Reviews (6)

I've seen it once and would like my own copy.
My review is simple. I've seen The New Adventures of Heidi with Burl Ives, liked it very much but have not found anywhere to purchase it. Yours was the closest I came, but you had a notification that it was not available--or--when I did place an order for a copy giving all information requested, you said you would send me an email but have not done so. I requested this last week twice but nothing came on my email.
Roman

Best family film we've seen in a long time!
For Burl Ive fans this is a collector. Great for the Christian family as they sang beautiful prayers to God. Burl Ive's was a believer himself. I can't wait to send a copy to a friend as a gift, who doesn't like movies that may be great, but, they have to throw in bad language. She says, "that's not entertainment to them or their children. It's not a sad movie like so many of the other Heidi's were, but I won't tell you the ending. It is a feel good movie. We can all use that these days.

Feel Good Movie, great for the entire family
This digitally enhanced version of the follow up to the wonderful classic Shirley Temple family film finds Heidi living with her grandfather (Burl Ives - "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof") in the Swiss Alps. In desperate fear of going blind, he contacted Heidi's cousin to take her in and provide for her. What follows is a wonderfully exciting series of adventures told with the heartwarming style and grace of the author Johana Spyris. A wonderful family entertainment feature which will especially be enjoyed by kids of all ages again and again.

Great story, horrid DVD
I really like Burl Ives and the story is nice but the DVD is awful. This looks like someome took a very old video tape and transferred it direct to DVD. This DVD played on one of our DVD players, but wouldn't play on our second DVD player (this has never happened before).

Maybe I just got a dud DVD copy, but this was not worth the shipping cost, much less the cost of the film.

An Excellent Family Movie!!
Johanna's Spyri's tale is brought to life and updated in this heartwarming family film.Heidi(Katy Kurtzmann) is living with her Grandfather(Burl Ives) in the Swiss Alps.But her grandfather is slowly losing his eyesight and fears that he will no longer be able to take care of her.While in town,he secretly calls Heidi's cousins in Lucerne and asks them to take custody of Heidi.In the meantime,a young girl named Elizabeth runs away from her school group to follow Heidi back to her cabin.They become best of friends and Elizabeth begs Heidi and her grandfather to let her stay with them.However,Heidi and her grandfather know that Elizabeth's place is with her family,and they return her the next day.While out on a search party for Heidi's friend Peter,her grandfather disappears into the woods and is feared dead.Left with no one to care for her,Heidi is taken to live with Elizabeth's family.With them ,she travels to New York for the holidays,and has many exciting adventures which make this an excellent family movie to watch for all ages!! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not quite what the title implies
This film covers in a limited sense what THE CELLULOID CLOSET covers more professionally and comprehensively. The title refers to the reel of gay and homoerotic scenes from Hudson's studio films that he compiled for showing to his friends at parties. There are no candid home movie clips (no shots of Rock by the pool, Rock and Tab Hunter playing croquet, or of anyone dressed in women's clothes). If you can surmount that disappointment, it should be noted that the studio clips are mostly of extremely poor quality (as if photographed from a tv screen). On top of that, the film has an amateurish quality (a not-very-similar-looking actor plays Rock speaking from the world beyond, sometimes with his image inserted into the frame with the real Rock Hudson). I'm sure for some viewers these qualities will give the film a sort of underground cult classic feeling and add to its appeal. I found such effects distracting and annoying. On top of this, there are no interesting new revelations about Hudson (or about a Hollywood lavender underworld). All stones were left unturned.

Even so, ROCK HUDSON'S HOME MOVIES did make me appreciate the sheer number and variety of films Hudson made (westerns, war, Douglas Sirk melodramas, as well as the familiar, fluffy technicolor sex comedies with Doris Day). Not the best actor America ever produced, but certainly one the camera loved.

Clever
This clever film uses clips from Rock Hudson's Hollywood movies to tell the truth about his gay life. You will not be able to see those films the same way again. If you liked " The Celluloid Closet" you'll like this movie

Delight!
This movie explores the myth known as "Rock Hudson." What was up there on the screen and how did it mirror the real Rock Hudson. In fact, is there a real Rock Hudson or is he just a real-life manifestation of his Seconds character? The movie deftly blends real footage with an actor playing Rock Hudson. The result is a startling blend of intertextual delight.

"Fantastic" documentary about Rock Hudson
A masterpiece about comedy, a perfect complement for "Pillow Talk" and other Rock Hudson's comedies. Here, Rappaport make a editing from Rock Hudson's movies of all times, selecting scenes that suggest you the homosexuality of the star/charachter. Very funny, for all Rock Hudson's lovers/fans and people without prejudices.

A great gay "essay" film
I can understand the other reviewer's disappointment with this movie if he was expecting some kind of narrative "memory" play. The movie functions as a deconstructive essay, much like Rappaport's subsequent "From the Journals of Jean Seberg". Think also of the kind of shoestring budget essay films that Orson Welles made toward the end of his life ("F for Fake" and "Filming Othello"). This movie delighted me, made me see some familiar material in whole new ways (how could I have missed all of that coded material in Howard Hawks' "Man's Favorite Sport"?), and was a fun consciousness raiser. I watched this with friends and everyone came away buzzing about it. ... Read more

Reviews (95)

Go Rudolph! Go!
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is THE classic Rankin/Bass Animagic Christmas special. I could not imagine a holiday season going by without watching this at least once. Now, with this DVD, I can put away my "taped from television" copy and enjoy the complete, fully-restored splendor of Rudolph.

For the first time since 1964, the complete, unedited version can be seen on this DVD. Throughout the years, the special has been trimmed to allow for more commercial time, including the removal of a longer version of "We Are Santa's Elves", a duet reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits." The edits where made as long ago as 1965, so getting the complete version is a real treat. It even restores Rudolph's Elf friend's proper name, "Hermey" as opposed to the edited "Herbie."

Burl Ives has perhaps his most classic role as Sam the Snowman, singing many now-classic songs that were written for this program, such as "Holly-jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold." (Of course, he also sings Johnny Marks wonderful "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!")

The Animagic puppets are never more welcome than at Christmas. This is a really nice DVD, and includes extras such as an introduction by Arthur Rankin and the complete "Fame and Fortune" song that replaced the reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits" in 1965. What a wonderful DVD!

