Product Description

Johanna spyris classic story comes to life in this wonderful adaptation about a young orphan girl abandoned by her aunt to live with her grandfather deep in the swiss alps. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/07/2004 Starring: Maximilian Schell Jennifer Edwards Run time: 105 minutes Director: Delbert Mann

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37245 in DVD
• Brand: Twentieth Century Fox
• Released on: 2004-09-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Customer Reviews

Only part of the film!
This version of Heidi was my absolute favorite movie as a child. I have the VHS version and decided to upgrade to the DVD. I couldn't believe it when I started watching it that the first part of the film is not even included. We don't see how Heidi got to her grandfathers, met Peter or his grandmother. I don't know if it is somehow a mistake on just my movie or if they are all missing the first scenes. The quality of the rest of the film was fine and just as good as I remembered. But, if you want to see the whole film, get the VHS.

Quite delightful
Fine acting, wonderful scenery, and a very pleasant approach to the classic tale make this quite an enjoyable film. Though the character of Fraulein Rottenmeir is a far cry from Johanna Spyri's, as is her relationship with Herr Sessemann, this change may be appealing for those who wish to share the film with children, who might be troubled by the original.

My reason for witholding a top rating is that, as a lifelong fan of Johanna Spyri's "Heidi," I noticed that some of the key themes in the original are missing. Heidi's simple faith, and her faith's being strengthened despite the time of dreadful homesickness and mistreatment by the governess in Frankfurt, do not come through clearly. The plot has been revised so that Herr Sessemann is an uncle, Fraulein Rottenmeir a lovely lady, and Klara (in the book, a gentle sort crippled by over protectiveness) a bit of a brat. Heidi remains in Frankfurt because she feels she owes it to Klara, who tends to move her legs when Heidi angers her.

All told, nonetheless, this is a very well acted film with a great deal of charm.

lovely film; poor DVD quality
Very enjoyable movie marred by washed out color. The Alps are breathtaking, but you wouldn't know it from this DVD.

So, I give the movie itself 4 stars, and the DVD 1 star.