Product Details

• Actors: Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Shia LaBeouf, Khleo Thomas
• Directors: Andrew Davis
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: September 23, 2003
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (238 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JLYP
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,321 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Fans of author Louis Sachar's book Holes will be delighted with this scrupulously faithful adaptation. After being wrongly found guilty of stealing a pair of sneakers, Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) gets sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility in the bed of a long-gone dry Texas lake. There--under the watchful eye of overseer Mr. Sir (a zesty Jon Voight), sneakily mean therapist Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson, O Brother Where Art Thou?), and the cool and cruel Warden (Sigourney Weaver)--Stanley and dozens of other delinquents are forced to dig an endless series of holes that the Warden hopes will lead her to a precious secret left behind by a long-dead female outlaw (Patricia Arquette). Sachar's book is beloved for its vivid characters and suspenseful plot; by sticking close to its source, Holes has become a dynamic, exciting, and surprisingly touching movie. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
Louis Sachar's entertaining children's novel is given a snappy, faithful treatment by the director Andrew Davis and his boisterous cast (which includes Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, and Shia LaBeouf). The story, about a young Texan boy unjustly sent to a work camp for delinquents, happily retains all the magic realism of the book (the author wrote the screenplay). Flashbacks to the Old West, deadly lizards, family curses-Davis combines all of the movie's disparate pieces with enormous skill. It's an emotional tall tale, intelligent and wonderful. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical!, April 21, 2003

By	sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

For the myriads of fans of the book, Good News! Author Louis Sacher did the screen adaptation, and Director Andrew Davis did an excellent job in creating the mood, leading his fine cast of young actors, and being faithful to the spirit and actuality of the book.

Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBouf), is a hard-luck boy, not surprising seeing his great-great grandpa had a curse laid on him for eternity by Madam Zeroni (Eartha Kitt). The Yelnats have had a habit of failure ever since. Stanley's Dad, (Henry Winkler) is working (unsuccessfully, of course) on inventing a perfect shoe-deodorizer. Ironically, Stanley is falsely arrested for stealing a great athlete's shoes. He is given a choice of jail or Camp Green Lake. Stanley innocently notes he's never been to camp before so---you just know This Was Not A Good Choice. Camp Green Lake is on a parched and barren desert. The lake disappeared a century before. Stanley is indoctrinated by down-and-dirty bad Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) who informs Stanley his days will be spent digging 5' x 5' holes to build "character" and any misstep will bring him to the Warden's (Sigourney Weaver) attention, a lady who coats her nails with rattlesnake venom.

His fellow inmates who like to be known as X-Ray, Armpit, ZigZag and Magnet greet Stanley with hazing and hard times. His only true ally is tiny little Zero (Khleo Castro) who wants Stanley to teach him to read. The day-in-day-out work is filthy, backbreaking and endless. But Stanley is learning some secrets that might permit him to break the age-old curse of the Yelnats.

Mr. Davis tells us Stanley and Camp Green Lake's history via flashbacks, and for the most part does a good job keeping the story moving, though it might be overly complex for younger viewers. Jon Voight is priceless as thoroughly bad, gimlet-eyed, bone stupid Mr. Sir. Sigourney Weaver is just shy of psychotic with her barely repressed rage at her situation. The boys are rightly terrified of her. "Holes" has a magnificent arc of a story and culminates in a manner that will have the audience cheering.

There are a few scary scenes that might be too much for the viewer under nine, as well as the flashbacks that could be hard to understand. If you have doubts about suitability, read the book both to yourself and the child. That way you have a win/win situation. This is a don't miss movie.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remains remarkably faithful to the book!, January 1, 2004

By	Laura Bellamy (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Holes (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

I read "Holes" several years back for a children's literature course I took in college. I highly enjoyed it! It was one of the best books I read in that class.

So when they introduced the movie, I was quite interested. Part of me was hopeful it would turn out well, the other part of me was skeptical that it would be anywhere near as good as the book. However, my fears were dashed. This movie was FABULOUS!

The story jumps back and forth a little between three different tales -- the story of Elya Yelnats, the main character's "no good, dirty-rotten, pig-stealing great-great-grandfather"; the story of Stanley Yelnats IV himself; and the story of a legendary outlaw, Kissing Kate Barlow. The three stories are interwoven quite ingeniously. In some cases, you aren't completely sure what the connection will be, but then when you find out, it fits perfectly.

The story IS slightly altered, of course, as most books-brought-to-movies tend to be. But it very much keeps the spirit of the original book. The boys are very believable -- I especially love Zero! Sigourney Weaver makes a wonderfully nasty warden. And John Voigt does a wonderful insane portrayal of Mr. Sir.

This movie will keep you laughing and curious throughout. And if you enjoyed the book, you'll like this film!

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's not to like?, May 24, 2003

By	L. Quido "quidrock" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Popular children's author Louis Sachar converts his most intricate book into a screenplay, and director Andrew Davis, in collaboration, brings it gloriously to the big screen! Although I'm surrounded by a sea of terrific young 11 and 12 year old reviewers, "Holes" is for everyone!

A young cast of actors, all talented, couples with Jon Voight as the over-the-top Camp Greenlake superintendent, "Mr. Sir".
Greenlake is a juvenile detention camp in the desert, and while conditions there are pretty oppressive, they are downplayed enough to make the movie safe for 9 and 10 year old viewers, as well.

The charm of the book, and also the movie, is to tell the tale of the Yelnats clan, revolving it around young Stanley Yelnats IV's incarceration for something he didn't do. Flashback is used to revisit the era that both Stanley's great-grandfather and grandfather lived in. These flashback scenes, amazingly, focus not on the Yelnats, but more on the women who inflicted the family curse on them, arising in terrific roles for Eartha Kitt (as gypsy Madam Zeroni) and stagecoach robber Kissin' Kate
Barlow (played by the luminous and talented Patricia Arquette).

Modern day is not without its own bad girl, with Sigourney Weaver as the Warden, who rules the camp with an iron fist. The Warden has her own agenda for the holes that the boys are forced to dig in the desert, and she's quirky, evil, and larger than life, looming over Voight and "Dr."(Tim Blake Nelson). Weaver's "Ex-c-uuuuuu-se Me?" line, used over and over in the film, is terrifying!

The audience is caught up in the action from the opening screen, and given a couple of young anti-heroes that are worth their weight in gold. A cameo by the irresistible Dule Hill from "The West Wing", is also notable.

"Holes" is perhaps the best family film of the last couple of years, and an outstanding example of what good filmmaking is all about!

Highly recommended for sheer enjoyment!