Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52125 in DVD
• Released on: 1997-09-30
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
This classic family film made a star of 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor in the title role as spunky Velvet Brown, a girl who's determined to enter her horse, Pie, in the Grand National Steeplechase. Critic Pauline Kael called it "One of the most likeable movies of all time." Mickey Rooney costars as a young man who helps Velvet train Pie for the big race. At the last minute, Velvet herself has to ride Pie in the tournament and cuts her hair to pass for a jockey. Anne Revere won an Oscar as Velvet's mother, as did editor Robert J. Kern, who cut together a terrifically exciting horse race. Donald Crisp and Angela Lansbury are also featured as members of the Brown family. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

BUYER BEWARE....ATROCIOUS DVD TRANSFER!!!!
National Velvet is a classic film, enjoyable and entertaining for the whole family. I give the film itself 5 stars for this reason alone. They just don't make 'em like this anymore!!!

...And now for the real nitty gritty...Warner (and previously MGM DVD) should be ashamed of themselves for putting out such an atrocious transfer of this great Technicolor classic! While the colors show up well in most of the film, the main problem with this DVD is that the source print was VERY DIRTY!!!!

Expect to see PLENTY of scratches, dust, and out-of-focus shots throughout the 124 minute running time.

Overall, this is a complete disgrace because Turner Classic Movies runs a fantastically restored PRISTINE print of National Velvet on their network...free of scratches and dust.

Also, I have another word to the folks at Warner: LOSE THE CHEAPIE SNAPPER CASE PACKAGING!!! AMARAY KEEP CASE ALL THE WAY!!!

5 stars for the film....1 star for the lousy treatment on DVD!!!

Top Notch!
This is another of those classic horse movies that is STILL great today! I have seen it a hundred times, and I still enjoy it just as much as the first time. :)

The story is basically a poor, horse-crazy girl named Velvet Brown (Elizabeth Taylor) ends up with an unruly, but talented horse she calls The Pie. He's known for jumping out of pastures and being a nuisance! A young boy (Mickey Rooney) ends up staying with her family for awhile, to help out with the family business. He happens to know about horses and helps Velvet train The Pie. They end up entering the horse in the most prestigious steeplechase event in the world, the Grand National. The rest I'll keep a secret!

The story is so heart warming and special... the characters are funny and sympathetic. The acting is superb! A very young Angela Landsbury has a part as Velvet's beautiful older sister! And the race at the end is just brilliant - you really can't help but cheer The Pie on - to this day I find myself standing up and screaming along as he is leaping over those fences!

The movie followed the basic story of the book, but as with most movies they had to leave a lot out. The book is a classic in its own right though, and well worth reading if you haven't already. The story is so exciting and fun, its one I will never forget. I highly recommend seeing this movie, even if you're not a horse fanatic. :)

CLASSIC FILM - BAD WB DVD
Warner Brothers obviously doesn't care about their film library. This fact shines when you consider their DVD of "National Velvet". This wonderful film features beautiful early color photography, outstanding performances from the likes of Donald Crisp, Mickey Rooney and the young Liz Taylor, a stunning score and a faithful adaptation of a beloved children's book. WB celebrates this gem, which any other studio would love to have in their archive, by releasing an overpriced, no-frills DVD which was struck from the WORST print imaginable: scratches, drop-outs, discoloration, out of focus footage etc... abound, in addition to a muted, garbled soundtrack + no special features (not even the Theatrical Trailer promised on the box!), even though the two stars are still alive!!

Shame on WB. This edition is thankfully out of print. Here's hoping for a special edition with a commentary before Taylor and Rooney have passed on.