Absolute Every-Year Holiday Classic!
This is one amazing show that everybody loves. The unforgettable characters and memorable music make "Rudolph" one of the videos my family never fails to watch each winter. See, I'm 16 years old and didn't grow up with all these stop-motion, "Animagic" Rankin/Bass holiday special shows, but I do love them. For the longest time I watched "Rudolph" every Christmas and "Peter Cottontail" every Easter, but didn't know the wealth of other wonderfully great shows awaiting me. Luckily just today I finished watching the Rankin/Bass marathon on TV, and was introduced to some other incredible classics that I must buy: "Pinnochio's Christmas," "Jack Frost," "The First Christmas," "The Little Drummer Boy," "Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey," "The Year without a Santa Claus" (the best one), "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," and more. I know most of the voice acting because I enjoy watching older TV sitcoms and game shows, in which all these 70's actors and actresses starred. "Rudolph" will always remain a favorite part of my holiday traditions. The characters of Yukon Cornelius, the Bumble, Clarice (Rudolph's girlfriend), and Hermey, along with the songs like "Silver and Gold" and "Santa's Elves"--oh, and let's forget the BEST part of all, those poor little Misfit Toys!--make this one video you can't afford to miss.

Really great!
My mom said she watched this movie every year on TV when she was a kid and I've been wathcing it every year as well. It still makes me cry all the time! I highly reccomend it.

Great Christmas TV Special
A Great Christmas TV special.Great songs and Great story.One of the best scenes is with the song "There's Always Tommorow" is romantic with the animals singing.

THE BEST CLASSIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!!
It took a year to put together,- each puppet, "Three Dimensional Object" cost $5.000,- over 100 technicians and craftsmen and a cost of $500.000 and the end result was a masterpiece. This is truly one of the BEST HOLIDAY films going. It's full of charm, love, adventure, and a meaning of friendship that only can come from a show like this. For me the memories come flooding back. I can remember the first time I saw this classic back in 1964, it was on "General Electric Fantasy Hour" at 5:30 to 6:30 on Sunday night on NBC. I remember running up to my room to watch it on my little black and white television. I never miss it. This DVD is a must for every home. The holidays just won't be the same without it.
Air dates for the 60's are as follows:
12/6/64 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/5/65 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/4/66 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/8/67 Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC
12/6/68 Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC
12/5/69 Sunday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC ... Read more

Description

Academy Award winner Burl Ives narrates in a fanciful, tuneful and color-splashed animated tale of The First Easter Rabit. That Rabit is Stuffy, a cuddly toy who magically comes to life. Stuffy goes to Easter Valley, and enchanted real where it's always springtime, where the Bunny hopes to bring the first-ever basked of Easter goodies to children. But a cold-hearted ice creature named Zero refuses to permit such happiness. If he has his way, he'll freeze out Easter celebrations forever! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A sweet tale
The First Easter Rabbit is another story to add to your Rankin/Bass collection! This story is animated though,instead of stop-motion, which they are probably more known for. This does not make it any less charming though(Frosty the Snowman, one of my faves, is animated also) and as a Rankin/Bass fan you can really tell it is one of their animations.
The First Easter Rabbit is about Stuffy, a lttle girls stuffed rabbit, and how he becomes the Easter Bunny. I first saw this when I was a little girl, I am now 25 and still love this and all other Rankin/Bass stories. My only reason for giving it 4 stars is because you can't get it on DVD yet, and it should be teamed up with the other 2 Easter stories "The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town" and "Here comes Peter Cottontail".

Holiday fun from Rankin/Bass
This half hour film released in 1976 is one of 3 Easter films produced by the Rankin and Bass Studio. The other 2 are
"Here Comes Peter Cottontail", which is about all the Holidays as 2 rabbits compete to deliver the most eggs and become the new Easter Bunny, and "The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town", which concentrates on explaining traditions of Easter, very similar to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

The main difference with this film is that it uses traditional animation, and the 2 above are Animagic, or stop-motion. Burl Ives narrates and sings again in this one, and is even drawn to be dressed like the character he played in Rudolph. There are at least 2 good songs in the film. The studio that made this film are perfectionists, and even their credits are imaginative and fun to watch. The story starts before there was ever an Easter Rabbit, and he was stuffed bunny owned by a girl. He is brought to life to serve as the symbol of Easter and moves to a magical place called Easter Valley. When Easter is threatened Santa joins the bunny in defending Easter Valley.

You may remember Rankin and Bass as the folks that brought us such beautiful holiday classics such as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Year without a Santa Claus, Nestor the Long Eared Donkey, Mad Monster Party, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is coming to Town, Mouse on the Mayflower, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town, Cricket on the Hearth, the Stingiest Man in Town, Jack Frost, Pinnochio's Christmas, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, the First Easter Bunny. They also made non-holiday films such as the Hobbit, Flight of Dragons, the Last Unicorn. It is incredible that one company is responsible for all those TV specials, 95% of the ones we see every year. Their work includes standard animation, stop-motion animagic, and live action. There is a great book on the studio called "The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass.

I hope this comes out on a restored DVD soon, I have bought all the other Rankin/Bass that has been released on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I've seen it once and would like my own copy.
My review is simple. I've seen The New Adventures of Heidi with Burl Ives, liked it very much but have not found anywhere to purchase it. Yours was the closest I came, but you had a notification that it was not available--or--when I did place an order for a copy giving all information requested, you said you would send me an email but have not done so. I requested this last week twice but nothing came on my email.
Roman

Best family film we've seen in a long time!
For Burl Ive fans this is a collector. Great for the Christian family as they sang beautiful prayers to God. Burl Ive's was a believer himself. I can't wait to send a copy to a friend as a gift, who doesn't like movies that may be great, but, they have to throw in bad language. She says, "that's not entertainment to them or their children. It's not a sad movie like so many of the other Heidi's were, but I won't tell you the ending. It is a feel good movie. We can all use that these days.

Feel Good Movie, great for the entire family
This digitally enhanced version of the follow up to the wonderful classic Shirley Temple family film finds Heidi living with her grandfather (Burl Ives - "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof") in the Swiss Alps. In desperate fear of going blind, he contacted Heidi's cousin to take her in and provide for her. What follows is a wonderfully exciting series of adventures told with the heartwarming style and grace of the author Johana Spyris. A wonderful family entertainment feature which will especially be enjoyed by kids of all ages again and again.

