Product Description

New Widescreen Edition with many new Special Features!

From Jean Delannoy, one of France’s foremost filmmakers, comes this top quality feature film production of the story of St. Bernadette and the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes. Actress Sydney Penny gives a beautiful performance as Bernadette, and the rest of the cast is equally superb. Also stars Roland Lesaffre and Michele Simonnet. It is highly recommended by the Vatican as a “sensitive portrayal of a very moving story that deserves a wide audience.”Shot on location in France with outstanding cinematography and a beautiful music score, this is the film that was chosen to be shown daily at the shrine in Lourdes.

Special Features: Re-mastered new Widescreen edition, Includes French language film version and English language version, English and Spanish subtitles, Film interview with actress Sydney Penny on playing Bernadette, Audio interviews with Sydney Penny, Collector’s Booklet.
This movie is Not Rated.
Includes a music CD with acclaimed “Song of Bernadette” by Oscar and Grammy-winning singer Jennifer Warnes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15835 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-08-15
• Formats: NTSC, Widescreen
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great family movie
This movie was a wonderful. I have read much about this Saint and the film tried very much to be faithful to the accounts of her visions, etc. Even though I grew up watching "The Song of Bernadette" and loved it, this one is better. Bernadette comes across as more real, yet still with the qualities that a saint would possess. The sequel, the Passion of Bernadette, was even better, as it dealt with the trials Bernadette endured after she entered the convent. My kids love watching Saint movies, and it's so much better for their character development than much of the trash Hollywood puts out. For anyone who wants to give their kids role models who display heroic virtues, as opposed to the criminal and deviant activities and lifestyles of many of today's celebrities, the lives of the Saints are great ways to expose them to true stories of real people who lived extraordinary lives or sometimes very ordinary lives in an extraordinary way. You don't have to be Catholic to admire someone who was. Or Indian to admire Ghandi, etc....

"The Simplest Will Be The Best" ~ A Timeless Tale Of Faith
Sydney Penny the enchanting little girl who won the hearts of millions in the classic '83 television series 'The Thorn Birds' stars in the '88 feature film 'Bernadette' the true story of Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879), the seer who was graced by 18 visitations of a beautiful "Lady in White". Though the film wasn't available in the U.S.A. until the DVD was recently released it has been enjoyed by millions of pilgrims to the Catholic shrine in Lourdes, France where it has played daily for the last twenty years.

I'm admittedly an avid fan of Sydney and so my comments may not be as objective as I would like, but I have to say that in my opinion absolutely no one could have played the role of the little peasant girl better. Her angelic face and gentle voice made for the perfect Bernadette. This fact is most evident during the visitation sequences when she falls into ecstatic trance. Even though the mysterious female visitor from Heaven never appears on screen, Sydney's expressive face and superior acting abilities allow the audience to view the supernatural through her countenance.

However there's more to this production than just the choice of the right actress to play Bernadette. The film is lovingly directed by Jean Delannoy who captures the time, place and spiritual events that have changed the hearts and minds of believers and non-believers alike. Not to leave out another essential aspect of the movie, Francis Lai's soundtrack is beautifully simple, yet elegant which brings it into perfect harmony with the story of this beloved saint.

Wow - Special 150th Anniversary editon has it all !
This is my favorite movie on Bernadette and Lourdes. And now this new re-mastered, widescreen version just released by Ignatius has such a great, higher quality picture, along with so many bonus additions, including the first time availability of the French language (original) version, and the wonderful film and radio interviews with the wonderful Sydney Penny. Those interviews add so much to this film package. Its great to see & hear the lovely Sydney Penny in person talk about what it meant to play this role. (This movie was actually filmed in both English and French, shot two times back to back by Jean Delannoy, and both versions are on this DVD.)
PLUS - the glorious voice of the incredible singer Jenifer Warnes and that deeply moving song she and Leonard Cohen wrote, "Song of Bernadette", on the bonus CD in this package. Now hopefully many, many more people will get to hear this lovely song and tribute to Bernadette by this fabulous Grammy-winning artist. It also has a second beauty sung by Jennifer Warnes on the CD, her song "Prairie Melancholy". Another music gem from this heavenly singer.
In this 150th anniversary year of the Lourdes apparitions, this newly packaged re-mastered film, with the audio CD and songs, the Penny interviews, and the 16 page Collector's Booklet, is such a wonderful way to honor the Lourdes story and this inspiring movie.