DVD

Average customer rating:

English teacher gives this DVD a C-
A Difficult Film to Make, Updated for Our Times
Beware!
not that bad
i don't get it

Animal Farm (1999)
Starring: Kelsey Grammer , Ian Holm , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Julia Ormond , and Pete Postlethwaite
Director: John Stephenson (II)
Manufacturer: Hallmark
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

Dreyfus, Julia Louis | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Grammer, Kelsey | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Holm, Ian | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Ormond, Julia | ( O ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Postlethwaite, Pete | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Scofield, Paul | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Stewart, Patrick | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Ustinov, Peter | ( U ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | VHS | Video

10-12 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | VHS | Video

Family Films | Kids & Family | Genres | VHS | Video

Comedy | Today's Deals in Video | Features | VHS | Video

Deals Under $8 | Today's Deals in Video | Features | VHS | Video

Animal Farm
Fahrenheit 451
Of Mice & Men (1992)
The Crucible
The Odyssey

ASIN: B0000365DR
Release Date: 2000-01-18

Amazon.com

After the technical achievement of Babe, it was inevitable that "talking animal" effects would be applied to the serious themes of George Orwell's Animal Farm. A bitterly satirical indictment of Stalinist Russia and the failure of Communism, Orwell's 1945 novel is a time-honored classic, so it's only fitting that this TNT production remains largely faithful to Orwell's potent narrative. A showcase for the impressive creations of Jim Henson's Creature Shop (where director John Stephenson was a veteran supervisor), the film employs animatronic critters and computer animation to tell the story of uprising, unity, and tragic rebellion among the animals of a British farm.

The politics of "Animalism" are initially effective, ousting enemy humans according to rules ordained by Old Major, the barnyard pig whose death sets the stage for the corruptive influence of the pig Napoleon, who cites superior intelligence as his right to superiority. This tyrannical reign destroys the farm's stability, and the film--decidedly not for young children--preserves Orwell's dark, cynical view of absolute power corrupting absolutely. Particularly effective is a propaganda film shown to the barnyard collective, and certain scenes--while not as impressive as the Babe films--powerfully convey the force of Orwell's story through animal "performance." Animal Farm occasionally falters in its emotional impact (the fate of the horse Boxer should be heart-rending, and it isn't), but it's certainly blessed with an elite voice cast, including Peter Ustinov, Patrick Stewart, Pete Postlethwaite, Julia Ormond, Kelsey Grammer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Paul Scofield, and Ian Holm. Not the masterpiece it might've been, this is nevertheless a worthy representation of Orwell's novel. (Ages 8 and older) --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

English teacher gives this DVD a C-.......2007-05-18

Reading some of the other customer reviews, it seems this DVD runs the gamut of emotions for many viewers. Some liked it; while others felt that too many liberties were taken with the book. I recently showed this DVD to my Sophomore English class after reading the novella with them. I think my students probably would have rated this DVD higher than I did; however, there were far too many differences from the text for my liking.

For starters, the story is told from the perspective of Jesse, one of Mr. Jones's dogs. While this may not seem like a major flaw, I feel it overly inflates the importance of a minor character in the book. Secondly, while there is no nudity in the DVD, there is an implied sexual encounter between Mr. Jones and Mrs. Pilkington about 15 minutes into the movie. Mr. Jones finds Mrs. P in his bed; Mrs. P assures Mr. Jones that her husband is fast asleep; camera pans up to headboard; Mrs. P says "Oh, Mr. Jones" and then the headboard begins knocking. Some of my studetns did snicker at the scene; most were nonplussed. (In fact, an earlier scene were Old Major's carcass is being butchered elicited far more shock than this one.) The "sex scene" was not an issue with my class, as I'm sure most have seen far more suggestive things on regular TV. However, USE YOUR OWN DESCRETION. You may want to fast-forward scene. While I did not find the scene overly objectionable, it was yet another deviation from the text. Lastly, and more importantly, the DVD does alter the ending of the novella. Whereas the book ends with the pigs playing cards with the humans and everyone looks the same, the movie continues on with Jesse and the animals running away from the farm upon this discovery. Eventually the farm is bought by new owners (a young American family), and Jesse and her pups return. I feel the "happy Hollwood ending" runs counter to the spirit of the novella, as did many of my students.