Great story, horrid DVD
I really like Burl Ives and the story is nice but the DVD is awful. This looks like someome took a very old video tape and transferred it direct to DVD. This DVD played on one of our DVD players, but wouldn't play on our second DVD player (this has never happened before).

Maybe I just got a dud DVD copy, but this was not worth the shipping cost, much less the cost of the film.

An Excellent Family Movie!!
Johanna's Spyri's tale is brought to life and updated in this heartwarming family film.Heidi(Katy Kurtzmann) is living with her Grandfather(Burl Ives) in the Swiss Alps.But her grandfather is slowly losing his eyesight and fears that he will no longer be able to take care of her.While in town,he secretly calls Heidi's cousins in Lucerne and asks them to take custody of Heidi.In the meantime,a young girl named Elizabeth runs away from her school group to follow Heidi back to her cabin.They become best of friends and Elizabeth begs Heidi and her grandfather to let her stay with them.However,Heidi and her grandfather know that Elizabeth's place is with her family,and they return her the next day.While out on a search party for Heidi's friend Peter,her grandfather disappears into the woods and is feared dead.Left with no one to care for her,Heidi is taken to live with Elizabeth's family.With them ,she travels to New York for the holidays,and has many exciting adventures which make this an excellent family movie to watch for all ages!! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

William Wyler directed this epic Western, about the clash of East and West, intellect and action. Gregory Peck stars as a sea captain who moves way out West to marry Carroll Baker and become part of the ranch owned by her father (Charles Bickford). But he discovers that daddy's top hand (Charlton Heston) carries a torch for Baker and doesn't particularly like Peck stepping into his place. Peck also finds himself caught in the midst of a power struggle between Bickford and his surly neighbor, Burl Ives (and his reprehensibly bullying son, Chuck Connors). This long, sprawling tale works because its characters are played by movie stars who know how to command the big screen in a big story. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (59)

A big Western with a stupendous music score.
I loved this movie as a kid when I saw it in the theatre back in 1958 or 1959 and I still love it. The movie score by Jerome Morass is absolutely magnificent. Gregory Peck plays a pacifist Easterner who's trying to avoid getting caught up in the land dispute his fiance's (Carol Baker) family is having with a local clan. His shallow fiance and her father (Charles Bickford) interpret his unwillingness to fight as a sign of weakness. Charlton Heston and the beautiful Jean Simmons are fine in their roles. Burl Ives won an Oscar for his portrayal of Rufus Hennesey, the leader of a very large extended family. Last, but not least, Chuck Connors (of the Rifleman TV series) turns in his finest film performance. A big movie with big stars made by a big-time director (William Wyler who won best director Oscars for Ben-Hur and The Best Years of Our Lives). A fine film with a good message about the futility of fighting in order to resolve conflicts.

Good performances in a beautiful Hollywood Western
THE BIG COUNTRY is a very good Hollywood Western, with all the strengths and weaknesses that implies: a first-rate cast and fine production values, but a less-than-imaginative script written by a studio committee. The story is a variation on the tried-and-true "Eastern Dude Tames Wild West" theme. Co-produced by director William Wyler and star Gregory Peck, it strives a bit self-consciously for epic grandeur, and lacks the comparatively gritty realism of John Ford's thematically related THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE.

As the transplanted Easterner, Peck's understated performance is a pleasure to watch. Jean Simmons is fine as the schoolmarm, and the two Chucks (Conners and Heston) are equally good in their roles. A supporting actor Oscar went to Burl Ives, but the standout performance belongs to Carroll Baker as Peck's spoiled fiance. Franz Planer's cinematography is quite good, too, but like the script, performances, and pacing, it's just a little bit too self-conscious. The picture feels more like OKLAHOMA! than like THE SEARCHERS--altogether too theatrical to sustain the suspension of disbelief.

Yet this is a very entertaining movie--at least for those who value character, conflict, and beautiful imagery over car chases, explosions, and other special effects. And fans of Westerns in particular should appreciate the many virtues of this near-Classic. Four solid stars.

Atticus Finch goes West
This is a sprawling, glorious saga that will be appreciated by people who don't even like the Western genre. With fabulous cinematography, an excellent script, and two of my favorite actors, it's a film I never tire of watching.
Gregory Peck is the sea captain with principles who goes west to meet his future bride, only to find feuds and fighting, and some lawless varmints who need his "non violent" ways of resolving territorial issues. He is terrific as James McKay, who is sort of an Atticus Finch in boots, and looks mighty fine as well.
Charlton Heston has the smaller part as Leech, a foreman who is seething with jealousy and obeys the orders of his unscrupulous boss (rancher Terrill, played with subtle menace by Charles Bickford) as he yearns for his daughter. Heston is brilliant as this rather complex character, and would a year later star in director William Wyler's next epic, "Ben Hur", which is perhaps my all-time most viewed and enjoyed film.

Both female leads are wonderful, and are portrayed with enormous strength; Jean Simmons, with her luminous eyes is the schoolteacher, and Carroll Baker is the tough daughter of rancher Bickford, and is too much like her daddy to make a suitable bride for Peck.
Among the many strong performances in the supporting parts are Burl Ives, and received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his gnarly old Rufus, Chuck Connors is his bad to the bone son, and Alfonso Bedoya, is a delight as Ramon, who along with a horse named "Old Thunder", provides some of the humor in the film.
The score by Jerome Moross is lovely (and received an Oscar nomination) and the cinematography by Franz Planner spectacular. The film was shot in the Yuba and San Joaquin Counties in California, as well as canyon country in Chinly, Arizona, and it is breathtakingly beautiful.

If you like a good screen fight like I do, this has a great one, "mano a mano" between Peck and Heston; it initially has no music, just the pounding of the fists and the men gasping for breath, and is very effective.
Romance, drama, and lots of action make this a film that appeals to many, and is suitable for the whole family. Total running time is 165 minutes.

