Product Description

Take a wee bit of ancient folklore, mix in some spectacular special effects and a magical cast (including Sean Connery) -- and you've got one of the most enchanting fantasies of all time! A frisky old storyteller named Darby O'Gill is desperately seeking the proverbial pot of gold. There's just one tiny thing standing in his way: a 21-inch leprechaun named King Brian. In order to get the gold, Darby must match his wits against the shrewd little trickster -- which proves no small task, indeed! Fall under the spell of DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE for a fun-filled evening of magic, mirth, and nonstop shenanigans!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3567 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2004-08-03
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
Purportedly one of Walt Disney's most personal pet projects, Darby O'Gill shows the effort and care put into it. Even now the special effects hold up shockingly well. Darby O'Gill is an estate caretaker, but in his advanced years he's more fond of telling tall tales in the local pub about the wee folk than keeping the grounds. A new man (a very youthful Sean Connery) is sent in to take his place, and O'Gill doesn't know what will become of himself and his daughter. He snags three spectacular opportunities, however, when he catches the king of the leprechauns. This film is whimsical without being silly, supernatural without being outlandish, and all and all a treat for the whole family. --Keith Simanton

Customer Reviews

Wonderful escape...excellent fantasy...
I saw this in theatres when first released. I was a kid, and awestruck. Then the VHS came along. It was good. And now, the best DVD you could imagine! The film could stand on its own, and at a good price. The extras are generous...2 short documentaries, and a scripted "making of" involving Disney himself. Loads of fun! The wonderful Albert Sharpe came out of retirement to make this, and he is sharp as a tack; a thoroughly complete performance. He should've had Oscar recognition. For that matter, this film was not nominated for any Oscars at all. The sweet ballad "Irish Lass", though a hit at the time, was ignored, as well as the wonderful Special Effects...and, sadly, Sharpe's performance. The most interesting element of the film is seeing Sean Connery with hair (?); he gives a fine performance and isn't that bad a singer; good insight about how he got this role, in the extras, but I won't blab away the stuff. Janet Munro made her Disney debut, here, and he used her in many others (I liked her in "Swiss Family Robinson"). I don't know what happened to her. She later gave a remarkable performance in "The Day the Earth Caught Fire"; I really like her a lot. She is a natural beauty. This is PURE Disney...sweet, serious, and especially, great for kids. Let the fantasy take them to another place, as it did for me, when I first watched it. It's Albert Sharpe, though, that gives the crowning performance of his wonderful career. Watch it. Love it. Always believe...

Sir Sean Sings!!
Disney made a slew of films in the early to middle 60's in England, and they are such great whole family films. They are releasing The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, with the brilliant Patrick McGoohan at the same time this one comes out. I hope it's trend from Disney, because there are a lot of costume historicals that I would love to own from their British Period.

This film has long be a fav of mine. Back before Connery because forevermore in our mind James Bond, he did this nifty little Irish Drama. He is coming to take over for an Irish lord as factor, displacing an old man and his daughter. Moonlight and Magick has Connery beginning to fall for the daughter and charmed by the old man. But Da is not going down without a fight. He catches the King of the Wee People and plans of getting his three wishes.

It's done with Irish faerytale charm, Connery is proper dashing as the new hunk, (even show his South Pacific singing voice), the Irish myths are loving retold, making this a delight anytime, but a must for St. Paddy's day!

Little People, Sean Connery and Widescreen
"Darby O'Gill and the Little People" is Disney live action fantasy at its finest. The film ably captures all the beauty and wonder of Irish folkbelief and transfers it to the screen with considerable charm, it is indeed a film the whole family can enjoy (although young kids may find the banshee a bit frightening).

Kudos to the cast, who really bring this film to life. Albert Sharpe is great as the lay about but loveable Darby O'Gill and the beautiful Janet Munro lights up every scene she's in playing Darby's daughter and Sean Connery's love interest. BTW this is the film that producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman found their James Bond in while casting about for a little film they were making called "Dr. No."

As to the issue of widescreen here is the official word from Disney (as included on a flyer in the DVD):

"Darby O'Gill and the Little People is presented as it was originally shot, in a 1.33;1 aspect ratio. When released to theaters in 1959, the studio recommended projecting the image at 1.75:1, to satisy the public's growing appetite for widescreen movies. To give the illusion of this wider image, theaters often needed to crop films at that time, and some of the picture was not seen. The following presentation has not been cropped, and none of the original image has been lost"

Hopefully that settles the issue of Disney "ruining" this film with this DVD release. So, buy the movie, pop some popcorn and settle in for a grand evening's entertainment!