Product Details

• Actors: Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies, Ronald Squire, John Mills, Hugh Sinclair
• Directors: Anthony Pelissier
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Homevision
• DVD Release Date: September 24, 2002
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006G8H2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,805 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Rocking Horse Winner" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Like the classic D.H. Lawrence story it's based upon, The Rocking Horse Winner is timeless and disturbingly effective. One of only seven films directed by Anthony Pelissier, this beautifully atmospheric British production ranks as the definitive filming of Lawrence's oft-adapted story, made shortly after David Lean's Oliver Twist and Great Expectations and featuring some of the same actors. John Howard Davies--excellent as Oliver in Lean's film--is equally fine as the young boy who obsessively rides his new rocking horse, mysteriously gaining the ability to predict winners of actual horse races. This rescues his profligate mother (Valerie Hobson) from financial ruin, but her reckless materialism is inevitably marred by tragedy. Although British censors slightly softened the tragic blow that ends Lawrence's story (included in its entirety in the DVD booklet), its impact is not diminished. With John Mills in a pivotal role as producer and costar, this is a masterful film not to be missed. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Based on one of D.H. Lawrence’s most enduring short works, this haunting tale of a boy driven to the limits of his own life by his mother’s wanton materialism is finally available on DVD for the first time. Plagued by his mother’s obsession with money a young, introverted boy discovers that by riding his toy rocking horse he can predict the outcome of future horse races. With the aid of his uncle and the family gardener, the boy finds an unlikely answer to the financial problems that are turning his parents into strangers. But the more he wins, the more his mother spends and the stakes get higher and higher.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars above and beyond the film, October 4, 2002

By A Customer

This film drips atmosphere. A creepy, gothic, moral tale of sorts, given a classic British treatment. Not only is the presentation of the film above par - it looks great - the entire package is stellar. Between the original story reprinted in its entirety, a reading by John Shea, and another film interpretation by Michael Almeryda, shot in Pixilvision, this has to be the be-all, end-all examination of a written piece and its various adaptations. Really cool. Enough said.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked British gem gets solid DVD treatment, August 4, 2004

By	Tryavna (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

I agree with the other reviews here. This is an unusual but very effective little fantasy based on DH Lawrence's most famous short story. Apparently, this was a pet project of John Mills, who produced the film and appeared in a key supporting role. The child actor is suprisingly good, and the cinematography is creative and appropriately creepy.

This DVD has some of the most unique extras I've ever seen. Basically, Home Vision Entertainment has packaged it as a collection of different interpretations of Lawrence's story, and the entries are very interesting. Best of all are the Almereyda short film and a full copy of the original story in place of liner notes. HVM have teamed up with Criterion in the past, and they do not disappoint here. The transfer is fine.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this a full 5-star rating is that, unlike Criterion, HVM hasn't provided any substantial info on the feature film. This is an oversight in my opinion because this 1949 movie became a particularly strong influence on the next generation of British filmmakers who openly embraced fantasy (like Lindsay Anderson's "If..."). American audiences might not make that connection.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual British Film, February 22, 2004

By	Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"The Rocking Horse Winner" is adapted from the out-of-print short story by D. H. Lawrence. An upper-middle class family in post-war Britain is strapped for cash and continually spending beyond their means. The mother is played by Valerie Hobson, who starred as Estella a few years earlier in the extraordinary adaptation of David Lean's "Great Expectations." She is impatient with her husband's relatively low wages and wishes continually for more funds, seemingly not caring about the source of the money. Her young son (John Howard Davies, who later produced "Fawlty Towers") hears her pleas and soon is betting on horse racing with the help of their gardener, Bassett (played by the peerless Sir John Mills). Surprisingly, the boy seems to be rather lucky and begins to win, but complications soon arise.

The "Rocking Horse Winner" is not particularly well-known, and it definitely deserves a larger audience. The film is highly enjoyable and unpredictable, with some unexpected eerie and sinister elements. The acting is generally good and somewhat larger than life, although Valerie Hobson portrays the mother in perhaps too unsympathetic a light. A highlight of the film is the demonic rocking horse that the boy receives for Christmas; the scenes with the boy riding it into a frenzy are frighteningly unforgettable, and perhaps more than a bit oedipal in nature. The DVD transfer is quite good, although no subtitles have been recorded - a shame considering the sometimes thick accents of some of the actors. Overall, the "Rocking Horse Winner" is a champion - an unusual, small British film that should be much better known.
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Extras: Three different versions of "Rocking Horse Winner" are included. The most interesting is a 22 minute short film by Michael Almereyda, who later directed the 2000 movie "Hamlet" starring Ethan Hawke. The short is set in the present and stars Eric Stoltz. Filmed in a grainy manner with pixelation used throughout, it's interesting but the acting is often poor and the story is disjointed. The two other versions are audio-only: a reading taken from public radio and excerpts from a libretto opera. Highly unusual extras!