A good Western movie

Director: William Wyler
Format: Color
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: May 2, 2000

Cast:

Gregory Peck ... James McKay
Jean Simmons ... Julie Maragon
Carroll Baker ... Patricia Terrill
Charlton Heston ... Steve Leech
Burl Ives ... Rufus Hannassey
Charles Bickford ... Major Henry Terrill
Alfonso Bedoya ... Ramon Guiteras
Chuck Connors ... Buck Hannassey
Chuck Hayward ... Rafe Hannassey
Buff Brady ... Dude Hannassey
Jim Burk ... Blackie/Cracker Hannassey
Dorothy Adams ... Hannassey Woman
Chuck Roberson ... Terrill Cowboy
Bob Morgan ... Terrill Cowboy
John McKee ... Terrill Cowboy
Slim Talbot ... Terrill Cowboy
Donald Kerr ... Liveryman
Carey Paul Peck ... Boy
Jonathan Peck ... Boy
Stephen Peck ... Boy
Ralph Sanford ... Party Guest
Richard Alexander ... Party Guest, (Oceans)
Harry Cheshire ... Party Guest

It is said that Gregory Peck and William Wyler, erstwhile friends who had previously worked together successfully had a falling out over this film and never spoke for years afterward. Both were co-producers, and Peck became agitated over the fact that Wylie was working too slowly and the film was going 'way over budget. Wylie resented anyone else telling him how to make a movie. It also appears that three of Peck's children had children's parts in the film.

The fight seen between Peck and Heston is one of the high points of the film that has caused much comment, as it was filmed from a great distance, rather than close-uo.

Such details aside, the story depicts a sea-captain, James McKay (Peck) coming West to marry Patricia Terrill (Carol Baker). He walks straight into a personal vendetta between Major Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford) and Rufus Hannassey (Burl Ives) over an old grudge, and the usual battle over water rights typical in many Western stories. McKay is a peaceful man who tends to avoid resorting to violence, causing his would-be bride to accuse him of cowardice.

Buck Hannassey (Chuck Connors) and Steve Leech (Charlton Heston) play supporting roles, each of whom has designs on the leading women in the story, leading to antagonisms. Ramon (Alphonso Bedoya) plays his part well, as a Mexican ranch employee. He was better in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, I think, but he always turns in a good performance.

This is a good Western, with the usual scenery typical of the West. The plot is somewhat hackneyed, but is well-played and comes off well, thanks to the staff.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

The only Western that I highly recommend watching
Although my tastes in film are very broad, I am not fond of Westerns. However, "The Big Country" is an excellent film. It is a Western, but in many ways it doesn't FEEL like a Western. The film's intelligence, strong characters, and reliance on humanity provide a superior storyline to the traditional shoot-'em-up mentality so common in Westerns.

The basic premise concerns retired sea captain James McKay (Peck), who travels West to marry his fiancé Pat Terrill (Baker), whom he met while she was visiting Baltimore. He is quickly thrown in the middle of a huge family feud between the wealthy Terrills and the struggling Hannasseys, presumably over water rights at the Big Muddy, a dormant ranch owned by the lovely schoolteacher Julie (Simmons). However, McKay, the intelligent outsider, sees through the feuding patriarchs (Bickford and Ives). What follows is, in my opinion, one of the most effective showdowns in Western cinema (forget "High Noon").

The characterization in this film is particularly strong. Gregory Peck is very good, as always, even though his McKay character has a level of integrity that may be just a BIT hard to swallow. Carroll Baker's role as the spoiled only child is sickeningly good. Jean Simmons is sweet and demure, but strong and self-sufficient, a perfect contrast to her friend, Pat. Charles Bickford's egotistical role as Major Henry Terrill is great, and his questionable relationship with his daughter raised my eyebrows. Charlton Heston's role is relatively small, but he provides the necessary tension and jealousy between himself, Baker, and Peck. In addition, his character's loyalty to Terrill, although misplaced, is touching. Chuck Connors' character as Buck Hannassey is vile, trashy, and degrading, but his performance is one of the most credible in the film. And, saving the best for last, Burl Ives is absolutely superb in the role of Rufus Hannassey, the overweight, bullying patriarch who simultaneously loves and hates his son Buck. He deserved the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that he won for this role.

There is one flaw to this film that stands out, and another reviewer mentioned it below: watch the canyon barricade scene near the end. The Terrill bunch HAD to see that coming, yet they acted surprised. Wyler missed it there, I think, but overall the film is a beautiful piece of cinema.

One last praise: the score. From the opening credits, this beautifully motivating music resounds throughout the film and is one of my favorites. Just beautiful. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A sweet tale
The First Easter Rabbit is another story to add to your Rankin/Bass collection! This story is animated though,instead of stop-motion, which they are probably more known for. This does not make it any less charming though(Frosty the Snowman, one of my faves, is animated also) and as a Rankin/Bass fan you can really tell it is one of their animations.
The First Easter Rabbit is about Stuffy, a lttle girls stuffed rabbit, and how he becomes the Easter Bunny. I first saw this when I was a little girl, I am now 25 and still love this and all other Rankin/Bass stories. My only reason for giving it 4 stars is because you can't get it on DVD yet, and it should be teamed up with the other 2 Easter stories "The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town" and "Here comes Peter Cottontail".

Holiday fun from Rankin/Bass
This half hour film released in 1976 is one of 3 Easter films produced by the Rankin and Bass Studio. The other 2 are
"Here Comes Peter Cottontail", which is about all the Holidays as 2 rabbits compete to deliver the most eggs and become the new Easter Bunny, and "The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town", which concentrates on explaining traditions of Easter, very similar to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

The main difference with this film is that it uses traditional animation, and the 2 above are Animagic, or stop-motion. Burl Ives narrates and sings again in this one, and is even drawn to be dressed like the character he played in Rudolph. There are at least 2 good songs in the film. The studio that made this film are perfectionists, and even their credits are imaginative and fun to watch. The story starts before there was ever an Easter Rabbit, and he was stuffed bunny owned by a girl. He is brought to life to serve as the symbol of Easter and moves to a magical place called Easter Valley. When Easter is threatened Santa joins the bunny in defending Easter Valley.

