Product Details

• Actors: Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Gabriel Byrne
• Directors: Gillian Armstrong
• Writers: Robin Swicord, Louisa May Alcott
• Producers: Denise Di Novi, Robin Swicord, Warren Carr
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Portuguese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: April 25, 2000
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (200 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0767851013
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #942 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Love & Romance > Young Love
  #16 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Coming of Age
  #18 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Family Life

• For more information about "Little Women (Collector's Series)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

The flaws are easily forgiven in this beautiful version of Louisa May Alcott's novel. A stirring look at life in New England during the Civil War, Little Women is a triumph for all involved. We follow one family as they split into the world, ending up with the most independent, the outspoken Jo (Winona Ryder). This time around, the dramatics and conclusions fall into place a little too well, instead of finding life's little accidents along the way. Everyone now looks a bit too cute and oh, so nice. As the matron, Marmee, Susan Sarandon kicks the film into a modern tone, creating a movie alive with a great feminine sprit. Kirsten Dunst (Interview with the Vampire) has another showy role. The young ensemble cast cannot be faulted, with Ryder beginning the movie in a role akin to light comedy and crescendoing to a triumphant end worthy of an Oscar. --Doug Thomas

Product Description

ACCLAIMED ADAPTATION OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S CIVIL WAR-ERA NOVEL ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE FOUR MARCH SISTERS. SPECIAL FEATURES: SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, CHINESE, KOREAN AND THAI, DIRECTOR'S COMMENTARY, TWO TRIVIA GAMES, TALENT FILES, HISTORICAL TIMELINE, DELETED SCENES AND MUCH MORE.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great movie and a great remake!!!, October 23, 2002

By	"kat519" (Bolton, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Women (Slip) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

To start out, this is one of my favorite books. So I of course started out with an additude to begin with, muttering that the book was always better. In this case, I was so wrong. The characters portrayed in this film are the same ones I met in 5th grade when I first read "Little Women". The actors shine in their roles and truly embody everyone one of the literary creations they represents.
Playing the March matriarch, Susan Sarandon is great! She is able to maintain the feel of the period while bringing to Marmee an empowering bout of women's rights thoughts. Sarandon gives off warmth and knowledge wiht the apparent ease of someone completely familiar with the material.
Wynona Ryder is another standout here. She is the raging bundle of emotion that we have all come to know as Jo March. Playing down her usually unique features, Ryder plays the part with spunk and earnestness.
My favorite here is Christian Bale as the oft put uopn Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence. Quite a jump from his "Newsies" days, Bale is the best Laurie I have seen on screen to date. He has the mannerisms and lines down to perfection, while still maintaining the spontanaity that really is a huge part of Laurie's character. He also handles the age jump incredibly well.
Not until my most recent viewing of the movie did I realize Gabriel Byrne was Professor Bhaer. The native irishman does a great job of bringing Frerdrick to life, right down to his physical bumbling and poetic heart.
In my opinion, this movie was a complete triumph and a complete success from novel to film. All actors are fine in their roles, most exceptional, and it is such a joy to see an old favorite and all-time classic brought to life which such enthusiasm and talent. This is a must-see for any fan of the novel~although it will leave you yearning for "Little Men" and Jo's Boys" featuring this cast-which has yet to be done!!

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Version of the Classic Story, November 16, 2004

By	DonMac "butchm" (Lynn, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This version of Little Women is a classic in its own right. Armstrong did an amazing job here capturing the period and coaxing beautiful performances from her cast. Ryder, Dunst, Alvarado, Mathis, Sarandon, Byrne, Bale and a heartbreaking Danes are all in top form. Visually, the movie is just beautiful and the soundtrack is mesmerizing. A must see.

31 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This wasn't the time or place, December 8, 2001

By	J. Paderewski (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little Women (Slip) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's a sad commentary on the state of political correctness when a book written in the 19th century has to be "updated" instead of being preserved as a precious reminder of times gone by. Are filmmakers so concerned with the bottom line that they don't think viewers are capable of recognizing a historical setting for what it is? The virtue of the novel is in its message - that love is eternal, surpassing youth, beauty, and riches. What part of that message can't be understood by a modern audience without "sanitizing it for our protection" against mores of bygone days? Why must we be hit on the head with the Anvil of Political Consciousness in a story where those notions had yet to be brought to the fore?

If the people making this movie had been truly interested in finding feminism in Louisa May Alcott's text, then they missed the boat in three enormous ways:

1. They made Jo the prettiest girl. That casting move left all of her lines about being an awkward tomboy sound as if she were fishing for compliments. What would have been so terrible about having someone less model-waif-starlet take the role? Go back and watch June Allyson and Katherine Hepburn in their turns as Jo - they weren't prettied up by the makeup artists and photographers, and it makes them all the stronger. By making Jo so lovely, the film accidentally moves against feminism by falling into the stereotype that even "little" women have to be beautiful. (To be fair, they also make Professor Bhaer unrecognizably handsome, missing the point for the male as well as female characters.)

2. They ignored the subtle textual references about Marmee having as severe a temper as Jo. Instead of showing Marmee shouting out a window about not wearing corsets, why not show her working to control her emotions for the good of her family? Why not show her desire to work for the betterment of the poor as an outlet for her frustration over being left at home? Can you imagine what Susan Sarandon could have done with material like that?

3. I'll grant that it would be hard to portray the changes in Amy, because in the novel most of them are happening in description rather than in her actions. Simply changing actresses in mid-stream isn't enough - we should have seen her growth from inside, her desire to become a good person rather than a rich one. Instead of seeing Laurie as her just reward for having made such a difficult journey, as we do in the book, it comes across as irony that someone so selfish should wind up with the rich boy next door.

Thanks, but no thanks - I'll go back to Katherine Hepburn or June Allyson (even though in the latter version it's obvious Joan Bennett was pregnant when she portrayed Amy), and take my message undiluted.