L'arbre de ma jeunesse

As I recall (I've only seen this once), this made-for-TV adaptation was somewhat more faithful to Betty Smith's novel than Elia Kazan's film. Comparing the two is somewhat unfair (different times, dissimilar budgets, etc.), and both fall somewhat short when compared to the novel, which is excruciatingly detailed (and therein lies its great narrative strength). I'd like to see this again to determine if it's as good as I remember (I found all of the performances very moving), but I haven't seen it in 20-odd years. Don't hesitate to give it a shot if the chance presents itself, especially if you've read the novel. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I saw "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" listed on the FXM channel, and not having seen it in a while, I was pretty excited. Well, it turned out to be this 1974 "remake".......probably THE worst remake on God's green earth! It was so far removed from the classic original, that it was almost unrecognizable.

What were these people thinking?? The script was fourth rate at best, and the acting, especially Pamelyn Ferdin, was horrendous. The whole acting ensemble was the worst casting attempt I've ever seen. The casting director must have taken a page from "Where Are They Now" and "Who The Hell Are They To Begin With".

This movie is SO BAD, there should be a law against airing it.

I've seen the original (1945) & the remake! I prefer the remake! I love the little girl more too. She the same little girl that plays (Fern) the voice in Charlotte's Web 1973. I get the feelings of the people more in the remake.

I believe the remake of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is better than the original. More genuine sentiment I would say. Cliff Robertson is one of my favorites. It used to be shown every Christmas but no more. You can still buy it but the VHS version I have looks really good. I forget all about the purchase. It was a TV movie. One of the good ones.

TianshingI may be confusing this 1974 made for television version with the superb 1945 original directed by Elia Kazan.

That's just a hunch on my part. I doubt that AMC would be showing the remake, rather than the original, so many times.

In any case, I recommend that anyone who has an interest in this remake should also toggle over to check out the Kazan-directed movie.

It won several Oscars, and is justly considered one of the greatest American films of its period.

It was also Kazan's feature-film debut, and showed his prodigious talent right from the very start.