You may remember Rankin and Bass as the folks that brought us such beautiful holiday classics such as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Year without a Santa Claus, Nestor the Long Eared Donkey, Mad Monster Party, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is coming to Town, Mouse on the Mayflower, Here Comes Peter Cottontail, The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town, Cricket on the Hearth, the Stingiest Man in Town, Jack Frost, Pinnochio's Christmas, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, the First Easter Bunny. They also made non-holiday films such as the Hobbit, Flight of Dragons, the Last Unicorn. It is incredible that one company is responsible for all those TV specials, 95% of the ones we see every year. Their work includes standard animation, stop-motion animagic, and live action. There is a great book on the studio called "The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass.

I hope this comes out on a restored DVD soon, I have bought all the other Rankin/Bass that has been released on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not quite what the title implies
This film covers in a limited sense what THE CELLULOID CLOSET covers more professionally and comprehensively. The title refers to the reel of gay and homoerotic scenes from Hudson's studio films that he compiled for showing to his friends at parties. There are no candid home movie clips (no shots of Rock by the pool, Rock and Tab Hunter playing croquet, or of anyone dressed in women's clothes). If you can surmount that disappointment, it should be noted that the studio clips are mostly of extremely poor quality (as if photographed from a tv screen). On top of that, the film has an amateurish quality (a not-very-similar-looking actor plays Rock speaking from the world beyond, sometimes with his image inserted into the frame with the real Rock Hudson). I'm sure for some viewers these qualities will give the film a sort of underground cult classic feeling and add to its appeal. I found such effects distracting and annoying. On top of this, there are no interesting new revelations about Hudson (or about a Hollywood lavender underworld). All stones were left unturned.

Even so, ROCK HUDSON'S HOME MOVIES did make me appreciate the sheer number and variety of films Hudson made (westerns, war, Douglas Sirk melodramas, as well as the familiar, fluffy technicolor sex comedies with Doris Day). Not the best actor America ever produced, but certainly one the camera loved.

Clever
This clever film uses clips from Rock Hudson's Hollywood movies to tell the truth about his gay life. You will not be able to see those films the same way again. If you liked " The Celluloid Closet" you'll like this movie

Delight!
This movie explores the myth known as "Rock Hudson." What was up there on the screen and how did it mirror the real Rock Hudson. In fact, is there a real Rock Hudson or is he just a real-life manifestation of his Seconds character? The movie deftly blends real footage with an actor playing Rock Hudson. The result is a startling blend of intertextual delight.

"Fantastic" documentary about Rock Hudson
A masterpiece about comedy, a perfect complement for "Pillow Talk" and other Rock Hudson's comedies. Here, Rappaport make a editing from Rock Hudson's movies of all times, selecting scenes that suggest you the homosexuality of the star/charachter. Very funny, for all Rock Hudson's lovers/fans and people without prejudices.

A great gay "essay" film
I can understand the other reviewer's disappointment with this movie if he was expecting some kind of narrative "memory" play. The movie functions as a deconstructive essay, much like Rappaport's subsequent "From the Journals of Jean Seberg". Think also of the kind of shoestring budget essay films that Orson Welles made toward the end of his life ("F for Fake" and "Filming Othello"). This movie delighted me, made me see some familiar material in whole new ways (how could I have missed all of that coded material in Howard Hawks' "Man's Favorite Sport"?), and was a fun consciousness raiser. I watched this with friends and everyone came away buzzing about it. ... Read more

Reviews (95)

Go Rudolph! Go!
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is THE classic Rankin/Bass Animagic Christmas special. I could not imagine a holiday season going by without watching this at least once. Now, with this DVD, I can put away my "taped from television" copy and enjoy the complete, fully-restored splendor of Rudolph.

For the first time since 1964, the complete, unedited version can be seen on this DVD. Throughout the years, the special has been trimmed to allow for more commercial time, including the removal of a longer version of "We Are Santa's Elves", a duet reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits." The edits where made as long ago as 1965, so getting the complete version is a real treat. It even restores Rudolph's Elf friend's proper name, "Hermey" as opposed to the edited "Herbie."

Burl Ives has perhaps his most classic role as Sam the Snowman, singing many now-classic songs that were written for this program, such as "Holly-jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold." (Of course, he also sings Johnny Marks wonderful "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!")

The Animagic puppets are never more welcome than at Christmas. This is a really nice DVD, and includes extras such as an introduction by Arthur Rankin and the complete "Fame and Fortune" song that replaced the reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits" in 1965. What a wonderful DVD!

Absolute Every-Year Holiday Classic!
This is one amazing show that everybody loves. The unforgettable characters and memorable music make "Rudolph" one of the videos my family never fails to watch each winter. See, I'm 16 years old and didn't grow up with all these stop-motion, "Animagic" Rankin/Bass holiday special shows, but I do love them. For the longest time I watched "Rudolph" every Christmas and "Peter Cottontail" every Easter, but didn't know the wealth of other wonderfully great shows awaiting me. Luckily just today I finished watching the Rankin/Bass marathon on TV, and was introduced to some other incredible classics that I must buy: "Pinnochio's Christmas," "Jack Frost," "The First Christmas," "The Little Drummer Boy," "Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey," "The Year without a Santa Claus" (the best one), "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," and more. I know most of the voice acting because I enjoy watching older TV sitcoms and game shows, in which all these 70's actors and actresses starred. "Rudolph" will always remain a favorite part of my holiday traditions. The characters of Yukon Cornelius, the Bumble, Clarice (Rudolph's girlfriend), and Hermey, along with the songs like "Silver and Gold" and "Santa's Elves"--oh, and let's forget the BEST part of all, those poor little Misfit Toys!--make this one video you can't afford to miss.

Really great!
My mom said she watched this movie every year on TV when she was a kid and I've been wathcing it every year as well. It still makes me cry all the time! I highly reccomend it.

Great Christmas TV Special
A Great Christmas TV special.Great songs and Great story.One of the best scenes is with the song "There's Always Tommorow" is romantic with the animals singing.

