Lassie

It is so refreshing to watch a family film that doesn't have to rely only on special effects to tell the story. This film is just how they used to make films with great acting, beautiful photography and of course a lovely story. It's full of emotion and soul and it's just a good all round film the whole family will enjoy. It's about a boy and his parents who fall on hard times and have to sell their beloved dog, which gets taken hundreds of miles away. But his love for his dog never falters and the dogs love for its owners makes it determined to escape and travel the vast distance to get home. We have watched a few blockbusters lately but this film deserves praise. It might have a lower budget, but it has something that we all deep down want out of a film.

The worst thing that can be said about this excellent film is that it is a "family movie" as that term may turn off many cinema buffs from seeing a film that is first rate from practically all aspects. It is brilliantly directed by Charles Sturridge ("Brideshead Revisited") and features several cream of the crop actors starting with the marvelous Peter O'Toole. It is also a superb adaptation of Eric Knight's wartime novel, "Lassie Come Home." (Unfortunately, the viewer would not know this until the end of the credits.) The photography is absolutely breathtaking with scenes of the Scottish Highlands that I haven't seen equaled. There is also a grittiness and realism to the film that was impossible to capture in a 1943 version filmed on the back lots of MGM. Rather than a mere remake, this film is classic in its own right and deserves a wider audience than I suspect it has found thus far. High fives all the way.

I haven't seen the Liz Taylor version but I'm guessing that this one is a bit grittier. There are some nasty scenes of cruelty to dogs, although you never actually see one getting hit (they wouldn't be allowed to, would they!) so don't take a child if they're exceptionally sensitive. There are some great supporting roles from legendary actors such as Peter O'Toole and Gregor Fisher (Rab C Nesbitt), with cameos from the likes of Robert Hardy, Edward Fox and Angela Thorne (To The Manner Born, Maggie Thatcher impersonator) and the kids are cute but not too saccharine. But the scene is definitely stolen by the dog. Just as it should be, and a Christmassy ending to boot. Great family entertainment for kids over eight.

OK so am I the only one who never realized Lassie was set firstly in 1939 and secondly in Yorkshire? I grew up believing in gingham tablecloths, dusty gold mines, skunks in prairies and dangerous rattle snakes all of which our furry heroine, pined at, climbed from, lifted to safety and made friends with, yes and all without being stung, bitten

or even pooped on. Well move aside Nantucket because the real bitch is back and Charles Sturridge has done Eric Knight's beautiful story proud.

The film looks beautiful, set very convincingly in the 1930s English depression. The sets, camera work and locations provide us a time that makes much more sense of a dog returning home to his young master than 1960's America. Lassie's impossible journey deals with issues of loyalty, generosity, determination and good old Britishness all of which must have been useful propaganda tools for a country heading into war in 1939. So that's why it was written back then, so why remake it now? Because, those same basic issues and emotions are just as useful to remind ourselves of now as then but unfortunately for us modern family films have become lost in a sea of CGI and comuterized, sickly nothingness that has no relevance to anything but thrill. Truthfully? It's just plain nice to sit with your family in a cinema, cry your heart out and remember what's important in life. (And it doesn't have to be 40 feet tall and eat bananas!)

The boy is wonderful as indeed is the dog(s). The support from Morton, Lynch, O Toole, Drinkage is perfectly judged and I defy you not to blub a dub during the emotional Christmas homecoming. This is a beautiful film, a joy to watch and a credit to its makers.

Go Lass go.....

This is a near-perfect film for what it is--a richly imagined, finely-acted, lavishly produced family film, and one faithful to the source; this Lassie is not a dumbed-down version where the dog does stupid pet tricks, but instead the film stresses the importance of the relationship between the dog and her pal, a young lad living in a coal town.

Lassie, by the way is amazingly expressive and simply beautiful. The essential story is probably familiar to anyone over twenty who speaks English, but the film is enriched with cameos from major actors, including Peter O'Toole, James Fox, and Peter Dinklage, and with the lush, verdant vistas of Ireland standing in for Scotland.

While not as emotionally elemental as the classic Roddy McDowell version, this modern retelling also has a strong underlying foundation; the implied criticism of the class system will not be an obvious statement to young eyes, but adults will easily pick-up the points made concerning the privilege of the rich; children of all ages should enjoy this sweet, universal fable.