On the positive side, the effects were (for the most part) rather clever. I think there was only one scene (Squealer painting "Animal Farm" on the front gate) that seemed hokey and cartoonish. This updating, by itself, overcame most of the flaws in the adaptation and is why I chose this version over the earlier cartoon one. I remember seeing the cartoon version when I was in high school 25 years ago; I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. (I feel the very fact that it IS a cartoon belittles the importance of Orwell's message. I mean, who takes a cartoon seriously?) The movie also does a good job showing how governments use the media to control public opinion. Particularly haunting was the black-and-white newsreel toward the end of the DVD which was highly reminiscent of Hitler's Nuremburg rallies. This particular scene is a microcosm of how I feel about the movie: While it is beautifully shot and imaginative, it is reminiscent of Hitler (not Stalin) and goes for far too long. Some editing and a more literal rendering of the book would have gone a long way in improving this movie.

Overall, this version is better than the earlier cartoon one. However, "better" in this case does not mean "good", just "OK".

A Difficult Film to Make, Updated for Our Times.......2006-11-02

I'm surprised by the harsh reviews of many of the commenters. Ok, there are some failed efforts at updating, and liberties are taken with the text, but I found some of the updating to be very effective.

For example, the manner in which television and propaganda films were used to pacify the animals hint at the way the mass media operates today. Also, Napoleon's use of the bogeyman of Farmer Jones returning certainly resonates in an age where the politics of fear are openly utlized to convince voters to support ongoing government policies.

And I found the mixed use of real animals, human actors, and Frank Oz effects to be intriguing, though perhaps not ultimately successful.

Finally, this is a much darker vision, which may not be appropriate for children. Patrick Stewart's voicing of Napoleon is genuinely frightening, as he slowly perverts the good intentions of Old Major and eliminates and appropriates Snowball's far-thinking ideas, only to accumulate further power and material possessions.

A flawed production, but a creative and interesting take on this Orwell classic.

Beware!.......2006-09-28

For any of you teachers out there who plan to watch this in your classroom with your students: BEWARE!! First of all, I've heard of taking "liberties" with a book but this is ridiculous! Sex between Farmer Jones and the neighbor farmer's wife is not in the book, but sure is shown in the movie. I was shocked to see them rolling under the sheet as the headboard was "knocking against the wall". Utterly revolting and embarassing for me and my students. I expect better from Hallmark Entertainment, Family Home Entertainment, etc...
Second, there is a "no rating" statement on the DVD - I'm angry about this and don't appreciate being taken advantage of. There was no warning about adult situations. It's a shame that one can't be truthful in advertising. Buyer Beware!

not that bad.......2006-06-21

I have read a number of reviews that are upset that the ending was too optimistic. But there is a reason for that. Remember that Animal Farm was at least partially based on the Soviet Union, and when this movie was made (1999) the soviet union had fallen and it looked as if we had new hope for a democratic russia under the leadership of borris yeltsin. So to have a more optimistic ending (that George Orwell would have never in a million years written) is not that bad of an idea and it follows russian history. But after 7 years we see that things are not that optimistic. Borris Yeltsin had to leave office because his alcholism made him unfit to rule a country (disturbingly like Mr. Jones). Now a former member of the KGB is in charge of russia. Furthermore the entire world is now starting to enter a war that seems to be unwinnable with goals that are at best ambigious and may very well be unachievable. Hmmm all of this is starting to remind me another Orwell book, that could be made into a bad TNT adaptation.

i don't get it.......2006-04-14

I don't understand. How is it that so many people thought 1984 the movie was a masterpiece and yet they didn't give this great film the time of day. This movie is as good as 1984 (the movie) was bad. This is a perfect example of what communism really is, a good idea that could only work in a perfect world because hay, people (and animals apparently) are corrupt. Theirs a reason they say absolute power corrupts absolutely. People are selfish, and this is why communism must always fail, because people don't like to share and like being forced to share even less.
This is one hell of a movie. Not perfect, but way above the [...] fest of a movie 1984 was. If you love Gorge Orwell than get this movie

DVD:

DVD

DVD

Do the Right Thing

Judy Collins: Wildflower Festival

Biker Zombies From Detroit (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: John Wayne - American Legend

Arielle, die Meerjungfrau 2: Sehnsucht nach dem Meer