THE BEST CLASSIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!!
It took a year to put together,- each puppet, "Three Dimensional Object" cost $5.000,- over 100 technicians and craftsmen and a cost of $500.000 and the end result was a masterpiece. This is truly one of the BEST HOLIDAY films going. It's full of charm, love, adventure, and a meaning of friendship that only can come from a show like this. For me the memories come flooding back. I can remember the first time I saw this classic back in 1964, it was on "General Electric Fantasy Hour" at 5:30 to 6:30 on Sunday night on NBC. I remember running up to my room to watch it on my little black and white television. I never miss it. This DVD is a must for every home. The holidays just won't be the same without it.
Air dates for the 60's are as follows:
12/6/64 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/5/65 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/4/66 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/8/67 Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC
12/6/68 Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC
12/5/69 Sunday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I've seen it once and would like my own copy.
My review is simple. I've seen The New Adventures of Heidi with Burl Ives, liked it very much but have not found anywhere to purchase it. Yours was the closest I came, but you had a notification that it was not available--or--when I did place an order for a copy giving all information requested, you said you would send me an email but have not done so. I requested this last week twice but nothing came on my email.
Roman

Best family film we've seen in a long time!
For Burl Ive fans this is a collector. Great for the Christian family as they sang beautiful prayers to God. Burl Ive's was a believer himself. I can't wait to send a copy to a friend as a gift, who doesn't like movies that may be great, but, they have to throw in bad language. She says, "that's not entertainment to them or their children. It's not a sad movie like so many of the other Heidi's were, but I won't tell you the ending. It is a feel good movie. We can all use that these days.

Feel Good Movie, great for the entire family
This digitally enhanced version of the follow up to the wonderful classic Shirley Temple family film finds Heidi living with her grandfather (Burl Ives - "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof") in the Swiss Alps. In desperate fear of going blind, he contacted Heidi's cousin to take her in and provide for her. What follows is a wonderfully exciting series of adventures told with the heartwarming style and grace of the author Johana Spyris. A wonderful family entertainment feature which will especially be enjoyed by kids of all ages again and again.

Great story, horrid DVD
I really like Burl Ives and the story is nice but the DVD is awful. This looks like someome took a very old video tape and transferred it direct to DVD. This DVD played on one of our DVD players, but wouldn't play on our second DVD player (this has never happened before).

Maybe I just got a dud DVD copy, but this was not worth the shipping cost, much less the cost of the film.

An Excellent Family Movie!!
Johanna's Spyri's tale is brought to life and updated in this heartwarming family film.Heidi(Katy Kurtzmann) is living with her Grandfather(Burl Ives) in the Swiss Alps.But her grandfather is slowly losing his eyesight and fears that he will no longer be able to take care of her.While in town,he secretly calls Heidi's cousins in Lucerne and asks them to take custody of Heidi.In the meantime,a young girl named Elizabeth runs away from her school group to follow Heidi back to her cabin.They become best of friends and Elizabeth begs Heidi and her grandfather to let her stay with them.However,Heidi and her grandfather know that Elizabeth's place is with her family,and they return her the next day.While out on a search party for Heidi's friend Peter,her grandfather disappears into the woods and is feared dead.Left with no one to care for her,Heidi is taken to live with Elizabeth's family.With them ,she travels to New York for the holidays,and has many exciting adventures which make this an excellent family movie to watch for all ages!! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Charming but uneven
As has been previously written, this film is by Rankin and Bass the team responsible for the holiday classics Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. This fillm is more ambitious and more uneven than either of those two favorites. They simply expanded on holiday legends/songs in a bright highly satisfying way. This film is a partial live action drama which features Chris (Paul O'Keefe) a young Hans Christian Anderson, whose father (Jack Gilford) is a penniless cobbler, escaping his desperate life to search for the Garden of Paradise and dropping into three Hans Christian Anderson stories (The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes and Thumbelina all in the company's signature puppet inspired Animagic) on the way. This material has a lot of potential and the film does have some lovely sequences particularly during the Little Mermaid and Thumbelina sections. Maury Laws' songs don't reach the heights of Santa Claus or his wonderful work on The Little Drummer Boy but are tuneful and create a mood of wistful wonder. The character of Chris is fascinating too in that he initially seems simply a good hearted boy but often unintentionally betrays and abandons the characters around him and the animated sections have a darker tone than most children's programming. The religous tones (which are true to the Hans Christian Anderson original tales) in several of the stories also make this darker than the usual Rankin and Bass holiday fare.

There are problems. Often the film resorts to silly musical comedy routines to pull the audience out of the darker edges of the animated material. Jack Gilford performs in an almost vaudevillian broad comedy style and seems so powerless and impotent as Chris' father that one hopes that Chris is never forced to return home. Ray Bolger's charm is utterly wasted in his performance as the pieman and Paul O'Keefe's pleasant voice is undermined by the improbability of the situation (he's been captured for poaching and being led by rope down the middle of the town's square as the townsfolk cavort in the clearly underfunded big production number) that he's found himself stranded in. And the questions about Chris' character and his family's desperate financial straits are never resolved.

Still despite these qualms the film has undeniable charm and a certain magic pull in places. I still felt a magic shiver when Chris, caught in a seemingly inescapable situation, spies a flower magically opening up to reveal Thumbelina and a way to escape. I would certainly recommend this film to families to view together--just don't expect a seamless masterpiece or a film even as satisfying the Rankin and Bass Christmas specials.

I remember seeing this film as a child on television. I remember, even then, the print being muddy and the colors being washed out and skips cutting out moments of dialogue. What a pleasure it is to see this new DVD version of this film. The colors are full and bright and there is no bleeding and the sound is free of any pops and scratches. Not quite the labor of love their Mad Monster Party disc was but does include a brief history of the film in the insert.

Fascinating! Not your typical animated kiddie fare
This film was produced by the wonderful Rankin/Bass team - best known for their holiday masterpieces "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman" and "Mad Monster Party", just to name a few. The wraparound story (which is live-action) deals with a young Hans Christian Anderson struggling to find The Garden of Paradise. On his journey, we are treated to four haunting stories, each filmed in Rankin/Bass's trademark stop-motion "Animagic". The stories are unusual in that they all end on a low note rather than a typical "Disney happy ending" - keeping true to Anderson's original tales. Included here are "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor's New Clothes", "Thumbelina" and "The Garden of Paradise". Once again Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass have created a fantasyland of wonder and imagination filled to the brim with beautiful tunes.

