Customer Reviews

Whistle Down the Wind [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Alan Bates plays opposite a teenage Hayley Mills in this odd parable about a band of rural English children who mistake a fugitive criminal for the second coming of Jesus Christ. The indeterminate nature of the ending, which is open to subjective interpretations, makes this a difficult film to pronounce judgement on: non-Christians may not totally get the theological implications, but the dynamic between the aloof, dismissive adult villagers and the flock of children who readily revere the dishelvelled, dangerous Bates is an interesting precursor for the 'Sixties generation gap that was to come. Beautiful B&W cinematography, and excellent performances by all the child actors, who, amazingly, act like real kids do: petulant, competitive, and able to believe the fantastic.

This film is excellant. It's quite funny but it's sad as well. It's about three children and one day they find a man in their barn. The man is actually an escaped murderer but they don't know that. When he see's them he shouts out Jesus Christ and they think he's Jesus. I went to the theatre to see it with my parents and my brother. It was brillant.

I had a lot of trouble getting a hold of this film. It was worth it. You can't miss this one. This film taken from the original novel by Mary Hayley Bell. It is the story of 3 children who believe the man that is hiding in their barn is Jesus. This isn't just a children's film. It is a thought provoking film. You have to see it to understand how good it really is. I would recommend that you order the original book from Amazon UK. The book has a slightly different ending. This film has spawned a popular musical and is still popular today. All they have to do now is make the book available in the US. We would also like to see more availability of the video in the NSTC format. The UK also has it available on DVD.

Stylistically, Whistle Down the Wind treads the centre between the sentimentalism of postwar British cinema and the stark realism of the sixties. The bleak Lancashire countryside is photographed with great ambience by Arthur Ibbetson (The Railway Children, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory).

The story has three children discovering "Jesus" in their barn, and follows their attempts to keep his presence a secret from the adults. Underneath the events of the film is a journey of faith and doubt and puzzlement. There is a quite deliberate ambiguity, I think, that left me wondering whether the film was cynical or positive about the virtues of childlike faith.

The children turn in believable performances, including Hayley Mills, whose presence works surprisingly well, despite my suspicion that her star persona might add a touch of artifice to the production. The rest of the child cast are made up of real Lancastrian schoolchildren, so the thick northern accents and quaint idioms are all quite genuine.

"Whistle Down the Wind" is IMHO one of Hayley Mills' finest film interpretations from her vast film catalogue. Hayley provides a scintillating performance in a character of youthful innocence in a virtuous and somewhat obscure film. Will we ever be treated to this exemplary cinematic treasure in Region 1 North America?

It just amazes me that this isn't in region 1 format. Fortunately if you have a region-free player, this UK production is very affordable at this time and it INCLUDES SUBTITLES!! A lot of UK discs that I buy don't have them so I was very happy to find this one did. Not that the English is overly difficult to understand anyway although the provincial British colloquialisms are abundant and made all the more charming by being able to read them as you watch the movie.

As for the movie, it's a very accessable little film that gets you interested in it right away and continues to move at a quick and engaging pace throughout. Simutaneously unaffectedly cute, allegorically profound, and ultimately moving, the film is a masterpiece of cinema both in the story that it tells and in the excellence of direction and cinematography that it employs. Don't miss this gem from 1961. It's only special feature (besides English subtitles) is a trailer for the movie. But the transfer is just great and worthy of purchase if you have the player to watch it on.

I have been looking for a copy of this delightful movie for years and I'm glad to have found it. It's as good as I remember. Hoping to see it on DVD sometime soon. It's a great one to show your kids---or grandkid, too.

This film features Hayley Mills and is based on a story written by her mother, Mary Hayley Bell. The interactions of the children are absolutely typical of kids growing up in post WWII Britain. Even though the premise is silly - children mistaking an escaped criminal for Jesus Christ - its absolutely believable and shows the great screen writing talent of the author. Get this movie and see how things were in pre-Beatles England.

Was all set to watch this film and realized that playback was prohibited by area limitations. Mainly that it will not play in the USA. Might have been nice to include this information. Or was I expected to travel to another country to play it. Wish I had kept the address.

I did not realise this dvd is not made for USA viewing, what a waste of my money! Who knew what region 2 meant!!