the fact that Gibson's really quite good in the title role--after Mad Max, this was Mel's first widely seen opportunity to prove himself in a dramatic role before his higher-profile roles in The Road Warrior and Gallipoli. Tim is a bit too schmaltzy and sentimental, but this 1979 release has gained a loyal audience over the years, and the film has a lot more than just a young Mel Gibson to recommend it. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tim: Mel Gibson in an Australian Sleeper, November 10, 2001

By 

Timothy Miyahara (Floyds Knobs, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tim (DVD)

One of Mel Gibson's earliest films, "Tim" has been overlooked by most Mel Gibson fans. Gibson plays a young, mentally challenged Australian in a romantic relationship with an older, American business executive (Piper Laurie). A youthful Mel Gibson shows his talent to create believable characters and make us forget he's acting.

The film examines the theme of star-crossed lovers in the context of age, mental capacity, and social acceptance. The emotional tide of Tim's family, his lover, and their peers pulls at our heart-strings, and forces a sometimes uncomfortable self-examination of how we judge others and how we may define "love."

This movie is a great, romantic tear-jerker. The slower pace and gritty texture of early Australian cinema may deter some viewers, but the fresh story-line alone makes this movie well worth watching.

You'll like this movie if:

You liked Kevin Costner's "Message in a Bottle," and enjoyed Mel Gibson in "Man Without A Face" and "What Women Want."

You'll be disappointed if:

You're expecting a light, romantic comedy like "What Women Want," or the action of "The Road Warrior."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TIM IS TOPS..., March 10, 2002

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tim (DVD)

This is a gem of a film, starring the underrated Piper Laurie in the role of a well to do, but lonely, business woman, Mary Horton, who befriends a very nice, good looking day laborer, Tim Melville, earnestly played by a very young Mel Gibson. Tim happens to be a little simple. His family describes him as being "a few short of a full quid".

While he does work around her house, she gets to know him, as well as his working class family. As time goes on, a deep fondness that ripens into love develops between the two. He brings her out of her shell, and she teaches him to read and explains concepts that will enable him to function better in the world around him. Based upon Colleen McCollough's book of the same name, this is a very well acted film, with fine performances by the supporting cast, as well as the leads.

The quality of the DVD is bargain basement with no additional features. That is to be expected, as the price of this DVD is likewise bargain basement. One gets what one pays for. Moreover, the DVD picture is best described as grainy. This is unfortunate for such an excellent film. A better transfer from print to DVD should have been executed, as this film certainly merits it, as does the viewer.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Poignant, October 21, 2002

By 

Deborah Earle (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tim [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Having read the book, I can see why Gibson was chosen for the role. Tim is described as someone with features that would have inspired Praxiteles.-Classic and beautiful in Greek purportions. Despite the lack of blond hair that Colleen McCoullough ascribed her mentally diminished hero, Gibson gives him the vulnerabilty and nobility that McCoullogh describes. Piper Laurie is marvelous as Tim's employer, caretaker, and eventual love interest. The Australian landscape was gorgeous(it reminds me of Hawaii, where I lived as a child). But I was glad this film spares us the full descriptions of how Tim was treated by his co-workers. This is a very sensitive, well-thought piece, and I guess I can overlook many inconsistancies with the book and just enjoy the beauty of it.