Ah, to daydream...
This is another wonderful childhood movie, full of the joys and woes that come to a young boy who dares to daydream, perhaps a little to obsession. He gets into all sorts of adventures and trouble. What also trully shines is Ray Bolger as the pieman, who dances around like a playful kitten, darting about the rest of the cast with his armful of pies, and his humerous gestures. You also get to see a little Rankin/Bass version of Ray, which is equally as charming. Great movie, great to watch when you're bored, or with he family, all year round.

The Enchanted World of Hans Christian Andersen
"The Daydreamer" has some really cool animagic sequences. Boris Karloff's song and dance bit with the Rat and the Mole is one of the best things I have seen from Rankin/Bass. The underwater sequence is great, with Burl Ives, Hayley Mills and Tallulah Bankhead playing the leads of The Little Mermaid, Father Neptune and the Sea Witch.

However, overall "The Daydreamer" is a mediocre film. The live action bits are pretty bad, with nothing really passing for acting or a storyline on display. The producer went the wrong direction, buy banking on the large cast of stars who are mostly unknown today.

Given that this is a mediocre film, I would have wished for a better DVD to make up the difference. "The Daydreamer" just doesn't have the punch necessary to pull of a DVD without accompaniment. Paired with "The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes" and you would have had a must-buy. The addition of any other Rankin/Bass animagic special would have been appreciated.

animation parts are fun, live action puts you to sleep
I know there are a lot of people who love this movie. I personally enjoyed all the talented people who lent their voices to the animated characters. And sure, the DVD image is as flawless as a new release print can be. Yet the combination of several Anderson Fairy Tales and poorly written live action dialogue connecting all the animation left me wishing that about 15 minutes had been trimmed. The story of a real boy who learns about how to become an unselfish person is basically a good one and he meets lots of interesting animated characters along the way, but some actors are wasted (Ray Bolger & Margaret Hamilton). It feels like the producers had access to these people and tried any way they could to fit them into the production, unfortunately at the expense of good pacing. If you are a Rankin/Bass completist, then pick this up, you won't be disappointed. Otherwise for most of us it will make a decent rental. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy (Lee Montgomery) finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today.

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy (Lee Montgomery) finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today.

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy (Lee Montgomery) finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today.

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Hilarious and Vintage Guinness
Alec Guinness gives a terrifically funny performance as Wormold, a man reluctant to be enlisted as a secret agent by a desperate and ridiculously credulous "intelligence" service. Wormold, a lonely father of a nubile daughter, wants extra money to provide for her increasingly expensive wishes. One day, rather hopelessly and absently, he sketches the interior of a vacuum cleaner he is supposed to be selling at his modest business, pretending this sketch pertains to some dangerous real-life strategic device. His employers are elated. Unfortunately, they demand more and more from the now equally desperate Wormold. As he invents more outrageous fictions, they grow ever more fascinated. Then comes the kicker: Wormold's elaborate fantasies begin to come true. He has created a monster, in effect. The complexities of his imaginary spy world begin to envelope him. The outcome is terrible - and teribly funny. The subtle comic genius of Guinness may be lost on some American audiences, or it may be just your cup of tea. I laughed till I cried. I have never forgotten this movie since I saw it when I was an English major, studying Graham Greene, among others. I eagerly await its issuance in DVD.

Very realistic dark comedy
Graham Greene served in British Intelligence during the 1939-1945 war along with other literary types such as Malcolm Muggeridge. They all were less than impressed with the organization and expressed this in various literary ways. For Greene it was a series of semi historical novels. I would guess that Inspector Clouseau would not feel out of place in the MI6 of the post war era. In this novel Greene illustrates all of the misunderstandings and quirks of fate that foul up intelligence operations. An inept person is recruited into the organization. In order to show results he fakes the recruitment of subagents and fabricates information they are supposed to have given to him. His security is bad and these reports are read by the other side thinking they are true. The sub agents are arrested and tortured to death. The hero is recalled to London and given a medal and retirement to cover up for the bungling of himself and the poor judgement of the person who recruited him and the people who accepted his false information and used it for national policy direction.

Slow-building, surprisingly subtle comedy of spying
Sir Carol Reed's 1960 film of Graham Greene's "Our Man in Havana" gets off to a slow start. The expatriate British widower Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) is having difficulty making enough money to support the expensive tastes of his cherished teenaged daughter Milly (Jo Morrow), who has caught the idea of a Batista torturer and equestrian, Capt. Segura (Ernie Kovacs). The British spymaster for the Caribbean (Noël Coward) insists that Wormold become a British secret agent, and Wormold decides to take the money and when pressed for results, concocts nonsense "intelligence."

His ludicrous inventions, including a military installation he invents out of vacuum cleaner parts, are taken very seriously. As in Greene's "The Third Man" (also filmed by Reed) and "The Quiet American" (filmed by Joseph Mankiewicz), ignorance ("innocence") proves to be extremely dangerous to others. This film is not as great as those other two, but has a very strong cast (including Burl Ives as a German doctor, Maureen O'Hara as a plucky M16 professional sent to assist Wormold, and Ralph Richardson as the agency head back in London) and splendid black-and-white cinematography of Havana almost as good as that of Vienna and Hanoi in the other two films. The camerawork is by Oswald Morris, John Huston's cinematographer on another, broader 1950s spy spoof (Beat the Devil) and other films (including the 1952 Moulin Rouge, Moby Dick, The Roots of Heaven, The Man who Would be King, and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison) plus Kubrick's "Lolita" and Reed's "Oliver!"

Guinness (who had a career in spying movies ahead of him!) delivers a subtle performance. More unexpectedly, so does Ernie Kovacs, who was generally a very broad and antic comic. A thuggish police officer in a Latin American dictatorship is an easy target, but Kovacs draws on the tradition of cortesia and is considerably more professional than the M16 establishment that turns out to be at least as devoted as he is to keeping up appearances. Burl Ives (who long outlived Kovacs, but stopped getting roles like those in which he was so memorable in the late 1950s) also delivers a subtle performance as he is dragged into the madness Wormold's fantasies unleash. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I've seen it once and would like my own copy.
My review is simple. I've seen The New Adventures of Heidi with Burl Ives, liked it very much but have not found anywhere to purchase it. Yours was the closest I came, but you had a notification that it was not available--or--when I did place an order for a copy giving all information requested, you said you would send me an email but have not done so. I requested this last week twice but nothing came on my email.
Roman

Best family film we've seen in a long time!
For Burl Ive fans this is a collector. Great for the Christian family as they sang beautiful prayers to God. Burl Ive's was a believer himself. I can't wait to send a copy to a friend as a gift, who doesn't like movies that may be great, but, they have to throw in bad language. She says, "that's not entertainment to them or their children. It's not a sad movie like so many of the other Heidi's were, but I won't tell you the ending. It is a feel good movie. We can all use that these days.

