I'm watching this now. I got the dvd off of ebay for dirt cheap. I think I watched this back in school but it came out in 1993, I was 13 then, we must of watched it on VHS in 94 or so, why would 7th or 8th graders watch this? hhmm Would you say it is more of a children's book or for teens? I think I'll stick to the classics like Wuthering Heights and Dickens!
I'm not nutty, I'm just hooked on dolls!
The most faithful version of The Secret Garden is the 7 episode (30 min. each) 1975 version. It is truest to the spirit of the period and to the dialogue & characters in the book. The actress who played Mary (Sara Hollis Andrews) had down pat the quaint charm and subtle "air" of a smug and difficult child of her class. Warning: The '75 version doesn't have the up to date production values and special effects of the '93 film and has occasionally, in the interior scenes, the look of a theatrical play. However, it is the production that most accurately reflects in it's script and in the actor's performances the manners, attitudes, and sensibilities of the people of that class. The children's customes were superb. The '93 version on the other hand was quite "gothic" (the book wasn't), less "literary", and was abridged to be more palatable to contemporary audiences. (Including Pagan rites.) The housekeeper (M. Smith) was not the wicked witch as portrayed and there was more understanding and affection generally between the characters in the book and 75' version. Some of the key characters in "The Secret Garden" were also omitted in the 93'film.
The last 15 min of the 93' version IS superior in one respect. It details in a touching way the reconciliation of Colin to his father, and Mary's final impressions of her lot, in a way that neither the 1975 version, or for that matter the book did.
Anyone who loves the Secret Garden should watch the 1975 and 93' versions. Both are special in their own unique way.
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It's been a while since I read the book, but I think this version is one of the more accurate ones. They didn't show the cholera outbreak or whatever it was, that killed everyone off, they had an earthquake instead. I think that was probably quicker and faster to shoot...and more interesting.
shareI found too many changes in this version to truly enjoy it when compared to the book. Although some of the changes were necessary due to time constraints the most serious, and detrimental change, was how the characters are related. In the book, Mary's father and Colin's mother and brother and sister while in the movie the mother's are identical twins. This is used to give Mary the same eyes as Lord Craven's late wife which he notes. This takes away some of the anquish evident in the book as, in the book, it is Colin that has his mother's eyes. It is that which causes the most pain to Lord Craven when he sees his wife's eyes looking at him from his "sickly" son.
shareThank you!
shareI don't know about older film versions, but aside from a few plot deviations (earthquake instead of cholera killing Mary's parents), a lot of the dialog in this film version was taken from the book, and I really liked that.
shareOne of the main things omitted in this film was the interaction between Mary and Dickon and Martha's family.
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