Feel Good Movie, great for the entire family
This digitally enhanced version of the follow up to the wonderful classic Shirley Temple family film finds Heidi living with her grandfather (Burl Ives - "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof") in the Swiss Alps. In desperate fear of going blind, he contacted Heidi's cousin to take her in and provide for her. What follows is a wonderfully exciting series of adventures told with the heartwarming style and grace of the author Johana Spyris. A wonderful family entertainment feature which will especially be enjoyed by kids of all ages again and again.

Great story, horrid DVD
I really like Burl Ives and the story is nice but the DVD is awful. This looks like someome took a very old video tape and transferred it direct to DVD. This DVD played on one of our DVD players, but wouldn't play on our second DVD player (this has never happened before).

Maybe I just got a dud DVD copy, but this was not worth the shipping cost, much less the cost of the film.

An Excellent Family Movie!!
Johanna's Spyri's tale is brought to life and updated in this heartwarming family film.Heidi(Katy Kurtzmann) is living with her Grandfather(Burl Ives) in the Swiss Alps.But her grandfather is slowly losing his eyesight and fears that he will no longer be able to take care of her.While in town,he secretly calls Heidi's cousins in Lucerne and asks them to take custody of Heidi.In the meantime,a young girl named Elizabeth runs away from her school group to follow Heidi back to her cabin.They become best of friends and Elizabeth begs Heidi and her grandfather to let her stay with them.However,Heidi and her grandfather know that Elizabeth's place is with her family,and they return her the next day.While out on a search party for Heidi's friend Peter,her grandfather disappears into the woods and is feared dead.Left with no one to care for her,Heidi is taken to live with Elizabeth's family.With them ,she travels to New York for the holidays,and has many exciting adventures which make this an excellent family movie to watch for all ages!! ... Read more

Reviews (95)

Go Rudolph! Go!
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is THE classic Rankin/Bass Animagic Christmas special. I could not imagine a holiday season going by without watching this at least once. Now, with this DVD, I can put away my "taped from television" copy and enjoy the complete, fully-restored splendor of Rudolph.

For the first time since 1964, the complete, unedited version can be seen on this DVD. Throughout the years, the special has been trimmed to allow for more commercial time, including the removal of a longer version of "We Are Santa's Elves", a duet reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits." The edits where made as long ago as 1965, so getting the complete version is a real treat. It even restores Rudolph's Elf friend's proper name, "Hermey" as opposed to the edited "Herbie."

Burl Ives has perhaps his most classic role as Sam the Snowman, singing many now-classic songs that were written for this program, such as "Holly-jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold." (Of course, he also sings Johnny Marks wonderful "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!")

The Animagic puppets are never more welcome than at Christmas. This is a really nice DVD, and includes extras such as an introduction by Arthur Rankin and the complete "Fame and Fortune" song that replaced the reprise of "We're A Couple Of Misfits" in 1965. What a wonderful DVD!

Absolute Every-Year Holiday Classic!
This is one amazing show that everybody loves. The unforgettable characters and memorable music make "Rudolph" one of the videos my family never fails to watch each winter. See, I'm 16 years old and didn't grow up with all these stop-motion, "Animagic" Rankin/Bass holiday special shows, but I do love them. For the longest time I watched "Rudolph" every Christmas and "Peter Cottontail" every Easter, but didn't know the wealth of other wonderfully great shows awaiting me. Luckily just today I finished watching the Rankin/Bass marathon on TV, and was introduced to some other incredible classics that I must buy: "Pinnochio's Christmas," "Jack Frost," "The First Christmas," "The Little Drummer Boy," "Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey," "The Year without a Santa Claus" (the best one), "Rudolph's Shiny New Year," and more. I know most of the voice acting because I enjoy watching older TV sitcoms and game shows, in which all these 70's actors and actresses starred. "Rudolph" will always remain a favorite part of my holiday traditions. The characters of Yukon Cornelius, the Bumble, Clarice (Rudolph's girlfriend), and Hermey, along with the songs like "Silver and Gold" and "Santa's Elves"--oh, and let's forget the BEST part of all, those poor little Misfit Toys!--make this one video you can't afford to miss.

Really great!
My mom said she watched this movie every year on TV when she was a kid and I've been wathcing it every year as well. It still makes me cry all the time! I highly reccomend it.

Great Christmas TV Special
A Great Christmas TV special.Great songs and Great story.One of the best scenes is with the song "There's Always Tommorow" is romantic with the animals singing.

THE BEST CLASSIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!!
It took a year to put together,- each puppet, "Three Dimensional Object" cost $5.000,- over 100 technicians and craftsmen and a cost of $500.000 and the end result was a masterpiece. This is truly one of the BEST HOLIDAY films going. It's full of charm, love, adventure, and a meaning of friendship that only can come from a show like this. For me the memories come flooding back. I can remember the first time I saw this classic back in 1964, it was on "General Electric Fantasy Hour" at 5:30 to 6:30 on Sunday night on NBC. I remember running up to my room to watch it on my little black and white television. I never miss it. This DVD is a must for every home. The holidays just won't be the same without it.
Air dates for the 60's are as follows:
12/6/64 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/5/65 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/4/66 Sunday, 5:30 - 6:30 NBC
12/8/67 Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC
12/6/68 Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC
12/5/69 Sunday, 7:30 - 8:30 NBC ... Read more

Reviews (2)

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy (Lee Montgomery) finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today.

You'll never forget
When a twelve year old boy finds an injured hawk, he takes it to a recluse living in the hills, having heard the fellow was good with animals. The two become friends, together train the bird, but when it attacks a bully fighting our young hero, a group of local vigilantees decide to take it out on the old man, always considered him strange. Might the boy and his father rescue their elderly friend before the mob lynches him? A good, solid drama that well addresses issues which are sadly still with humanity today. ... Read more